Seb Palmer

Wow! This is so good. George Benson is incredible. Not just a great guitarist, great singer, or even just great musician. He’s also a great storyteller, and clearly a great human being.

I recall, when working for Drummer magazine, interviewing several drummers. George comes over here like Omar Hakim did, when I interviewed him. Eloquent, loquacious, just a plain pleasure to talk with and listen to. Full of passion for his art, and loaded to the gunwhales with great stories, wit and wisdom.

It’s so refreshing how open and humble he is. In fact, it’s astonishing. He’s like a force of nature, somehow. And a bit of a sage. He can be simple, and bluesy, or complex and philosophical. In speech and thought, as well as musically.

I’ve loved Benson since childhood. Thanks to a copy of In Flight that my parents had kicking around, back when I was a kid. Watching this I just want to dig deeper into his catalogue. Maybe explore his Jack McDuff stuff?

I loved this interview so much I posted the following comment:

Wow! That’s hands down my favourite musician interview ever. Seriously. 

I’ve loved George Benson and his music since childhood. Thanks to a copy of ‘In Flight’ that I grew up with. His version of The World Is A Ghetto is one of my favourite recordings EVER. The synergy in the ensemble is beyond brilliant. 

Rick, you do a great job of both prompting George, and yet - as Benson himself says, when talking about musical sensitivity, - keeping out of the way. Well done! 

And George… what can we say, but we love you. A great singer, a great guitarist, a great musician, a great storyteller, and an all round great human being. 

Incredibly accomplished, and yet so disarmingly open and humble. What a great example! Qualities like love and humility are undervalued in our times, and George Benson exudes these like a boxer produces sweat. Like his music, greatness and goodness seem to flow from him. 

I don’t usually go in for ‘gushing fanboy’ type comments. But I was blown away by this wonderful interview. Thank you Rick. Thank you George! We love you ♥️

Rick plays a few snippets of Benson’s playing and singing during the interview, including some of the unison guitar and vocal stuff from the above rendition of On Broadway.

The lyrics (my italics) fit Benson like a glove:

They say I won't last too long on Broadway
I'll catch a Greyhound bus for home, they all say
But they're dead wrong, I know they are
'Cause I can play this guitar
And I won't quit til I'm a star on Broadway

Before watching it, I texted a link to the interview to my jazz guitarist friend, and fellow Beato watcher, Pat. After watching it I texted again:

It's hands down my favourite Beato thing. George is an absolute legend. He's as good a storyteller as he is guitarist/vocalist. And that someone as hugely talented and successful as he is can also be so open, down to earth and humble!? Beyond brilliant, in my opinion. And GB is 81!!! But still has the zesty lust for life of a wide-eyed kid. I think he's touring the UK this year. I'd love to see him perform. 

Ok, so Miles’ Ascenceur pour l’echafaud and the above arrived today.

At the time of commencing this post disc one is playing, and has just reached the last track of Hip Harp,‘There’s a Small Hotel’.

A constant throughout these superb session, so far, as well as the absolutely adorable Ashby, is Frank Wess, pretty much exclusively on flute (he played sax as well).

The combo’ of harp and flute is just perfect. And both Ashby and Wess are fantastic musicians, never running out of fresh improvisatory moves.

And the rhythm sections – bassists Wendell Marshall, Eddie Jones and Herman Wright, and drummers Ed Thigpen, Art Taylor and Roy Haynes – are all top notch guys, meaning the whole ensemble, however constituted, is always steamin’!

Sadly the sequencing over the double CD set interrupts the flow of third album, In A Minor Groove. But whilst having to change disc may be a minor irritation, the music remains a major triumph.

The mix of standards (not so standards) and originals flows seamlessly. So Ashby proves herself not just brilliant a melodist, soloist and accompanist, but also a superb composer/arranger. The full package.

Five tracks from Soft Winds are also included, meaning another six tracks from that album are left out.

We had a little snackette/starter, of oriental steamed duck dumplings. With some kind of sauce. Lovely!

That was delicious. Almost as mouth watering as Dorothy and co.

Some readers (that’ll be me, then) will know I love the colour green. So get a load of this green vinyl edition of the already gorgeous In A Minor Groove. Too much, baby!

As I drool over the groovy greenery, CD two plays: the remainder of In A Minor Groove, all of her eponymous fourth album, and the five selections from Soft Winds.

After the fifth track on disc two, Frank Wess disappears from the mix. But despite this, at no point does the superb quality of music dip.

Whilst talking Wess, listening to these terrific recording inclines me towards exploring his recorded legacy further… and would t you know it? There’s a Frank Wess ‘Four Classic Albums’ set, also by Avid.

Tempted? Of course! With sidemen such as John Coltrane (Wheelin’ & Dealin’), Paul Chambers, and the Two Kennys (Clarke, drums; Burrell, guitar)? It’s a no brainer.

We went to Tesco, and then I took Teresa for a country road jaunt, as she hadn’t spent any time in Flo’ before today.

On our way home it got a bit Biblical, rain wise. But the sun was also out, in places. The result? A fabulon rainbo’! As pictured above.

Once we are almost home the rainbow had mostly varnished into thin air. But there was a fast fading ragged remnant. I snapped it, just as the last bit disappeared.

Awful pic! I zoomed in and fiddled with settings to try and bring it out a bit better.

As rubbish as my photos are, it was still lovely to see the rainbow, and take Teresa out in Flo’. I got us both to make a wish upon the rainbow. Silly, perhaps? But I couldn’t care less!

Teresa mentioned that she’d heard it was Tom Baker’s birthday today. I thought I’d see if it was/how old he is. Turns out he’s 90. And his birthday (acc. to Wikipedia) is Jan 20th.

I’d gotten used to seeing him looking a bit chubby, like this:

He appears to be wasting away, as a nonagenarian. It’s a bit alarming!

Bake era Doctor Who is the only iteration of the franchise I can abide. And one of my favourite Tom Baker themed things is his excellent autobiography, Who On Earth Is Tom Baker.

In this book, his time married into the Wheatcroft family is very vivid and memorable. Sadly for all the wrong kind of reasons. I wonder if his wife Anna’s father, Harry, was any kind of influence on Baker’s Dr Who?

I put my beloved Impulse Tee back on today. And what should pop up in my Amazon feed, but this:

Available in two physical formats: vinyl (£160!), or CD (£12-20).

This compilation – on four records or two CDs – appears to be not just a celebration of Impulse! as a Jazz label, but Afro-American ‘consciousness’, as well.

I’m seriously tempted get the CD version. But I have to reign in my music buying. As poverty is a very real issue, alas.

A while back I had a pretty heavy Alice Coltrane phase. Still love her music. Just not listened to much recently. Instead, I’m getting my jazz harp fix from Dorothy Ashby.

The above linked YouTube video, the complete Fantastic Jazz Harp of Dorothy Ashby, is great. And I have a double CD on its way to me that collects four of her early albums (and the best part, but alas not all, of a fifth).

Fantastic is playing as I type this. And it’s aptly named. Of course Dot’s harp is the star attraction. But I was also blown away by the bass player and drummer on these recordings.

Bassist Richard Davis is a monster! I didn’t know this until listening to this album prompted me to dig around a bit, but… he’s the bassist on Van Morrison’s Astral Weeks!

And the drummer is Grady Tate… nuff said!

Percussionist Willie Bobo adds to the engine room grooviness. And numerous cuts feature a four-piece horn section, comprising only trombones!

Five of the ten cuts on this disc are Ashby originals. The five covers range from pop to ‘trad arr’. All the material is wonderful.

Maybe one day, when I’m a bit more flush, I can get this:

The above New Land deluxe 6-LP boxed set With Strings Attached is about £200! But it looks well worth it, to my mind (and ears). I’d best get saving.

YouTube, meantime, has moved on, and is now playing this:

… which appears to be Dot in solo mode. And it’s utterly sublime! I initially felt a bit dismissive of this album, purely on the basis of it being a later recording (1984). And maybe the cover art? Well, I was mightily mistaken.

Django… Misty, and Concierto de Aranjuez were Ashby’s last releases. Both coming out on the Philips label in 1984. She died in 1986, aged just 63!

It’s funny how stuff can sometimes take a while to connect. I got an mp3 only version of Dorothy’s Afro-Harping many moons back (over a decade ago). And I loved it. But I didn’t dig any deeper at the time.

And then came my fairly intense period of listening to and loving Alice Coltrane. And still I didn’t check Dorothy out any further.

It was really down to her stuff – specifically 1969’s Dorothy’s Harp – popping up in my YouTube feed recently, seemingly at random, that I finally made a deeper connection.

And then I find out that only last year, UK label New Land put out their deluxe reissue set… synchronicity, eh? But only on vinyl. And super expensive.

I utterly adore Uncle Walt’s Band. Their eponymous 1974 debut (originally released as Blame It On The Bossa Nova, but retitled for the extended 2019 Omnivore label reissue) is just terrific.

I just ordered a cheap used copy of their next album, An American In Texas, via Amazon. It’s another expanded Omnivore re-release, which adds the music from their formerly cassette only 6-26-79, and a number of live tracks.

I found a great article on the group, and the careers of the individuals involved, that you can read here.

I’m just starting a new book – Trafalgar, The Men, The Battle, The Storm – and in it I have learned of a small Royal Navy boat, called HMS Pickle.

This has a certain resonance for us, as my niece Sofi is nicknamed Pickle!

I thought I’d look into this funny little coincidental connection. And quickly discovered that HMS Pickle is, or was, evidently a famous and well loved little ship.

There’s a book about her. You can buy models of her – some very expensive! – a seaworthy replica has been constructed, and there are these two videos:

There’s even a Pickle Night! Which I hope might tickle our little Pickle?

Click here to visit the Admiralty Ship Models website’s page on their HMS Pickle (pictured above). Just shy of £700!

Why so celebrated? Well, because she was the swiftest ship in the fleet, present at Trafalgar. And as such was charged with taking home the news. News of triumph and tragedy:

‘Sir, we have won a great victory, but we have lost Lord Nelson!’

… so spake Lieutenant John Lapenotiere, commander of the Pickle, on his return to Blighty.

I’m watching a snooker match from the recent (or current?) Riyadh tourney. I think the introduction of the golden ball is, at least as it’s currently being done, really stupid.

I googled the subject and found this:

If a 147 is possible in the frame, the Golden Ball will remain on the table. If a player completes a 147 maximum, he will then have the chance to pot the Golden Ball to complete the 167. Once a 147 is no longer possible, the Golden Ball will be removed from the table, until the start of the next frame.

In my view – not that there’s any need to add a golden ball at all (I wouldn’t bother, personally) – if you are going to have it as a way to extend the 147, don’t have it cluttering up the table and wrecking game play by being there from the beginning of each frame. Only put it on the table once a 147 has been achieved.

But as I say, I think it’s a crap idea anyway. Saudi Arabia’s isn’t a very morally sound culture. At least as far as I’m aware. And this idea is rather a crass thing, I think, in a country of that sort.

But I’m going to watch this match – O’Sullivan vs Higgins – anyway. See how it pans out. So far Ronnie is thrashing Higgins!

Some time later…

Po’ John! Ronnie utterly thrashed him. I think the only points he scored were from a four point foul!? Higgins didn’t pot a single ball. That must’ve been awful for him? Ronnie, on the other hand, was sublime. Getting a century in every frame.

I don’t mean to boast, but I have an 18”er! Actually that’s small. We’re talking bass drums.

I also have a pretty fab’ Jojo Mayer bass drum pedal. And I have a Mapex brand bass drum riser. To help lift the dinky little kick drum up a wee bit, so that the beater hits closer to the middle of the drum head.

Alas, this riser design doesn’t mate or marry that well with many (any?) of my bass drum pedals. As can be seen in the pic at the top of this post, the clamps on my Jojo pedal can’t get much purchase on the riser plate. They’re obstructed by flanges that are part of the riser’s design.

My solution? File these flanges back a bit. See if that helps. Well, it does. To a degree. But I’m not all the way there yet, to a satisfactory solution.

Why not? ‘Cause the black rubber cushion (on the pedal), which usually protects the drum hoop, now clamps onto the riser, and the equivalent rubbery parts of the riser don’t fully overlap.

I’ve also realised that there are, for me, some issues, even with this ‘super-pedal’, designed by the awesome ‘super-drummer’ that is Jojo Meyer.

Let’s look at what they are:

First – and for me this might also be the most annoying – the single square-headed drum key adjusted attaching mechanism.

For one thing, it’s positioned on the collapsible pillar. When the pedal is collapsed, you can’t fix it to the hoop or riser. Once erected – well, at all times (but only once up will it secure the pedal to the bass drum hoop) – the pillar gets in the way of tightening the square headed bolt!

[Having said this, I can see the point – and a very good point at that – in locating it where it is. In theory, if/when it mounts satisfactorily to your bass drum, you can, thereafter, take it on and off without the need to adjust the bolt. Simply by collapsing the pillar.]

Second, it tightens on just one side, as opposed to both sides or centrally. So inevitably there’s ‘racking’, meaning the side with the screw is tighter than the opposite side.

I’d also have preferred the footboard to have been a single piece longboard, rather than the sort it is, with a hinged heel plate. Longboards allow for both playing the pedal with the foot lower down the footplate (more travel for less work), and an increased efficiency if/when using heel-toe techniques.

But, strangely enough, they sell it on exactly this issue, as being better than your everyday kick pedals (see screenshot).

I wonder if they’ll address these things in future models? Maybe they already have?