Some previously unreleased Coltrane 4tet tracks � from just before the Acension sessions - a fortnight before. They are on Impulse for �10 and an absolute snip. I bought the CD yesterday in the record shop that persuaded me that Leamingtom might be good to stay in. The shop also has some Buffet flutes � French made- going quite cheap � I tried one. I am looking for a second flute. Its crazy I have several gtrs and only 1 flute.

This CD was recorded on 16 June 1965 � quite close to the time those VU demos were done (I was taking my O levels). The really interesting thing is that Trane does some double tracking � on soprano. This is the only example ever of Trane doing this that I have come across � and I can�t understand why they don�t make more of it. My first impression is that it�s a very interesting sound � a slowish line with a non standard scale � with unusual acoustic properties � not a million miles from eg adding electric viola. But you have to look at the recording in its full context.

A month later he does the only performance of A Love Supreme in Antibes � and of course he has less than 2 years left to evolve. These recordings � the cluster of this session/Ascension/Antibes are the first after the Love Supreme sessions in December 64.

It�s the point at which all kinds of artists are appreciating the power of the studio � the Beatles are the obvious case but there are plenty of others � including Miles. Trane is obviously experimenting � here as elsewhere. The session in two weeks time is a big experiment � a big step in the direction of abstraction � it takes a performance direction rather than a recording direction. That�s an interesting outcome � it takes him back to the ethnic community � not into the white record buying community. Think of all the interesting and innovative records that get made between 1965 and 1967 � including the early Reich and Riley stuff and the Dead, Zappa Beefheart.

But here is a track where he flirts with a different model � and it sounds like me it could have had a lot of potential. And there are issues in common � say between multi-party simultaneous improvisation and the more considered thing you get when you work off a recorded track.

A world changed by blogging � well by the discovery of the term. I was looking for online reviews of Travelogue just to see what was being made of it in general. I came across a site with a good review which sees itself as a place for a self selected elite set of artistic bloggers � if you want you can link your site in . Anyway I left some extra comments. The review coined the term �art jazz� � people who like jazz in the 60s and then write art songs with a jazz orientation. The review suggests that Miss M has returned to / or finally realised her art-jazz roots. It makes the obvious links with Nick�s work too .

I was struck by what Gilbert said about Fruit Tree. For me it�s the B-section that has got all the musical drama � and I genuinely think that�s a point where you can hear in the line the fact that he listened to a lot of Trane � he thinks a line he can�t deliver that well � that would sound great on a tenor with no vibrato. And of course whats in that B section is the real meat of the song � well in my view. The A section is not that far say from Hampstead Incident � Donovan arranged by John Cameron (not my father - another one). Hampstead is more �mingus mellow fantastic� � but you could say that was a major move to define art-jazz � the words set an agenda � and the agenda is picked up by Joshua Rifkin who actually does that song with Judy Collins � I think on In My Life. So when Kirby R comes along the artistic space is pre-defined. This isn�t to say that he copies every one else � but the idea is there. Folk Baroque guitar with chromatic minor bass and syncopations � say starting from Angie � and then as per Rifkin and Cameron adding strings - with rich and allusive lyrics � a cool stance � maybe derived from the symbolism of the way Getz Baker Desmond Lester Young play and of course some jazz harmonies. For my money the middle 8 of Fruit Tree pushes the genre on � but I wont repeat myself on that point.

I suppose the other reference in art-jazz has to be to the Miles Davis Capital 9 piece � the one that made The Birth of The Cool in 1949 � with Konitz and Mulligan � plus a tuba and fr horn � arrangements by John Carisi, Gil Evans etc. On this basis you can say that Robin was destined for this genre given that she was a girl within walking distance of the Lighthouse where the LA musos into this approach got together to blow on Sundays.

When Laurence talked me into getting the Rolling Thunder CDs I didn�t realise that they had just come out and that are volumes 4 and 5 from the Bootleg Series. Some writers think you can take the the Bootleg series and match them against Travelogue � if you want 2 monuments to the whole enterprise � eg for your desert island � then those are the ones � one female and more structured - the other male and mercurial.

Actually the shop where the CD came from has another music shop nearby. I went in because they had some cute Danelectro guitar combos in the window which I hadn�t seen before and then I got talking to the guy about an interesting synth. He plays one and showed it off to good effect � its an entry level to a slightly non standard company � not Yamaha or Casio � and I could hear the design philosophy coming through in the patches � and for the money very good value. Anyway they have Chinese made flutes for just under �200 and I had been wondering about one. I had a bit of a blow � and we ended up exchanging numbers. He is the son of the owner and he is a pro � teaching and doing I suppose you could call them functions. We talked a bit about the now defunct jazz cellar just up the road.

He said � oh people just don�t play the flute like that now. I explained how I was stuck with the instrument at 11 � but there was this other stuff around that got my attention. I particularly mentioned the Jimmy Smith big band stuff because I know its still played in clubs � and if he teaches keyboards he will be aware of major innovators and popularisers. I explained that the closest hip stuff to the flute to copy when I was a teenager was the Jimmy Smith solo lines and that was what I built on � I could have gone into BB King but I didn�t want to bore him. (It just occurred to me that maybe that was what was going on when I played that time with Graham Bond).

Anyway he took my number and gave me a card. He hadn�t heard of John MacCartney � the bass player who lives nearby � I explained to him that John had been taught by someone who studied with Lennie Tristano. Well that�s a band � all we need is a gig. But that�s the hard part. This guy obviously has to think of his livelihood and I would guess doesn�t go out for less than �250 � if he wants a decent standard of living. Anyway I mentioned the D-horn to him which would add a bit of extra spice. Who knows.

So � this afternoon we did that old strategy thing � Graham my boss chaired � there was Keith (Beefheart interviewer) and Stefan (ELP completist) � and from the younger generation ROC (Coventry supporter) and Steve (Kilimanjaro project leader) plus a stock of biscuits and cakes. We did the vision, key points arising, stakeholder priorities and some outer limits on a critical issue. Then we did the institutional landscape and a two level filtering � so we listed all the key organisations then we all picked 5 of these and then we narrowed down on the orgns that got 3 or 4 votes and then we looked at the relationships with those handful of organisations and pulled out some strategic issues. The whole point of a strategy process is to find and agree some strategic issues and then set a path which makes sure you work on them. We did OK and by the end of it I was tired rather than bored which is always a good sign. I also had several pages of notes and a big job allocated � an ideal picture of the most beneficial funds flow � we are talking $15bn here � I expect you think this is vainglory. But no � we think we have the essence of it to such a degree that we are going to tell Clarke C where he is going wrong with the big bucks.

I also have a new going home algorithm � drive to the navel of England � select a road from the crossroads and try to get to Kenilworth � or at least try to get a pub which is as good as the one in K.

The big issues in the landscape are sorting out the Medieval routes from the later overlay arising eg from railways and motorways � or even enclosure � the drainage patterns and the relationship to the main �sub Pennine ridge�. If you want to hack the Forest of Arden there are worse ways to do it.

Anyway I didn�t stop at the Bear in Berkswell but went to Kenilworth and had a couple of Old Warwick as I unwound over the Winter copy of Modern Painters especially the article on fashion and art � maybe more of this tomorrow.

Am I gonna keep on about Travelogue � well I am afraid I am still stuck on Side 1. Today�s thought is from Aldous Huxley � suppose it really is the case that music is the medium through which serious contradiction is reconciled. Well quite simply � she has picked up that challenge � and said yes � suppose AH is right � what might my songs sound like under that interpretation? And the test case has to be her setting of Job. If you want a reason take J seriously � consider that the Angel who sets God up to give J grief is called Satan. See how many people can give you a coherent explanation of that.

Talking of AH � in our final year at Hoggwarts - we had the mescalin flown in from southern Ca � whoops maybe I shouldn�t have said that.