Lts start with a postcard on the great British tradition of sculpture circa 1980:

�We are unhealthy, middle-aged, dirty-minded, depressed, cynical, empty, tired-brained, seedy, rotten, dreaming, badly-behaved, ill-mannered, arrogant, intellectual. self-pitying, honest, successful, hard-working, thoughtful, artistic, religious, fascistic, blood-thirsty, teasing, destructive, ambitious, colourful, damned, stubborn, perverted and good. We are artists.�

Oh I missed out the first four words they are: �Gilbert & George say:�

I�d say G&G are pretty much on target .

From the Serpentine along with a couple of postcards of Cindy Sherman film stills and one of John Cage�s �Music for Marcel Duchamp�.

Keith and I had made a little foray down to Middle Aston in the Cotswolds on Wednessday . We thought we did OK � and so on top of the injection from the Funk Brothers I suddenly decided to celebrate with some affordable CDs .

One of the most approachable was recorded in December 1964 in New Jersey � yet again its Rudy van Gelder showing that when it comes to recording jazz it happens when it happens and he�s usually there. In this case on a set of Wayne Shorter compositions played by an approximation to the Miles Davis 5tet which WS had just joined.

Miles� place is taken by Freddie Hubbard with whom WS played in the Art Blakey band and who went on to play on Ascension. When Miles was in retirement in the second half of the 70s, FH looked as if he was going to take up his crown..

(I saw the 5tet with FH in the Miles role was (VSOP) when it toured in the early 90s after Miles died - a kind of memorial tour � very moving and in fact the last time I heard Tony Williams play.)

This CD also has Elvin Jones on drums instead of Tony Williams. 6 months earlier WS recorded with the rest of the Coltrane 4tet. I think this lnewly acquired CD may have the edge.The recording is about six weeks before the Miles 5tet recorded ESP which kicked that band into the stratosphere of jazz history. Everyone seems to be in the mood.

Several CDs relate to the Detroit music scene around 1970. Whats Going On was the last major Motown CD recorded in Detroit before the corporation moved to LA. The there�s last MC5 album recorded about the same time � another Detroit termination . They say this is the best of their three albums � it sounds pretty good to me � maybe a bit like Exile on Mainstreet. Finally there�s a Parliament compilation. They seem to be the continuity. They gigged with MC5, its said Norman Whitfield stole some of their licks to fuel his psychedelic soul masterpieces and they were an inspiration to the young Derek May, both in terms of instrumentation and ideology.

There;s an interesting interview with a member of MC5 at: http://www.divinerites.com/in_thom1.htm

Louise � who James met in Moscow � is staying. Yvonne has gone to Birmingham to do a course related to her new job in the unit which supports visually impaired pupils at the school Vita goes to. So I am minding the house. The primary school that Louise went to seems to be the place where I learned improvisation and arranging in 1967/8.

Tomorrow James and Louise are going to Oxford. Then next week they are flying to Berlin where Louise spent some time as a child. What a life. Mustn�t grumble � on Friday someone asked me if I wanted to go a conference in Milan at the beginning of December.