Yusef Lateef... Francis 'Scrapper' Blackwell... Max Roach...

Yusef Lateef recorded 'The Centaur and the Phoenix' in 1961. This is 'Every day (I fall in love),' a slow, gorgeous reading, bursting with sonorities and colour. Lateef features his flute here, against a plangent backdrop of three brass and two reeds (the unusual combo of baritone sax and bassoon). The theme unfolds in thick dense streams, as if conjuring the movement from deep sleep to slow awakening – when the flute solos, it has that sprightly morning feel of something new reborn again. What the hell, I'm in a soft and soppy mood, spending the morning with my extremely pregnant daughter. (Not long now!).

Back to the blues... Francis 'Scrapper' Blackwell has been a favourite of mine since I first heard his music in Dublin circa 1970, at the apartment of Merve the Perve who had an extensive collection of blues and sundry other unusual musics ( which I think he had brought back from his sojourn in the States). And where I first stayed with Veronica K (wonder where she is now? Ah, regrets... sigh... ). Blackwell achieved much fame and some fortune playing with Leroy Carr in the late twenties but is a fine performer on his own, his snapping single string guitar breaks proving his musicianship and influencing many guitar players to come. This is 'Kokomo Blues,' a steady rolling twelve bar, solid guitar chording alternating with those famous Blackwell breaks. His voice reminds me slightly of Bukka White... Fascinating interview with him in the sixties here...

Out on wings of fire... where bebop and Afro-Cuban rhythms intersected with the early sixties avant garde and Afro-American politics of the day – Max Roach leads a tempestuous band through the album 'Percussion Bitter Sweet' whose title gives a strong hint of the storms raised here. This track: 'Marcus Garvey's Ghost.' Abbey Lincoln's voice blends wordlessly with the ensemble over the rising thunder of the drums and added percussion, threaded on an insistent cowbell rhythm. Art Blakey was noted for being a powerhouse drummer but Max is just burning here – savage AND subtle. Booker Little solos, then Clifford Jordan, but good as they are, the torrential drums are the focus. Roach takes a fizzling solo, imperious rolls, slashed cymbals. Art Davis is a bit buried in the mix but his bass makes itself known. Mal Waldron not much in evidence here, some occasional comping. And the wild card of the session, Eric Dolphy, who takes some stunning solos on other tracks, is not featured either. Not that it matters – this is a classic track from a classic album. Anger filed to a razor's edge of instrumental brilliance... More of this with some Dolphy soon, I think...

'We are the bearers of the world's bright torch
To light our civilization as we go:
No one should fall or lodge at darkness' porch;
Right well we teach the people all to know:
There's much for us to do in toil of love,
In helping others as we climb the heights;
It is for us to reach and lift above
Those who are struggling up through gloomy nights.'

Marcus Garvey, from 'The Bearers' (1927), quoted from here...




Yusef Lateef
Richard Williams (tp) Clark Terry (flh, tp) Curtis Fuller (tb) Josea Taylor (basn) Yusef Lateef (ts, fl, argol, ob) Tate Houston (bars) Joe Zawinul (p) Ben Tucker (b) Lex Humphries (d)
Every Day (I fall in love)
Download

Buy

Scrapper Blackwell (v, g)
Kokomo Blues
Download

Buy

Max Roach
Booker Little (tp) Julian Priester (tb) Eric Dolphy (as) Clifford Jordan (ts) Mal Waldron (p) Art Davis (b) Max Roach (d) Carlos "Patato" Valdes (cga) Carlos "Totico" Eugenio (cowbell) Abbey Lincoln (vo)
Garvey's ghost
Download

Buy

Saturday: down the market...

And here's Don in his street environment the day after - looking remarkably fresh considering the festivities the night before... (I'm surprised there wasn't more camera shake)...

Review: Don Partridge at the Pack Horse, Friday, 13th June, 2008

Onwards to belated review number two...

... the mighty Don 'Snakehips' Partridge, King of the Buskers, complete with one-man band and two guitars – the big twelve string and a six for more elaborate stuff returned to the Pack Horse after a five-year hiatus. Another national treasure like Jack Hudson, Don has a good few old friends up here from his tenure in God's Little Acre and environs a few years ago – some of whom were here tonight. If you have seen him playing on the streets, the indoor performance is somewhat different. For one thing, he can rein back a bit, not competing with traffic and outdoor urban noise. And this gives another side to his music – Don has always been a clever and sensitive writer of songs and those who know him just from the pop hits of yesteryear ('Rosie,' 'Blue Eyes' and the recently resurrected 'Breakfast on Pluto') may be surprised at his depth and reach. Don is also a natural raconteur with a fast wit, interspersing the music with tales of the roads travelled. Coming from folk music, yet broadening out to include songs like 'Black-eyed Susie,' originally an old bluegrass number that mutated into a big hit for Guy Mitchell. (I remember a long time ago he used to do 'Hey Baby,' the old Bruce Chanel track, in a similar move – he probably still plays it).















Others - a loping 'Streets of Laredo' (joined effectively on squeezebox by the other half of the resident musicians duo, Dave Morton), the old Bessie Smith tune 'Nobody knows you when you're down and out,' a soulful 'I've got you under my skin' which featured some nifty harmonica. Of his own songs, 'Trans-Canadian Highway' is a favourite, recollecting a journey long ago and his seven minute version of his setting of Alfred Noyes narrative poem 'The Highwayman' displays abundantly his musical ear – both sensitive and rousing as befits the story being told. The one-man band sound of bass drum, cymbals and harmonica fleshes out his guitar work to give a full and solid support throughout, translating well from the streets to the club. A fascinating night, with odd fluffs here and there but they did not marr the overall performance and are almost obligatory for a folk club anyway. Only criticism, the vocals may have benefited from a touch of amplification – I was straining a bit at the back occasionally. Having said that, most of those in front of me probably heard everything more clearly... So: Hail the King! (Also, mention should be made of Mr Marmion's new instrument, seen in one of the photos, forged from the body of a six-string banjo and chopped into – something else... nominations for a name are being taken. 'The banjo from the Black Lagoon' was one...

Review: Jack Hudson at Loughborough Catholic Club, Thursday, 12th June, 2008...

Belated small review number one...

... we went down to the Catholic Club last week (hallelujah) to catch the ever-wonderful Jack Hudson, singer, guitar player, national treasure... He was on good form, despite some noise from the other bar (unavoidable at this venue but the p.a. compensates), leading in with 'L.A.Freeway,' giving us his usual wry, good-humoured but intense set. I've written about Jack before here and here, suffice to say he was compelling as ever, a man who knows how to penetrate a song to its core to mine the emotional content and bring it back intact. The channel not the tribute, if you get the dichotomy... Other songs - a stirring version of the old Tom Paxton number 'Did you hear John Hurt?' which ran the Van Ronk version close, 'Pancho and Lefty,' and his own 'Driftwood and Nails' which displays his writing talents. Great stuff... music for adults: songs from the other side of midnight...

Marilynn Crispell/Gary Peacock/Paul Motian... Ornette Coleman... Miles Davis...

A confusing time since I got back – family stuff – an impending baby (my daughter's) - technical problems – plus two great gigs back to back (Jack Hudson and Don Partridge) and a weekend with old friends which necessitated a surfeit of raking...

So to start again, before the reviews – here's Marilynn Crispell with Gary Peacock and Paul Motian. An understated trio, slow and ruminative on 'Albert's Love Theme,' taken from the set dedicated to the compositions of Annette Peacock, 'Nothing ever was, anyway.' Subtle flicks of nuance, discreet colouring – yet underneath a clenched and emotional rigour at work which makes of it something more than just a mood piece. Crispell who can hammer the exhilarating chromatic hell out of a piano with the best gonzo stylists around reins back here and lets the notes breathe. Peacock takes a solo in similar mode – the emotion conveyed beyond mere technique or considerations of the instrumental avenue chosen, thought matched to heart expressed immediately through the body's skill. Motian gives a brief patter across the kit before the piano returns... Somewhat beautiful...

A track of skidding brilliance. Ornette and Prime Time playing 'City Living' from the live set 'Opening the Caravan of Dreams.' A suitably romantic and utopian name for a venue graced by such a romantic and (impossibly) utopian musician. There is a damaged vulnerability to Ornette's playing armoured by an intrinsic courage that took him from facing early contempt – through facing later contempt and ignorance. To win out... Heartwrenching alto flies through the maelstrom that surrounds him – the clattering guitars and drums - rising free...

I'm coming down slowly after the last few days of insanity – so, something to ease the recovery... Miles playing 'There is no greater love,' backed by the grand rhythm section of the classic Fifties band, Red Garland, Paul and Philly Joe. Miles begins and ends - tight harmon muted stuff - bookending Garland, who comes in to his solo locked hands all the way, slow and bluesy. Dedicated to a special person...

Marilynn Crispell
Marilynn Crispell (p) Gary Peacock (b) Paul Motian (d)
Albert's Love Theme
Download

Buy

Ornette Coleman
Ornette Coleman (as) Bern Nix Charlie Ellerbee (g) Jamaaladeen Tacuma, Al MacDowell (b) Denardo Coleman, Sabir Kamal (d)
City Living
Download

Buy

Miles Davis
Miles Davis (t) Red Garland (p) Paul Chambers (b) 'Philly' Joe Jones (d)
There is no greater love
Download

Buy

Grrr... and double grrr... laptop crash...

Things might be suspended for a day or so while I sort everything out following my main laptop crash last night - it may not be a big problem but until I can figure out whether the power lead or the actual power point on the laptop is the source of the trouble I've had to switch to the travelling machine... most of the files were backed up so no major problem... hopefully... but all the mp3's I had converted/collated for uploading were on it so have to go and redo everything... later...

Return of the psychogeographer... back from the drift...

A belated post... I've been in Berlin (again) and the apartment had no wifi this time... and I was, to be honest, distracted with other things... in the drift... mightily... and the weather has been fantastic... what a town to spend summer in! After some consideration - the beat goes on for a while yet... posting to resume asap... Time for sleep here on God's Little Acre...