11.36 An eruption of beauty from the Escargot Chewer sent me hurtling fom the Guestbook to see who was delivering this wonderment: Branford Marsalis on soprano sax with the English Chamber Orchestra / Andrew Litton delivering Arabesque No.1. "Golliwogg's Cakewalk" doesn't quite sit with me, and I'm not sure if it's the title or the music. But the title... I have renamed it "Honkie's Cheescake Promenade" in retaliation.
As a young guitarist visiting London, I visited the Clifford Essex music shop in Earlham Street, off Cambridge Circus. This was the home of BMG, the monthly music magazine which I subscribed to from 13 years old. Don Strike, my guitar teacher, belonged to the same period and background as BMG. The Clifford Essex music catalogue & ethos belonged to the blackface minstrel period of the late 1800s through to the 1930s. For this green little Dorset lad to be in the Big City, and at the Clifford Essex shop, was overwhelming. Awe. Chris Spedding worked in the shop for a period, as similarly Andy Summers worked in Minns Music shop in Bournemouth (and both of them were rude to me). But, excitements anyway, as I opened the folders of sheet music to guitar classics of the 1920s & 1930s by Eddie Lang and Albert Harris among others. But the titles of the banjo pieces on the CE list were as startling then as they are now. "Happy Coons" has never quite settled with me, and this was only one of many titles of the same flavour.
I don't know whether the CE catalogue is currently available, and if so whether the titles have been changed. Increasingly through the 1960s, BMG became an anachronism. One of its columnists commented adversely on the playing of long-haired young guitarists. As I was a long-haired young guitarist, I wondered how the length of my hair acted to undermine my playing. Never found an answer to that one.
In 1973 I visited the shop and was asked by a younger employee, who recognised me, if I would contribute to BMG, by then in its death throes. Its core readership had maybe died of extreme post-maturity. I declined, on the grounds of my hair length. Perhaps, as a late honour to the passing of BMG, I should compose a banjo piece - "Thin-Lipped Smiling Whitey"- and submit it to my chum Vernon Reid (respect, respect).
15.59 The Demon Mastelotto, Bill & Ken have arrived for further tickling of the drums electronic and otherwise. Claude the Garlic Biter has been replaced by Rieflin Fripp & Gunn (go to www.firstworldmusic.com for more details). Formal release 9th. November.
16.45 RF&G are powering along with mixed results save two - power & commitment. These guys may not know where they're going, but they know they're going there. Trey commented yesterday that, although I may not want to know it, my soloing on this is rougher but maybe stronger than on the ProjeKcts. Actually, I'm impartial. And right now the guitarist's definitely going for it. But then, so is Drummer Rieflin & Trey the Tapper.
Checking in on Pat: Pat & his engineer buddy Bill Munyon have been taking the "Radical Dance" proje(K)t further in their BPM persona. Pat sent World Central several BPM pieces before I left for Nashville. Stonking little suckers they were, too.
