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11-piece cover band Stanley Dee perform Steely Dan’s “Can’t Buy A Thrill” in it’s entirety, plus sundry other ‘Dan selections.

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Venue:

The Horns, Watford. WD17 3RL

Date: 29/11/2018

Stanley Dee comprise Cavan as frontman and principal vocalist with Amelia, Katy and Jen backing singers with their own featured spots. Alto and tenor saxes are played by Derek and Paul respectively, trumpet, flugelhorn, 12-string acoustic rhythm guitar and occasional vocals are from Steve, guitar from Darren, keyboards by Keith, bass by Mark and drums by Don. The gig was scheduled to start at 9:30pm and I arrived at about 8:45 as the band were completing their soundcheck, culminating in a repeated run-through of the chorus of “Midnight Cruiser”. The band and the pub’s sound man were satisfied so the band trooped off the pub’s slightly-crowded stage until start time. At 9:30 they were all back and ready to go. It must be said that “Can’t Buy A Thrill” works pretty well as a distinctly front-loaded vinyl album but is problematic as a live performance, played in sequence. “Do It Again”‘s all-percussion intro is not suited to a slightly-rowdy pub crowd but once the keyboards etc. come into play it’s all systems go. The surprise with this outfit’s rendition of the song is that female vocalist Amelia takes the lead, with » Continue Reading.

Information for our Tinnitus sufferers.

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My friend Nic Wray has written this report for the British Tinnitus Association, which might be of interest. Quite a long read but full of information. Perhaps there’s other stuff of interest to you on their page.

Nic has been Communications Manager at the BTA since June 2010. She is responsible for the BTA’s communications online and in print as well as being one half of the PR team. In addition to writing a number of the BTA’s information leaflets, she also edits the BTA’s journal, Quiet and co-edits the Annual Tinnitus Research Review. She sees providing the tinnitus community with information as a key to helping people live well with tinnitus. A graduate of the University of Sheffield, she is an Accredited PR Practitioner.

https://www.tinnitus.org.uk/2018-atrr-five-years-later-what-happened-after-the-james-lind-alliance-tinnitus-priority-setting-partnership

Spotlight On Wind, Brass & Percussion: Philip Glass, Moondog, Angèle David-Guillou

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Venue:

Milton Court Concert Hall, Guildhall School Of Music & Drama, The Barbican London

Date: 05/11/2018

The Guildhall Saxophone Ensemble conducted by ensemble director Christian Forshaw, with Angèle on piano and two percussionists. The 14 saxophonists of the ensemble comprised 3 soprano saxes, 3 alto saxes, 3 tenor saxes, 3 baritone saxes plus a bass saxophone and a sopranino saxophone, with one of the altos, one of the baritones and two of the sopranos doubling on clarinets for one piece. Interesting that out of the fourteen of them, eight were women. All three of the sopranos, one of the tenors, two of the baritones and two of the altos. The ensemble kicked off with a rendition of Philip Glass’s soundtrack music for the film “Mishima”, rearranged from the original string quartet by Forshaw. This was followed by 3 pieces by Moondog, “Dog Trot”, “New Amsterdam” and “Paris” with the addition of a huge bass drum, played by a young woman and a snare drum played by a young man. Angèle joined various members of the ensemble singing on “New Amsterdam” and singing and playing piano with the ensemble on “Paris”. There was then an interval during which the bass » Continue Reading.

My Real Gone Weekend In Letchworth

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Venue:

The Broadway Theatre, Letchworth Herts UK.

Date: 05/10/2018

Friday 5th to Sunday 7th October was the annual Herts Jazz Festival, the 8th one, held this year at the Broadway Theatre & Cinema in Letchworth town centre. Organised by Herts Jazz Club, led by the formiddable team of Clark and Sylvia Tracey. Mostly it was a great venue, seating-wise and sound, but with one major drawback, upon which I’ll comment later. I splashed out for a weekend ticket (£120) to cover all 13 performances.

Further comments below.

The audience:

A high codger quota. Lots of elderly couples. Fairly well-heeled for the most part. A scattering of younger hip-creative types too. Even some teens, though all of them seemed to be with older adults. Lots of muso-talk among the punters. Quiet and well-behaved during performances. Plenty of walking sticks in evidence. a couple of wheelchair users.

It made me think..

Jazz is still mostly oldsters music. Or at least out in the sticks it still is.

Summer’s Gone and It’s The Gigging Season Again

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All the big stars of the northern hemisphere are back from their hols and filling up the enormodomes and their bank accounts. Lesser musical mortals are back from family jaunts to the Costa-packet and are eager to divest you of your spare spondulicks, pounds and pence, dollars and cents. My favourite Steely Dan tribute have a few pub gigs lined up, mostly free entry. Herts Jazz have their new season starting (after a Summer break) Tuesday nights at The Maltings Arts Theatre in St. Albans. Some good nights in prospect there, including Jim Mullen’s organ trio.

Looking at the upcoming schedules for local venues, I’m somewhat in a quandary. Some clashes ahead. On October 2nd it’s the second in a monthly series of open mic nights in Colindale, organised by an old mate. Also a latin jazz quintet featuring 3 local favourites are playing at Mill Hill Jazz Club. On October 7th Georgie Fame & The Blue Flames are on in Letchworth (Herts Jazz Festival) and vocalist Tina May is on in Colindale. My dance card looks pretty full for October and November.

What about youze lot?

» Continue Reading.

Summer Sale: 50% Off All 2017 Releases From Village Green Recordings, For A Limited Period

by 1 Comment

24/08/2018

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4NDOvu_ofFk

A lot of good stuff on this little label. If you like the quieter electronica/acoustic neo-classical sort of listening material, although Soft Error are not that quiet at times, you might find something worth getting here. Moon Gangs, Angéle David-Guillou, Ben Chatwin, Matt Dunkley, Jim Copperthwaite, Soft Error, Ryan Teague, John Matthias.

Yet Another AW Quiz Thread To Rot Your Brains.

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Six Degrees Of Cover Versions.

How does one get from Artist A to Artist Z in cover versions, covers to be all in the same direction, i.e. artist A covers Artist B who covers Artist C.. etc. Items of the kind Artist X covered artist Y who was also covered by Artist Z are not permitted.

First one, to start the ball rolling:

Angélique Kidjo > Hank Williams.

Quatermass And The Pit. On The iPlayer

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I remember watching some of this when it was originally aired. I was a 7-year-old nipper (what were my parents thinking?) and remember being pretty scared by some aspects of it.

Now it’s cited as a classic and a ground-breaker and so forth. I’m going to give it another go and see if it’s really that good. Available for 11 months. Those Afterworders who aren’t resident in the UK may need to resort to nefarious means to view it.

Wonder if we’ll also be getting “The Quatermass Experiment” and “Quatermass II”..

https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/p00trhv3

Discuss..

by 23 Comments

Some life-lessons from 2016. Some have been superseded by reality, but some are eternal truths. In my opinion. Especially Nos. 1, 2, 5, 17, 20, 35, 37, 39 probably, 40 almost certainly.

Further comment on #37: Our UK roads are already full of cars and getting fuller, yet everyone considers it a Rite Of Passage for their kids to get a car and learn to drive it. There is a little shortcut called Bunns Lane in North London between Mill Hill and Grahame Park, favoured by driving instructors, that I was obliged to drive when I was employed and driving a company van. One one journey a few years ago I counted 13 driving school cars in that single road. Guaranteed Total Gridlock in about 10 years, folks, possibly sooner. The common Sci-Fi trope of the driverless car you just call up to get you where you need to get to and then it goes away cannot come soon enough for me. I used to quite like driving. These days I fucking hate it.

https://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/2016/oct/24/dont-floss-peel-veg-wash-your-jeans-40-things-you-can-stop-doing-right-now?CMP=fb_gu

Bad News For Vinyl-Heads?

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Shure have announced that they are discontinuing all phono products, effective from this summer.

“In recent years, the ability to maintain our exacting standards in the Phonograph Cartridge product category has been challenged, resulting in cost and delivery impacts that are inconsistent with the Shure brand promise.” “In light of these conditions, and after thorough evaluation, we have made the difficult decision to discontinue production of Shure Phono products effective Summer 2018.”

If you’re a Shure cartridge user, I suppose now is the time to stock up while they’re still around.

https://www.shure.co.uk/company/press/2018/phono-statement

Early ’60s Pop Wimpiness personified.

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This cropped up on a random play earlier. A big international hit in 1962, apparently. Quite a nice tune, but blimey those lyrics and the sickly singing style. Pass me the sick-bucket. The poor sad soft bugger will not be seeing his teen sweetheart for a whole summer of unalloyed misery. Woe is him.

“Yes, it’s going to be a long lonely summer, but darling I promise you this. I’ll send you all my love every day in a letter. And seal it with a kiss.”

In early-’60s suburban white America you could get away with such drippiness. In Doncaster or Huddersfield I feel expressing such utter wetness would have been seen as good reason to get yourself a kicking.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jcS8CJwHfqI

355 Issues of “Galaxy” Vintage S.F. Magazine Available for Free & Legal Download.

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If you’re a reader of vintage science fiction, this might interest you. I certainly intend to dig in.

From the Archive.org site

Galaxy Science Fiction was an American digest-size science fiction magazine, published from 1950 to 1980. It was founded by an Italian company, World Editions, which was looking to break in to the American market. World Editions hired as editor H. L. Gold, who rapidly made Galaxy the leading science fiction (sf) magazine of its time, focusing on stories about social issues rather than technology. Gold published many notable stories during his tenure, including Ray Bradbury’s “The Fireman”, later expanded as Fahrenheit 451; Robert A. Heinlein’s The Puppet Masters; and Alfred Bester’s The Demolished Man. In 1952, the magazine was acquired by Robert Guinn, its printer. By the late 1950s, Frederik Pohl was helping Gold with most aspects of the magazine’s production. When Gold’s health worsened, Pohl took over as editor, starting officially at the end of 1961, though he had been doing the majority of the production work for some time.

Under Pohl Galaxy had continued success, regularly publishing fiction by major writers such as Cordwainer Smith, Jack Vance, Harlan Ellison, and Robert Silverberg. However, Pohl never » Continue Reading.

A Reminder: Poppy Ackroyd @ Daylight Music, Union Chapel Saturday Lunchtime

by 6 Comments

17/02/2018

Daylight Music #273. They’ve hired a grand piano specially for these artists. Poppy Ackroyd and her new album have already been mentioned on this blog. Have a look/listen to the clip from a previous DM appearance to get an idea of what she does. Other artists on the bill are jazz keyboardist/pianist Charlie Stacey and artist/composer/producer Matt Emery. Clips of them are linked from the Daylight Music Facebook page. In the interludes between acts, Jim Bishop will be playing an assortment of tunes on the chapel’s magnificent pipe organ. From 12:00 until about 2:30pm. Tea, cake and quiche will be available and it’s Pay-What-You-Can on entry (recommended £5). If you’re awake with no other pressing business at that sort of time on a Saturday and in or near London, you might find it enjoyable.

R.I.P. Dennis Edwards, Temptations Lead Vocalist 1968-1976.

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Dennis Edwards, a former singer with The Contours, replaced David Ruffin as lead Temps tenor voice in 1968 after the rest of the group fired Ruffin, who was demanding star billing a la Diana Ross and had taken to travelling to gigs in his own personal limo. His recruitment coincided with a change in the group’s style to what became known as Psychedelic Soul, songs such as “I Wish It Would Rain”, “Cloud Nine”, “Runaway Child, Running Wild”, I Can’t Get Next To You”, “Psychedelic Shack” and “Ball Of Confusion”.

His later post-Temps career included the wonderful “Don’t Look Any Further” with Seidah Garrett.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Jzly6jrepRU

http://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/music/the-temptations-dennis-edwards-dies-rip-music-a8192261.html

Has Pop Music Lost It’s Fun?

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I hope the link for this article isn’t restricted to just the UK.

I mentioned this in passing on another thread here, but I think there’s enough “meat” in this article for us Afterwordniks to chew over a bit.

Various data from various studies cobbled into an article suggesting (or does it?) that standards may have slipped.

Whaddya reckon?

https://www.bbc.co.uk/music/articles/fb84bf19-29c9-4ed3-b6b6-953e8a083334?intc_type=mixedcards&intc_location=bbcmusic&intc_campaign=iplayerfooter&intc_linkname=article_funinpopmusic_contentcard10

Now this is how you do a CD box set. “Cheap Xmas: Donald Fagen Complete”

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All four of his solo albums in replica cardboard sleeves plus a disc of 10 extras, three of them live. All in a robust little clamshell-type box complete with individual booklets for all of the original albums and a fact-sheet for the extras disc. £26.56 from Amazon.

Truly terrible cover photo for both the box and the extras disc, mind you. Donald looks like he’d rather be somewhere else and his apparent lack of a neck is evident. Donald has never been known as one of the handsome ones, but surely Warners could have come up with something better than that.

RIP George Avakian

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George Mesrop Avakian, Գևորգ Ավագյան (Armenian), Геворк Авакян (Russian)

American record producer, artist manager, writer, educator and executive. Among his many achievements, he produced and edited the Golden Era Series of important jazz recordings for Columbia, culled from the original masters of various defunct labels Columbia had acquired. These were sets of ’78s, the original format of the Record Album. He was later closely involved in the launch of the vinyl LP as a musical format. Discogs.com lists 266 production credits for him, mostly jazz but some of the earliest pop albums too.

Born March 15, 1919 in Armavir, Russia. Died November 22, 2017 in Manhattan, New York City, New York, USA.

98 is not bad going.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/George_Avakian

Stumbled Upon.

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I was looking for Brazilian Electronica for KFDs thread and saw a name of a duo who turned out to be Argentinian. I discovered they’d put up some free tracks on the Free Music Archive Site and I started exploring there. Found this under “Jazz” which it almost entirely isn’t, but nevertheless I found myself listening to the whole thing, which if it was a vinyl album would probably be a 4-disc box. My attention wandered at times, but nevertheless there was enough interesting stuff to make it very worthwhile, I thought. Of course you might disagree and call it a right old load of cobblers. Such is your right.

http://freemusicarchive.org/music/Lobo_Loco/My_Scifi_Sofa_Visions/

Musicians Talking About Music

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When they’re not playing music, those musician-types can often be cajoled into talking about the stuff. Sometimes what they say is unintelligible rubbish but you can’t shut the buggers up. Sometimes you get one who’s got interesting things to say. I chanced upon this clip of jazz & funk guitarist Jim Mullen having a chinwag with bassist Phil Chen. I found it not only interesting and entertaining, but also informative. I’d already figured Phil Chen must be of Chinese heritage somewhere along the way, because of his name. Didn’t know he was Chinese-Jamaican.

Maybe you know of an interesting clip of musicians shooting the shit.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pdNBK87VoVo

The Afterword Cheese Challenge.

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The challenge is to name a totally cheesy “so bad it’s actually pretty good” song from your youth that you know all of the words to and can sing along with. The bigger the cheesy topping the tastier the dish, IMO. Mine is yodelling English-born returned-Australian-emigrant easy-listening/country singer Frank Ifield and the first of his 3 successive UK #1s from 1962-3. Now aged 79 he is still, surprisingly, active. At least one fact fiend among us will no doubt already know that he was the first UK-based artist to ever have 3 successive No. 1s. The only previous three-in-a-row chart-topper here was Elvis Presley. Our Australian contingent will probably point out that he was moderately successful “down there” before repatriating “up here” in 1959.

Over to you…

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-xYPg5tIenQ

“Late At The Library: The Radiophonic Workshop And Guests” – an event at The British Library

by 4 Comments

13/10/2017

The Radiophonic Workshop are one of the most influential electronic music groups of all time. As the in-house composers of music and effects for the BBC they created the sonic backdrops for Doctor Who, The Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy, Tomorrow’s World and countless others.

They soundtracked the childhoods of several generations, now they’re back to soundtrack your Friday night with a two part set. The first is a live version of their first studio album for 25 years, the improvised work Burials on Several Earths, with guest collaborator Martyn Ware (Heaven 17, The Human League and BEF). The second is a heritage archive set in which the Workshop perform some of their best known material – including the high water mark of early British electronica – the signature tune for Doctor Who.

Join the Radiophonic Workshop at 18.30 for a special in-conversation event Soundhouses: The Radiophonic Workshop at 60. Tickets include entry to the Late event. Audio installation provided by Bowers & Wilkins Visuals for the night are performed by Obsrvtry, a collaboration between Michael Faulkner, founder of D-Fuse and Ben Sheppee, creator of Lightrhythm Visuals. Guest DJ Tom Middleton (Global Communication)

» Continue Reading.

“The Last Word” – Miles Davis Warner Brothers Box: Get It While It’s Hot (and cheap).

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An 8-CD box comprising the studio albums “Tutu”, “Amandla” & “Doo Bop”, the film soundtracks “Siesta” & “Dingo” and live albums “Live with Quincy Jones At Montreux”, “Miles Davis Live Around The World” & “At The Nice Festival”.

“The package is presented in a stiff black clamshell box with each of the 8x CDs in its own sleeve complete with original artwork. A high-quality 60-page booklet details the history, development and production of all the music, complete with genuinely engrossing & literate essays penned by people like Ashley Khan and Leonard Feather.

The music is all remastered to perfection and the sound (even the live-on-stage stuff) is excellent. At the offer price, it’s a steal.”

I expect it’s available from other retailers, if spending money with Amazon is not your preference.

https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B016E29ZIK/ref=pe_1229711_212818321_em_1p_3_ti