Yesterday evening Rob and Paul came by � we met up in the Slug and Lettuce and after we had eaten I showed them my digital wonders before we sloped down the hill to another pub. Paul is on crutches � he had been on the piste 20 mins before a Czech snowboader crashed into him and broke his leg. He said it was a good job it was an Austrian mountain. I asked if he had a chance to enjoy the helicopter ride � negative answer. Paul blames the failure of Communism for letting these crazed youths out into liberal democracies.

Up to Coleshill today � between the town on the hill between the Rivers Cole and Blythe. Actually the destination is between Minworth and Water Orton on the River Cole. The more you study these places the stranger they get. The Blythe is the river I see everyday near Hampton in Arden. The Blythe passes between Hampton and Meriden � whose cross at the crossroads is traditionally thought to be the Centre of England. The Blythe runs close by Temple Balsall in the Forest of Arden, given to the Knights Templar in 1162 by Roger de Mowbray � which inspired the following:

The muse of Balsall in her faithful page

Shall celebrate; for long beneath thy roof

A band of warriors gold, of high renown,

To martial deeds and hazardous empire

Sworn, for defence of Jerusalem�s sacred walls,

For Paynim foes and holy pilgrimage

Now other guests thou entertainst

A female band, by female charity sustained.

Apparently the original 12C timbers lie at the centre of the hall � which was refurbished in the late 17C . Looks like there�s some interesting local speculation eg on who Hob might have been as in the (2) Hobs Lanes hereabouts � running through the real Forest of Arden (well there was one in France as well). Then there�s how the imagery in As You Like It may or may not relate to the locale. The Forest is an area bounded by but not crossed by Roman Roads � an aboriginal zone. Anyway I looked for the Temple and didn�t find it � but it was dark � maybe one lunchtime.

On the River Cole � the UK group for the new global automotive quality standard met up. I collected Helen from EMTA at Birmingham International � weather disrupted the journey � I eventually plucked courage to ask her if my research suggestions looked useful.

One project I didn�t include is about what the orchestration means on Travelogue- I think this is one of the big issues of the decade. If I start at the beginning � Otis and Marlenna � a song I have never thought much of � from an album which disappointed � the one after Hejira. The orchestration refers to Italian opera � say Puccini � and of course that reference is a spotlight on the lyrics � it illuminates them from a particular angle. The spotlight is on the distorted and degenerate Europeanism of the Miami hotel:

On the steps of that celebrated dump

Sleazing by the sea

Bow down to her royal travesty

In her ballroom heads of state

In her bedrooms rented girls

I could go on about how well the perspective works � it lifts the song from a �what on earth?� from my Best of JM album to a valid opener on a major opus. This is orchestration as metonym rather than metaphor � say like film music � or maybe like elements of Mahler. (I am not an expert).

At the back of my mind is the thought that you could write the Travelogue and refer across to the way orchestration/instrumentation works in the Drake oeuvre. Hejira would marry Pink Moon. Indeed having set one view of what the voice is doing with all those boys in the band � in Otis � the terms of the rhetoric move on � to a Hejira tune � Amelia. On Hejira its not a gangbang � its Larry Coryell and Jaco P � who are (in the argot) �on� � very very �on�.

I have a soft spot for Amelia � I was reading about it as I flew from Detroit to LA � well Santa Monica to be exact. The abstract patterns of the plains turning into the Colorado Mountains. The guy in the seat next to me asked me about the book � he knew about JM because he was into Georgia O Keefe and JM was a buyer.

Amelia is a long image dense confessional song with limited structure � with two major improvisers and the author that can work perfectly well. It can also work with orchestration � Gaconne � say the 3rd Movement of Britten�s 2nd SQ - some kind of culminating impact � maybe you could even point to the Goldberg Variations.

The strategy is to exploit the way the lyrics work with/against the core structure. Improvisers can do this � so can a good orchestrater � colouring the narrative.

I especially like the bit where she pulls into the Cactus Tree Motel.

One of the big issues is the sound perspective on the percussion � neither of the tunes so far have percussion of consequence � on the originals. But the 3rd track is one which I don�t know in the original � but I do know the orchestration references � in the rhythm section especially � Grady Tate and Georges Duvivier � Oliver Nelson arranging and instead of Smith J we have Preston B at the B3. To say that I am a pushover is to exaggerate my flagging powers of resistance. And indeed it is in this area that Miss M works her magic. The clear parallel is �Poor Boy� � irony and self-mocking with hard edges and serious chops. I had better stop there.

The biggest news is that the first Lullaby arrived from Paul W � I couldn�t ask for a better take-off � you folks are really gonna like this one. As an honorary citizen of Knoxville Tennessee (you think I�m makin this up?) � I really think it�s the business. Paul mentioned something in an e-mail about the golden slumbers moment on Abbey Rd.

Maybe I should mail the lullaby to Ricardo � he has my sympathy.

Lots of new material on www.kwase-kwaza.org