I’m still here. Life has been full of
stuff recently which has, coincidentally, included tidying up two houses and gardens in readiness for
estate agents’ pictures.
One of those houses is my late mother’s,
and that has been difficult. Every ornament, piece of china, book etc is a
memory; they can’t all be kept so sorting and sifting has to take place- keep, sell,
charity shop, tip. A life reduced to a military disposal operation. It’s hard.
In this process it has become apparent my daughter has a liking for brown furniture
and has evidently been secretly coveting some of my parents’ furniture. A
bureau has already been installed in her bedroom, and given half the chance
more items would go into storage for the time she may be able to afford her own
place!
The other house is a friend’s mum’s villa
in Turkey. After nine years Wendy has decided to move back to the UK, so our
holiday this year involved more tidying and sorting. For me that meant tidying
up in the garden mostly – in 32C+ heat. Don’t get me wrong, it was enjoyable,
and most of the time we were doing holiday things – i.e. not very much.
Mrs Darce and her friend have been visiting Wendy for quite a few years now, and
the husbands have been allowed the last couple of years too! The villa is in a
little village called Uzumlu, it is a charming place, and we will all miss it.
What about some music then? In the last
few weeks I have still managed to find some time for a bit of charity shop trawling, car
booting, and on-line buying. The vinyl has been mounting up, but with no time
to listen to any of my recent purchases. There is quite a stack to get through.
Tonight I have made a start, nd here is one of the first 45s to finally get some
turntable time.
Tamiko Jones I knew only from a couple of
late Seventies disco outings. I didn’t know she had been recording since the
early Sixties and has had an interesting and “connected” life. On this 45
from 1967 she teams up with Herbie Mann and delivers some groovy goodness in a Latin
vein. Both tracks were taken from a 1967
album A Mann And A Woman and were two of three tracks on that album arranged by Joe Zawinul, who would soon after first join
Miles Davis’ band and later form Weather Report and be instrumental in the birth
of jazz fusion.
