The wind can be noisy at times. A strong wind will whip the sea into a seething, hissing foam; it will lash the sails of the yachts in the harbour and slap the rigging lines against the mast. Gales will send trashcans clattering down the street and make the trees moan and creak. Hurricanes will…Read more Listening Wind
jazz
Flow
By definition, fluids flow. Steam rises from a boiling kettle, spring water spontaneously cascades down the mountainside. And when you hear a particularly fluid jazz lick you can be sure the band has achieved that indefinable quality of musical 'flow'. It's what all musicians strive for, when the notes spill out without bidding, floating in…Read more Flow
As I Roved Out
I've always thought of oak trees as being quintessentially English. Robin Hood is supposed to have sheltered under the Major Oak in Sherwood forest, King Charles II hid from his enemies in the Royal Oak and the indomitable English navy was built from the wood of that noble tree until the 19th century. But, apparently,…Read more As I Roved Out
Paper Earth
Crotchety Man has nothing to say this week. No words of his could possibly do justice to this spine-tingling performance by Bent Knee and the Boston Conservatory Percussion Ensemble. Just watch this video and be transported to a happier place for the next 30 minutes. https://www.youtube.com/watch?time_continue=1834&v=LGNZePMJ8XM BENT KNEE - Paper Earth (Live 2018 / Full…Read more Paper Earth
Juniper
Newsflash Elbow's Magnificent (She Says) wins the Ivor Novello Award for Best Song Musically and Lyrically. Crotchety Man commented, "I told you it was destined to be a classic". And in Other News Continuing the Welsh theme, for this Track of the Week I have chosen Juniper by the Cardiff jazz and trip hop band, Slowly…Read more Juniper
Green and Orange Night Park
A post on my Facebook page this week linked to this page on the DGM Live website. It reports that Keith Tippett is recovering from a heart attack and pneumonia and will be unable to work for the foreseeable future. Some of Keith's friends in the music business are doing what they can to help…Read more Green and Orange Night Park
A Humdrum Star
For as long as the human race has existed we have tried to understand our place in the universe. It's a question that goes beyond "where are we?" to the deeper mystery of "who are we?". And scientists have given us some of the answers. We find that we live on an insignificant planet of a…Read more A Humdrum Star
Girdik
We entered the draughty hall in silence. "What do you think 'Diz?", I said to my companion. He looked up at the vaulted ceiling and gazed for a moment at the stained glass windows. He paced down the aisle and stepped up onto the stage. He clapped his hands, twice; the sound bounced back at…Read more Girdik
The Black Rock
March came in with an icy blast here in the UK. We had 10 - 20 cm of snow, much of the country's transport system ground to a halt and some unfortunate motorists got stuck on a Scottish motorway for eight hours. It was all due to "the beast from the east" - a weather…Read more The Black Rock
A Kaleidoscope of Rainbows
Before we get into the new year in earnest here's a belated Album of the Month post originally scheduled for December 2017. The album in question is called A Kaleidoscope of Rainbows and it was one of my first forays into the hinterlands of jazz. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ImHQwOKyL5s I must have bought this record in the late seventies…Read more A Kaleidoscope of Rainbows
Crotchety Man 