Rudi

after the rain - john coltrane quartet double score

This morning I awoke tired again. It was my fault I didn’t get to bed early enough. While brushing my teeth I wondered what sort of day I’d be in for. Fridays are usually quiet because few people are onsite. But… when problems do occur on Fridays it becomes manic for the same reason. I then idly wondered what I would say to myself 12 hours from now if I’d had a really bad day. It would be along the lines of; [i]‘don’t go in. Just take a day off. Never mind that you’re using up premium days, just save yourself the stress.[/i]’ Well, it turned out to be a quiet day. However, if it had gone the other way and became manic, I could have said to people later [i]‘You know what? I just knew it was going to be a day like this. I had this premonition about it’. [/i] The point is that I’m glad that I remembered that toothbrush moment, because those thoughts are usually forgotten unless the worst does occur. I think this is probably what happens when people say ‘I knew this would happen’. It’s surrendering to pessimism after the defeat. More importantly it’s a way of lying to yourself, and the more it happens the more credence the lie gets. It’s a sort of dysfunctional form of self protection. To deal with the possibility of failure, I prepare for it by artificially expecting the worst and calling that normality. Behavioural Scientists say that us humans are very good at lying to ourselves. They say we develop habits of self-deception as a way of coping with problems and challenges. It’s as good a reason as any for brushing my teeth regularly. When the bathroom is finally finished I can resume flossing too. More insight? More bleeding gums? Like most bathrooms, it’s white. Why are there no black bathrooms? After all, black tiles would show up white dirt just as well as white tiles show up black dirt.

That Man - Caro Emerald (I nearly went for Money-Pink Floyd but it was a bit obscure)

oh yes. If you really cant bear cheese. here is a solo guitar version by Edigar Montiero of which I am jealous.

This song was written in 1939 by Ary Barroso. It had an 'English' revision by Bob Russell which is better known. I have an endless fascination for this tune & consider it a true masterpiece. For years I mis-remembered it (after hearing the Muldaur version in the film 'Brazil' by Terry Gillian). It's because it has a shifting structure that never goes where you anticipate. Even the opening line sounds like it should be the 2nd line, and before you can get used to that, it plummets into a minor mode and becomes beautifully dark. The accompaniment is mostly made up of chromatic riffs that defy any musical convention I have (or had) known before. Though since hearing more Cuban & other Latin music, I can now see some continuity. Brazil never resolves until the 10th line, which is a hell of a long time to keep tension up. The chords, the metre and the phrasing all conspire to confound what to expect. Even the lyrics mirror that to a certain extent. Here are some of the words: (Bob Russell's re-write I think) Brazil, when hearts were entertaining June, We stood beneath an amber moon And softly murmured someday soon... We kissed and clung together Then - tomorrow was another day The morning found us miles away With still a million things to say. And now, when twilight dims the skies above Recalling thrills of our love There's one thing I'm certain of... Return, I will, to old Brazil. Those words paint a picture, but nothing is solid, everything is implied or open. I also like the way it begins and ends with the title word. Unfortunately, its very hard to find a version that isn't cheezy (Ray Conniff's treatment for example), though even the cheeziest cant fully defeat the attraction of the song. There are of course recordings by artists who dont wear fixed grins. I had high hopes for the duet by Chick Corea and Bela Fleck, but arty examples like theirs dont convey the urgency and enthusiasm (the spirit?) of the song. If you can get past the notion that mine are the ramblings of an old rocker who has lost his way, here are a couple of recordings that are not too bad. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5pn5SpcZWeI Pink Martini https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hRz-M30PcEU Carmen Miranda + Donald Duck (yes really) If this isnt enough, there is also the Kate Bush one https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yVDOrlugfBI Kate Bush & Michael Kamen

I see. Nice performance by George too. The Casino Coupe is a tiny hollowbody. We were all standing at the gig (unlike practices) and there is no way I would attempt to stand playing the Hofner J17. As for the future, I may get the Deuce back in a couple of weeks. I spoke to the luthier yesterday. He has done the essential mods I wanted. Now he will attempt to reconfigure the 2 volume controls into 1 master volume, and then re-jig the remaining one as the coil tap control. I hate the dual controls anyway (they use the Gibson wiring scheme). They never seem to blend & balance properly. I have fond hopes that the Deuce will handle jazz & 'non-jazz' with equal aplomb. However, the little Coupe did sound excellent on all the jazz tunes that night, especially on the slower mellower tunes like That's All & Girl From Ipanema when the sounds had more opportunity to decay naturally. I really enjoyed its sound.

Asia Minor - Kingfish

The Girl From Mill Valley - (Nicky Hopkins lovely tune) The Jeff Beck Group

OK the debut gig was last night. There were some shakey moments but everyone gave a performance (as opposed to just 'playing'). It was enjoyable. I Personally: I lost the guitar signal midway through Stone Cold Sober. It was an intermittent fault and I don’t know the cause! My Instrument leads are old. Maybe one of those?. I use 4 together though, and at £20 quid each it could prove expensive. I have to improve my understanding of some of the jazz tunes. I’m still relying on intuition here & there. The Casino Coupe did well overall. I was a little worried about tuning once or twice. It did great for all the jazz tunes. However, when I went to use a bluesier tone, I had to abandon that due to feedback. I was surprised because 1/ that tone was not very gainy. -just a little more bite. Thats all. 2/ We were playing at quite low volume. The brass were playing without mics. Just goes to confirm the limits of a hollowbody guitar. I suppose. I'll have to reconsider using that guitar. I am not going to stuff it full of foam for a couple of pop tunes.

ahh... thanks for that info

I Got a Line on You - Spirit

Ascension #1 - John Coltrane

Lead me Home - Jamie N Commons

I think this would work well as incidental music in a TV show or movie. It’s a bit too repetitive to be effective as a performance piece or an album track IMPO.

Tenth Ave. Freeze - Out - Bruce Springsteen & The E- Street Band Nerertiti - Circle I like to take my clue from whats written in the title & artist, rather than a study of the lyrics or potted history of the band.

It seems cheap enough. It is a great idea. No use to a dinosaur like me of course. I dont know how to work an Eye Phown.

GIbson seem like some eccentric old uncle, well loved but he lost the plot somewhere a few years back. The zero fret nut was a superb idea, but as you say, not thought through properly. Not sufficiently tested (if at all). Quality wise, some of their guitars should never have passed inspection, but are hanging on dealers walls, ready for us to buy. The Custom Shop stuff is very desirable yes, but I cant imagine taking a 10k L5 to a local gig. I'd be too nervous to take it off the wall let alone use it in a pub; and a guitar you never use is useless. Jazz Band: I took the Casino Coupe to practice last Friday. I've been using it a lot for practice at home. It sounded better than the PRS I took last time. Well, it did for this music anyway. I've pretty much made up my mind to use it at the debut gig on the 20th. That is this Sunday. I'd been using a medium pointed V-Pick with it, but swapped over to a V-Pick Screamer. 'Screamer' is a misnomer if I've ever heard one. Its not as fast as the Pointed, but it produced a subtle, warm, mellow and velvet tone. Even after I had worked through all the songs, I could not stop playing. I just played sequences of single notes very very slowly, just enjoying the sound acoustically. Maybe I should take a back up guitar too?! The Deuce is still at the luthiers. He's had it for over 3 months. Trouble is his wife is sick at the moment and all his work is stacking up. She's more important than a few lumps of wood after all.

At first I thought 'oh good! A buskers guitar'. Then I started to imagine... Drunk nippers on the bus, in car parks, train, or gathered around the newsagents passing the guitar around. The ideas ok. But the potential for abuse of privacy if what troubles me.

Nefertiti - Circle

I cant blame you for being wary. I would be also.

Bang on target Tom. Enjoy that cigar.

Ive seen pictures of it before, but not heard it played. I used to have something similar. A roof aerial. At $4995 and $5995 for these guitars, I'm going to have to pass! I would love to try one though.

Pearl of the Quarter - Steely Dan

No. Maybe that makes sense inside your head, but I'm not in your head.

.... again, .... I am not getting it ....