I was driving back to Leamington last night when the regular programme about choral music came up on Radio 3 � normally I switch over from this but the first track caught my ear � a very punchy version on Monteverdi (or music from that time and place). When it was over the announcer explained that this had been the Warwick University Chamber Choir directed Colin Touchin � I had lunch with him a couple of weeks back. He gave some quite encouraging feedback on 10SS and 4 Fifths. Small world etc.

Anyway the sound he got from the choir was really extraordinary - if I get a chance I will ask him how it was done.

I mailed Nick Sinclair Brown an mp3 of him playing bebop at the White Hart circa 1978. He mailed back to say that he had a few tapes of the band � I didn�t know about this. I would really like to hear them and see what can be done to tidy them up.

I had a crack at En Bateau with Margaret Hennesey Brown. This is an early Debussy piece � I think originally for two pianos. A couple of weeks back I got a transcription for piano and flute of this piece in Birmingham. There is a celebratory concert for a new stained glass window in St Mary�s a week next Friday and I asked Margaret if she fancied having a crack at this with me. She liked the idea and so on Saturday I finally managed to get the part through her front door and then yesterday we managed to give the piece about half an hour. Lots of long notes � so there is quite a lot of exposure for the flute � but fortunately the end of the piece is easier than the beginning. Also its semiotics are very direct � it�s a lyrical French flute piece about floating in a boat and so people will be able get the idea of it even if its not perfectly executed.

Margaret and I discussed the harmonically most extreme moment in the piece which is in G � there�s quite a long period in B7 with the occaisional G# - I said I thought the rootless aspect of this came from Faure .

We also listened to the organist do a Bach arrangement of an Organ Concerto - was the original by Vivaldi? Anyway it was really intertesting to hear the Bach but notBach-ness of this endeavour. Some new stops on the organ are being dedicated as well at this event.

Colin Vallance - bassplayer White Unicorn - mailed with some thoughts about SAAT part1.

I wrote about Michael Henderson for SAAT part 2. He moved to Detroit in the early 60s and was some kind of electric bassplayer prodigy. He played with Aretha, Stevie Wonder and Billy Preston before he was 19. At this point he gets a call from Miles who has vowed to get a rockband together which will give J Hendrix a run for his money. Miles tried to get Buddy Miles who has played with JH for the session but Miles wont take the gig and so he uses Billy Cobham. Miles forces Herbie Hancock to play a really grungie Farfisa and J Maclaughlin is on extraordinary form. Miles is in the control room and Jmac is bored so he starts a funky lick in E with fourth chords. Michael Henderson starts bubbling away underneath in James Jamerson style. Miles (allegedly) flies out of the control room where he has been talking to Teo Macero and one of the greatest ever jazz rock tracks is created. For a long while this was Miles� favourite recording. I lent F Frith my copy of this one and he would play it down the big Altec Lansing horns of the Cows new PA. I am sure it did the neighbours good.

Anyway it is an example of Rudy van Gelder's first law of recording jazz - it happens when it happens. (Maybe when I heard Frith Zorn Laswell and the death metal drummer at the Barbican there was a distant echo).