I've always tried to keep my personal and professional life separate, but these days it seems the lines are increasingly blurred. It's no secret that much to my amazement and delight I've become a father again which accounts for my recent sabbatical from the radio.
So, whilst I was reconciled to the idea of parenthood returning to the agenda despite my (ahem) advancing years, I never anticipated..... twins!!!! A double blessing for sure, but that's easily said by those who've never actually experienced the reality of dealing with two wee ones simultaneously! It's relentless, they sleep deprivation is a form of torture but mainly I'm just delirious, doolally and drunk on the delights of nappy changing, cooing, comforting and generally easing the passage of my identical twin boys into this world.
Funnily enough when we eventually arrived home with the boys there was a record shaped package amongst the piles of bills and junk mail which turned out to be my copy of Malcolm Cecil's "Radiance". I've long been fascinated by Cecil's career, as an obsessive devourer of record sleeve credits I eventually pieced together Cecil puzzle from his work alongside Robert Magaloueff with Stevie Wonder, and their pioneering electronic ambient excursions as Tonto's Expanding Head Band, to his production with Gil Scott-Heron And The Isley Brothers, but his solo album from 1981 had so far eluded me. It's very much in the classic T.O.N.T.O style, The Original New Timbral Orchestra being the vast modular synthesiser on which the album is entirely played, (apart from a contribution from Paul Horn's flute on the second track we include in the show). So "Radiance" ended up being the soundtrack to our first days at home with Quincy and Sebastian.... and you know who the former is named after! Ambient music certainly seems the most appropriate for the frayed and dazed days of new parenthood, gentle and slightly surreal, time dissolved into a continuum of caring and getting through.
So maybe instead of my musings about cycling to South London my podcast will become a blog about twin parenthood? Actually I look forward to the day when I can get back to cycling and broadcasting live, and for that matter the days when I can return to my regular work-outs in the pool... of all the things I miss at the moment swimming would have to be top of the list as I tend to think it keeps me sane as much as trim!
Anyway it was fairly miraculous to me that I managed to record a show here at Forge Towers, and I wouldn't pretend it's the greatest radio show I've put together, but under the circumstances I'm pleased with the outcome. There's a healthy balance of ancient and modern, with new soulful sounds from Lucas Arruda, Eric Roberson, Dele Sosimi, Kamasi Washington nestling alongside classics from Doug and Jean Carn, Charles Earland, Deodato and others.
Of course Doug and Jean's rendering of Wayne Shorter's beautiful "Infant Eyes" was an obvious choice even if it was originally dedicated to a baby girl, it has all the tenderness and wonder of life inside the baby bubble. Of course for all the vagaries of sleepless nights and other sacrifices the joys of witnessing a new life are so much greater, unfathomable, therapeutic and profound.
As for the music, well it was definitely therapeutic to get back to my vinyl, and the one advantage of recording the show at home is that affords the opportunity for more spontanaeity. Certainly the last half hour was completely impromptu, other than kicking it off with Nick the Record's rework of a Lincoln Olivetti Brazil boogie nugget, the rest were just pulled out off the cuff. (Which is easy as my twelves are all in the racks behind my decks, whereas the jazz is mainly on the other side of the room!). If I'd been planning a show more meticulously I'd probably thought "better" of playing Level 42's "Starchild" and Deodato's "Whistle Bump", so there you go.
I also particularly enjoyed the start of the show with the Malcolm Cecil segué into an often overlooked version of "My Favourite Things" ( thank you Jean Claude Thompson). As I mentioned on the show I've been reassessing my Charles Earland collection as he is undoubtedly my favourite jazz organist, so expect more buried treasure from the king of the Hammond in weeks to come...Generally to my ears nothing screams "Acid Jazz" more than the sound of a funky organ groove, as that was the dominant sound at the birth of that "genre". So it was to my surprise that when I eventually dipped into the the third disc of the Kamasi Washington album to find that "Cherokee" was very much in that kind of rare groove style. However it must be said that the thing that stands out to me about the vocal tunes on The Epic is that they have something of a "show tune" quality, the melodies are almost archaic on "Cherokee" and "The Rhythm Changes", which is no bad thing.
Of all the new music I played this week, I have to say that having vinyl copies of the Dele Sosimi and Lucas Arruda albums has increased my appreciation of those works exponentially. Of course I'm a vinyl fan, but beyond any discussion about sound quality, what makes an enormous difference to me is that I'm less likely to listen to a file on my main sound system and even though I run my laptop through a nice pair of speakers (in the kitchen), the whole sonic perspective is very different when playing off vinyl on my "semi-audiophile" set-up with my decks. So the Dele Sosimi album which benefits from being recorded in one of London's best analogue studios sounded much mightier from vinyl. As for Lucas Arruda's "Solar", it's a delightful set which owes much to classic Brazilian crossover fusion and soul, and even though it bears his influence quite obviously even Ed Motta is a fan, as indeed am I; a maturing talent for sure.
More musings on fatherhood and music (definitely not) for dad dancing next week. I'm toying with the idea of some specials.... Like shows dedicated to my favourite drummers... Bernard Purdie, Harvey Mason et al, and I think a classic strictly acoustic jazz set is long overdue... Also I'm trying to think of a fitting tribute to my late great colleague Colin Faver who passed away last Saturday after I recorded the show. The man was one of the greatest DJs I've known, so much greater a talent than so many more celebrated names...no doubt he'll be rocking that party on the other side.
Until then as one of my favourite comedians, Dave Allen, used to say "may your God go with you" which i think leaves plenty of room for interpretation whether your religious, agnostic or atheist...your God might well be music.
1. Malcolm Cecil - Sun Song
2. Oliver Nelson - My Favourite Things
3. Lucas Arruda - Vento Sul
4. The Foreign Exchange - Milk And Honey
5. Dele Sosimi - E Go Better
6. Kamasi Washington - Cherokee
7. Charles Wright & The Watts 103rd Street Band - What Can You Bring Me?
8. Charles Earland - Charles 3rd
9. Guilherme Vergueiro - Em Cima Da Hora
10. George Cables - Quiet Fire
11.Malcolm Cecil - Gamelonian Dawn
12. Doug & Jean Carn - Infant Eyes
13. Lucas Arruda - Uma Onda
14. Omar - Get Away
15. Eric Roberson ft. King - Just Imagine
16. Famks - Labirinto (Nick The Record rework )
17. Carly Simon - Tranquilo (Melt My Heart)
18. Airto - The Road Is Hard ( But We're Going To Make It )
19. Level 42 -Starchild
20. Deodato - Whistle Bump
