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SIN GAS - Mats Gustafsson (tenor, bari, and bass sax) Paal Nilssen-Love (drums and--I suppose this is the kicker- congas). Bocian LP. Bocian is making some cool records lately, like this one.

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I know you've worked with him Allen, which is cool, and that has allowed you to see Ribot in ways most of us can't. I'm only trying to address the public or performance personas that he presents (and there are more than one). I'm reluctant to completely dismiss him because I do see an interesting mind at work. But I also think there are questions of authenticity; that's why I raised that issue of the ersatz, and maybe why xybert (not speaking for him) admired the talent yet felt disconnected from the performer. The Winter Jazz Fest performance left a hugely bad taste in my mouth, which makes me question what he does. The remaining question for me is his work with Zorn. I'm not a big enough fan of the Zorn body of work to make a judgment on Ribot's work there.

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If one is a fan, I suppose that would be seen as versatility. Someone more skeptical (like me), that would be seen as introducing an element of the ersatz, which might be why it is hard to connect with Ribot. For example, I just don't buy his Cuban/Spanish group Los Cubanos Postizos; to me that has that ersatz feel to it.

Absolutely meant the collective 'we' no individual target, at all. It was just a throwaway that reflected a thought that we'll probably never know what actually transpired in detail. I'm now guilty of refocussing the thread again....oops....(and if my emoticons hadn't mysteriously been disabled apparently by dling Firefiox there'd be a big smiley here now) Thanks for the explanation, I'll supply the emoticon Intakts are $20 here--when you can get them. I seem to have no luck with the Maya stuff usually; very fleeting availability here (at least that's my experience).

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Thanks Ubu for that vivid description. Obviously a great show. Maybe they can do that in New York some day

We (me?) probably are. Maybe. But these are people who mean a lot to us in our little world, and so when something like this miscarries, naturally we'd like to understand why. To withdraw from this kind of event is fairly serious business. No explanation given, and the notice seemed curt. "Massage egos" - isn't that what band leaders do? Coax them or punch them in the nose, depending on one's style, but the idea is to keep people invested in the band. To let Trevor and Mats walk away--I would think something could or should have been done. If Trevor's absence was not missed, then maybe he should not have been invited in the first place, since it seems his contribution would have been negligible. But if you value band members, you want them there. I'm not ready to say Trevor or Mats is a diva until we (I?) understand what took place. It could be that when two guys known for their musicianship and wide range of professional activities walk away, the blame might be elsewhere.

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Facebook. I am FB 'friends' with Watts. He was VERY public about this. Clifford, can you provide a link. Checking the FB pages, I'm not seeing anything. Taken down? It's Barry Guy's show, he can call the shots. I'm sure Guy could tell the Oto folks: "Take Trevor's bio, if it's too long asked him nicely to edit it a bit." I'd be disappointed if Guy knew of the problem and did not step in to resolve it. Or are the folks at Oto now playing hardball?

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My hope is that simply Mats was booked somewhere else as he is a very busy guy. As we know he was in the States just last week. Could be. I'm not making any assumptions. It's just that Watts and Gustafsson are bracketed in the same terse announcement, "NB: Trevor Watts and Mats Gustfsson are no longer appearing at this event." no explanation given, which sort of invites speculation. Normally those announcements try to paper over any problems, e.g., "So and So can't appear due to illness/prior commitments/travel difficulties, etc etc." Nothing like that here. I like both of these guys, so it's unfortunate. Mats said he was flying back to Europe that night or the next day following the Philly concert.

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That is some heavy duty Ra stuff, Jeffcrom and Homefromtheforest!

There are decades of rivalries, frictions, and feelings behind Trevor's reactions I'm sure, and something small like this might have set off a spark. So what is Mats' reason?

If you really want to swim against the tide, try Molly Keane or better yet Barbara Comyns. The latter has one of the most unique literary voices I've ever come across. I wouldn't want to befriend any of her feckless characters, but the writing is generally quite compelling, and as I think I mentioned before both Keane and Comyns get to the point. Very few of their novels crack the 250 page mark. That said, I like Barbara Pym quite a bit, when I am in the right mood. I read all her novels in my 20s and recently picked up a box set of them to give them another go, ideally starting next year. I do, perversely, like An Academic Question the best, which most aficionados consider her worst! I am nearly done with Proust's The Fugitive, then will read Elizabeth Jane Howard's Falling, then Keane's Treasure Hunt and finally Comyns' The House of Dolls (I believe this is her final novel). Didn't see BillF's comment when it was first posted, so I'll respond to that first. I haven't read any Pym, but my wife has read quite a bit of her and has plenty of titles on her bookshelf, so I should be able to dip into her work. Bayley and A.N Wilson were big fans of Pym. Wilson tells some amusing tales about Pym, and Pym-Iris-Bayley. RE: the linked article, I'm not surprised that Iris' stock has fallen. Bayley's books have done her reputation a lot of harm by turning her image from a serious writer into a crazy old lady in a diaper. Plus she probably wrote too much, but there is a core of work that I think will stay the course. EJP626, I've not come across Keane or Comyns, really new to me, so I will have to take note of them. Feckless characters sound good to me. Iris has quite a bunch in her work as well. I think what sets Iris apart is the philosophical dimension in her work; for better or worse, sometimes more or less successfully, Iris strives to work serious philosophical concepts or issues into her work. A Platonic novelist ,or maybe sometimes just Plato-Lite. Her formula: plenty of sex and higher thoughts. Maybe based on her own life. Seemed to work in life and art. Scottish, not Irish, but I like Muriel Spark quite a bit too. Just wanted to get a mention in of her. Great minds think alike! A return to her is next on my list. Just finished The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie. A little masterpiece! I'm sure it will be just the first of several Sparks on my reading list. Yes, that is a good one!

Trevor Watts does get to the States occasionally. I've seen him twice in Baltimore, IIRC, in the last 3 or 4 years, once with Veryan Weston.