In Maidstone

Well folks, a bit amiss of me not to do a good morning post. Anyway, I am in Maidstone having finished a sandwich shop visit in Chatham. I just did a laptop visit for another research company and will be doing a cafe visit next.

So I shall catch up with you dear readers later.

In My Local

Decided to do visit six of the eight. So in my local Spoons, having finished the 10 oz Gammon and Eggs option with strong ale.

I know my bro  coming42 loves a gammon and eggs!

Mike Taylor

Home now. Having a coffee and listening to this slowly getting damn rare Cd set -

Neil Ardley - Mike Taylor Remembered (Dusk Fire)





by various artists but people who knew this amiable Brit jazzer.

Mike Taylor was a British jazz composer and pianist, and songwriter. He died tragically young in 1969, leaving very little music behind him. In 1973, several of the people who had known and worked with him recorded an album of Mike Taylor's surviving orchestral music, jazz tunes and songs as a memorial to him and to preserve his work as a composer and songwriter for posterity. These included Jon Hiseman and Barbara Thompson, who knew Mike Taylor intimately and worked on much of this music with him; Ian Carr, who originally introduced Mike Taylor to Denis Preston, who recorded two LPs by Mike Taylor; Neil Ardley, who as leader of the New Jazz Orchestra had directed performances of his orchestral music; Henry Lowther and Dave Gelly, who featured Mike Taylor's music with their own bands; and Norma Winstone, one of the few singers able to sing Mike Taylor's songs.

Denis Preston kindly funded the project and the memorial album was successfully recorded and mixed, but it was never issued. However Neil Ardley kept a copy of the master tape, and this has been transferred to CD to make this characteristic collection of Mike Taylor's music available for the first time.


Collaborators -

Tony Fisher, Greg Bowen, Henry Lowther, Ian Carr (trumpets, flugelhorn) : Chris Pyne, David Horler (trombones) : Ray Premru (bass trombone) : Barbara Thompson (flute, alto flute, soprano sax) : Ray Warleigh (flute, alto sax) : Stan Sulzmann (flute, alto sax, soprano sax) : Bob Efford (oboe, tenor sax, bassoon) : Dave Gelly (bass clarinet, clarinet, tenor sax) : Bunny Gould (bass clarinet, bassoon) : Peter Lemer (piano, electric piano, synthesizer) : Alan Branscombe (vibraphone) : Chris Laurence, Ron Mathewson (bass, bass guitar) : Jon Hiseman (drums, percussion) : Neil Ardley (director) : Norma Winstone (vocal).


Mike Taylor Quartet - Leeway

Enjoy.

Music For Strings and So On

A Cd not played for a good long while -

Béla Bartók - Music for strings, percussion and celesta

Béla Bartók (1881-1945)
Music for strings, percussion and celesta
I Andante tranquillo
II Allegro
III Adagio
IV Allegro molto

Philadelphia Orchestra
Conductor: Eugene Ormandy


Anton Webern - Orchestral Pieces op.6

Webern was very "hot" in 1958 - Columbia had just released its Complete Works set (under Robert Craft), and Stravinsky had paid his respects, Balanchine and Martha Graham would soon make a ballet evening of his work. Some years later Leonard Bernstein conducted the Symphony as well. How much did he like his music? Well, he didn't program these works again. Certainly, he respected the music. And they both championed the music of Mahler.