Quatschmacher

No. I’d rather explore stuff which doesn’t require an extra pickup.

Sorry to hear that. I was looking forward to finding out about these.

I’m actually still only at the beginning of the journey. The only one I own is the Subterranea. I had the Future Impact on loan for a couple of weeks. I think I already mentioned that I loved the sounds but found it didn’t really feel right in terms of responsiveness to playing; some settings yielded a sluggish feel or incorrect pitches triggering. I must say, I’m tempted by the Boss SY-300 that’s listed here after checking out some videos. It’s a lot of cash if I find I don’t like it though. It’s definitely one I’d like to rent.

Yes, it did but I only heard it in summer after seeing them at a festival I was playing at. In my defence, I think the initial post was ambiguous in its wording and I wasn’t sure if it meant “favourite album released this year” or “favourite album heard this year”. There’s a broadcast of one of their recent orchestral gigs airing on Radio 2 on Wednesday.

I love the way one gets a picture of a situation and person in Joni Mitchell’s songs, like short stories. A carefully chosen and economic use of words which lead the listener to fill in the gaps:

Yep, “Edith and the Kingpin” and “The Hissing of Summer Lawns” are outstanding tracks. Many of these albums can be listened to in their entirety on youtube.

Indeed. I learned a couple of his solos by listening to them on cd over and over until I got them down.

“Mount the Air” by the Unthanks.

I still need to check this one out, thanks for reminding me.

And still no one has mentioned Joni Mitchell. The amount of good music in the world is mind-blowing, which is why I find it astonishing when people spend so much time listening to absolute shite. (I’m not referring to anything or anyone mentioned above, just to be clear.)

As I said, these are 3 of my real favourites. I just have more than 3. The Chris Potter album I listened to 3 times daily for three months solid when I got it. The AC album not quite as much but it wasn’t far off. And “Kind Folks” off the KW album is a melody that still makes me weep when I even think about it. Also, I thought that part of the point was to get a list of stuff that people ought to listen to. Therefore mentioning albums already mentioned seemed counterproductive. (Twist my arm and I might replace KW with “Mothership Connection” though. I remember dancing around my living room with my infant son in my arms the first time I heard that album.)

I’ve deliberately picked stuff no one has mentioned so far. All the Mingus, Miles, Parliament, Funkadelic, RHCP, Pearl Jam, GnR, Bootsy albums listed were also contenders. Glad it didn’t include classical stuff too otherwise it’d have been even more difficult.

Blues & Roots. What an album! I remember the thrill of hearing that for the first time.

Chris Potter’s “Song for Anyone” Avishai Cohen’s “Seven Seas” Kenny Wheeler’s “Music for large & small ensembles” I’m grateful that others have mentioned albums I would also like to have mentioned, thanks @Bo0tsy!

I sold Dan my Octamizer and it was all sorted very quickly. He even paid me a few extra quid to cover the PayPal fees when he’d accidentally forgotten to send payment as “friends and family”. Many thanks.

Thanks for all the good thoughts, people; I appreciate it. @roman_sub, yes, I figured it might be a useful opportunity to work on right hand stuff. It’s not the worst mishap I’ve heard of. A pro jazz pianist I know snapped the tendon in his right hand middle finger by putting on his socks! Was out of action for six weeks. He wrote a piece for left hand every day so all was not lost. Actually, some of the stuff he wrote and played during this time was incredible and he came away with enhanced technique and a body of new music. Silver lining indeed.

Thanks. Struggling to stay awake and waiting for an X-ray now.

Thanks, Bas. I’m still here and imagine that by the end of it they’ll just stick a plaster on it and send me on my way. I’m so tired now and still have the broken glass to clean up when I finally get home.

John Scofield. Saw him break a string on a gig at the 2009 North Sea Jazz festival and he had to scrounge one of Bill Frisell who was in the same band.

Looks like I’ll be out of action for a bit. Managed to slice my hand open by breaking a jug while washing up. Long night in A&E awaits. @CameronJ, @Al Krow