Now it is time for Tyner. Italian edition (so really cheap) of late 70s double album. Two trio dates - the first with Carter and Williams, the second with Gomez and DeJohnette. An embarrassment of riches.

Seriously… I would have fired the photographer. But anyway; Bley majors on Fender Rhodes with some synthesizer. Holland and Altschul in support. Material mostly from Carla Bley and Annette Peacock. On Milestone. Could be interesting.

First of today’s finds, all of which are jazz and nearly all piano led. This 1978 Andrew Hill LP of two side-long solo improvisations is on Artists House. Always nice to find things on this label. I have included his liner notes in the ALT.

I🧡 JC

Music for 12 musicians in a semi-improvised framework… superficially not unlike Ornette’s Free Jazz as it opens with similar textures. Never warmed to this sleeve.

John Coltrane | Ballads Alternative sleeve.

Also found this today. One from the series I had not come across before. Might be a useful study-aid.

Tuesday lunchtime charity shop pick-up with added fringe inspiration.

Saturday. Teatime. Dad’s house.

Would you like to watch Mark Linkous showing you the black ‘68 Dodge Charger he has parked in his Virginia yard? Thought so. youtu.be/hKkjdbyIhmM?...

Another result of today’s lunchtime perambulation. 1980’s French press of some early Hubbard.

A brace of cute Pelicans. Left, UK 1958, in-depth appraisal of Knocky Parker and Zutty Singleton, yet not a single mention of Miles. Right, US 57/59 New Yorker articles, heralds the birth of the Avaunt (sic) alongside contemporary reviews of Mingus, Rollins, Miles… Different language. 💚

Swerve.

Five amazing gigs with five+ amazing women that I have seen… Kath Bloom Maria McKee Anohni and The Johnsons Ezra Furman The Breeders Encore; PJ Harvey

Introduce yourself with five concerts you’ve seen: Songs Ohia Lou Donaldson Electrelane Beta Band Mark Lanegan Encore; The Necks

Digging my own crates.

Go!

What I do in the afternoons when I should be working.

Unexpected loaf* on floor pile. *most beautiful cat in the world

More Sunny Ade, here “In the heart of Great Britain” with his Green Spot Band. Recorded at Abbey Road. In the dictionary, under mellifluous, it should simply say Sunny Ade. So good.

The original 1974 version of Syncro System. This is slower (languorous even, stretching to the full length of the first side) than the crossover version from 10 years later. Brilliant if somewhat war torn sleeve.

Peace.

New flowers; first of the year. 💚

“You gotta be mine we take it away It's gotta be night and day just a matter of time And we got nothing to be guilty of Our love will climb any mountain near or far we are And we never let it end We are devotion And we got nothing to be sorry for Our love is one in a million” Perfection. 💚

This feels like my pace this morning.

One September Afternoon, on a January Evening.

At Wilmot Gallery, Brighton.

Perhaps we’ll choose from another cube…

No. 1 was never in any doubt. The rest can shuffle on any given day. www.theguardian.com/culture/2026...

Seriously good.

I recently came by some books that had previously belonged to a gentleman who built a scale model of Worcester Cathedral in his garden. All Batsfords, so they will settle nice and be cherished in the collection.

“This recording is for relaxation, and may cause drowsiness. It is not recommended for use while driving or operating machinery.” Kay Gardner : A Rainbow Path. The wonderful sleeve illustration is by Gina Halpern.

💚

Took a chance on this in Oxfam and very glad that I did. Icelandic deep listening with some gorgeous textures. Kira Kira : Feathermagnetic

This compilation was released 40 years after the original recordings were made. A further 60 years have gone around since. Yet the music remains timeless. Charlie Poole, Posey Rorer, and Norman Woodlieff. Poole himself was born in 1892.

While you were sleeping. 💚

Now something else.

I am fascinated by school music LPs. Found this one today. Recorded in 1979 at a school in Romford and it really is excellent. I have put more in the ALT about their music programme. The school closed in 1990.

Also from today. Unofficial Russian Dinah compilation. Nothing unusual in the track picks, but an interesting oddity. The label claims it is DMM but I’m taking that with a pinch of salt.

Two French colonial (I think) 10”s today. The yellow one is simply titled Vietnamese Song (or perhaps Songs of Vietnam). Very charming in its way. Track one is a paean to the joy of building new roads, or it perhaps a metaphor for revolution… either way they both have very pretty sleeves.

It was not all Schlager-funk, you know. This was in the same box. Anita Ellis, ghost-voice of Gilda. This is a wonderful New York musical concept album of songs with spoken interludes.

First charity shop pick up of 2026. Crikey, where do you start with this! Like Spinal Tap meets Boney M at the Blake’s 7 fan club AGM.

We want the media and politicians to recognise that there is a large number of women who are supportive of the trans+ community. We call on them to report truthfully about the sources of violence against women and to address the systems that perpetuate harm. notinourname.org.uk/petition/not...

This is beautiful and heartbreaking in equal measure. A fascinating insight into the working practices of both Jason Molina and Steve Albini. youtu.be/fDaEb-7pEPQ?...

Xian teenage folk opera from Epsom that combines music, singing, dance and mime. Some really lovely vocals with electric guitar and flute backing. Worth finding if you like obscure early 70s female led folk rock.

Viguen Derderian, the Iranian “Sultan of Jazz”. Unable to nail down exactly which album this is or when it was recorded - though it is probably a U.K. 1982 version/release. I have discovered that after he left Iran in 1971 and settled in the U.S., he appeared in the TV series Mission Impossible.

First new book of the new year, and in an odd way the third of an unconnected trilogy of fictional works by favourite non-fiction authors; other recent reads being Scaffolding by Lauren Elkin & Bring the House Down by Charlotte Runcie. Both excellent. This begins on the steps of Tate; then Venice…

Starting 2026 picking up where I left off with that little batch of tapes. This one’s hardly obscure. Purna Das (Baul), now 92, performed with Dylan in the 60s, also toured with The Stones; I think. The cassette is from ‘96 though the music was recorded in 1979. The original sleeve is much better.

2025 has certainly been a year of emotional extremes, but the highlights were nothing less than incredible. Proper lifetime defining moments that I will never forget. Wishing everyone one here in the BlueSky family, as we pass through this portal into 2026, a happy and healthy New Year. 💚💙

I’ve enjoyed seeing the “best 25 records of the last 25 years” lists that people have been publishing, and thought I would give it a go. Harder than it looks; and 1999 was a very fine year. Here ‘tis. I just can’t separate those top five (and I don’t want to); please forgive me this indulgence.