Occasional Offerings: May 2025

SIDETRACKS & DETOURS May 2025

Contents

story 1  Next guitar hero    Marcus Bonfanti Trio

story 2  Crowmarsh Jazz   Groove Collective

story 3  Jazz At Progress    John Horler Trio

story 4  Jazz @ Oakwood   Dierdre Cartwright

story 5                                  A4 Brass Quartet

story 6  The Bury Black Pudding Company

story 7  Radio Whispers     through stereo speakers

story 8  All Points Forward Americana news

story 9  Dylan                      Prophet or Pilferer?

story 10 Codes To Live

story 11 Lendanear To Music

Contributors   

 

1 – 4      by Jazz in Reading

5            by Rochdale Music Society

6            by I Love Manchester

7            by Norman Warwick                                 

8            by Peter  Pearson

9            by Norman Warwick

10 by sidetracks Warwick & detours Pearson

11 by Norman Warwick

story 1

MARCUS BONFANTI TRIO

Bishop’s Court Farm Saturday 10th

orchester on Thames OX10 7HP

“The next British Guitar Hero” The Guardian

With a whiskey-soaked voice that sounds like the missing link between Tom Waits and Paul Rodgers, Marcus Bonfanti stirs up a cool cocktail of classic blues and rock and roll. Having cut his teeth working with a long list of icons including Van Morrison, Ronnie Wood and Eric Burden, he has spent the last decade fronting the legendary Ten Years After.

For this special Snug Sessions show, Bonfanti and his blistering band will be diving headfirst into a set of timeless hits made famous by everyone from BB King and Muddy Waters all the way through to Creedence Clearwater Revival and Free.

story 2

CROWMARSH JAZZ: Saturday 17^th May GROOVE COLLECTIVE

Keith Fairbairn’s Groove Collective (left) featuring Vasilis Xenopoulos is a band made up some of the best jazz and session musicians in the country and we play a groove based mix of melodic funky Latin jazz by the likes of Herbie Hancock, Grover Washington, Ray Barretto and many others.

The mixture of virtuosic jazz soloists with a very groove heavy rhythm section is the perfect recipe for a great Concert.

Individually members of the band have worked with a huge variety of musicians, bands and vocalists and these artists worked with include – Carleen Anderson/Five Way Split/Tim Garland/Theo Travis/Nigel Price/Guthrie Govan/John Etheridge/ Jon Hiseman/ Tom Jones/ Mike Oldfield/ Bill Bruford/Scott Hamilton/ BBC Big Band/ Claire Martin/ Eric Clapton and Van Morrison.

Influences include – The Soul Jazz of  Lou Donaldson and Grover Washington, The Brazilian music of Airto Moreira, The Latin music of Ray Barretto and Poncho Sanchez, The Groove Jazz Fusion of Herbie Hancock and Weather Report and the great CTI records of the 1970s.

The group plays tunes made famous by the likes of Herbie Hancock, Ivan Lins, John Scofield, Deodato, Dizzy Gillespie, Hank Mobley, Mongo Santamaria, Grover Washington, Lettuce, The Headhunters & Paquito d’Rivera amongst many others.

A mega treat for fans of groove fuelled jazz with one of the best percussionists in the UK – Keith Fairbairn and all star band featuring sax player Vasilis Xenopoulos, Liam Dunachie (keyboards), Laurence Cottle (electric bass), and Jack Karnacz-Pollitt (drums).

story 3

JAZZ AT PROGRESS Saturday 16^th May
THE JOHN HORLER TRIO: portrait of Bill Evans

John Horler is a quiet, dedicated, gently humorous man, the kind of musician whose work steals up on you. His piano playing, almost placid on the surface, is full of unexpected turns and hidden surprises.’ – Dave Gelly (The Observer)

 
Amongst the many fans who made a bee-line to Ronnie Scott’s original club in Gerrard Street, London in March 1965, to witness the history making visit of the Bill Evans Trio, the first American group to appear at the club, was a teen-aged student at the Royal Academy of Music named John Horler.

 
‘I was totally knocked out,’ John says as he recalls the moment, sixty years ago, when he heard Bill ‘live’ for the first time. ‘I immediately embraced his very special jazz language and even today he is still the most influential figure in my playing; not in a copying sense I hope, but in an inspirational way.’

 
John has played at Ronnie’s countless times himself as a sideman over the course of his richly varied career, but in October 2024 he was awarded the ultimate accolade when he appeared at the club to a sell-out audience as the leader of his own trio with a ‘Portrait of Bill Evans’. It was such a success that he was immediately booked for a second, recently completed, gig in March 2025.

 
Don’t miss this priceless opportunity to see one of Britain’s most acclaimed jazz pianists as he brings his ‘moonlight ‘touch and imaginative flair for swinging improvisation to Jazz at Progress, in the stellar company of Alec Dankworth and Ronnie Jones, to present the music he loves in ‘A Portrait of Bill Evans’

story 4

JAZZ AT THE OAKWOOD

Saturday 17 May  7:45pm
Oakwood Centre, Woodley, Reading RG5 4JZ

Enquiries 07728 5476

DEIRDRE CARTWRIGHT & MIKE GOFF TRIO
Deirdre Cartwright guitar
Martin Pickett piano
Steve Kershaw double bass
Mike Goff drums

Deirdre Cartwright is an award-winning guitarist and composer who became well known presenting the BBC TV’s ground-breaking series ‘Rockschool’. She played with Afro Latin Jazz group The Guest Stars, recording three albums and toured in 17 countries. She plays regularly at Ronnie Scott’s in Soho and as a guest artist in UK jazz clubs. She also leads the group PICNIC with Annie Whitehead.

In 1991 she formed the Deirdre Cartwright Group which recorded five albums and played international festivals from Mexico to Warsaw. She played memorable gigs with legendary guitarist Tal Farlow at the Pizza Express Soho, studied in America with Mick Goodrick, toured with Jamaican composer and director of the National Dance Theatre Company Marjorie Whylie, founded Blow the Fuse with Alison Rayner in 1989, and presented on Radio 3.

She has also written seven books on guitar playing, was head of the guitar syllabus for the Rockschool exam series, and presented her own radio show on Jazz London Radio. More recently she has toured and recorded three albums with ARQ who won Best UK Jazz Group in the Parliamentary Jazz Awards and British Jazz Awards in 2018. She won the public vote for Best Guitarist at the 2019 British Jazz Awards and in 2020 was awarded Services to Jazz with Blow the Fuse at the Parliamentary Jazz Awards.

‘If there is a more complete guitarist in contemporary music than Deirdre Cartwright – I’d like to know who it is’ – Dave Gelly, The Observer.

story 5

ROCHDALE MUSIC SOCIETY

A4 BRASS QUARTET

12 April 2025 Saint Michael’s Parish Bamford

A Review by Graham Marshall

As they left the church at the end of the concert some members of the audience were expressing their astonishment at the unexpectedly wide range of sonority and the technical flexibility that skilful performers like those who make up the A4 Brass Quartet (right) can demonstrate in a concert such as this. I had to assure them that it was nothing more magical than natural talent combined with hours of study and practice that can produce such magnificent music making by dedicated musicians. Just like a String or Jazz Quartet

As for myself, I had had moments during the concert when I felt that I had been transported back to St. Mark’s, Venice, at that time when the likes of Monteverdi (1567 – 1643 ) and his successor, Cavalli (1602 – 76) were delighting congregations with their latest innovatory settings of liturgical texts as well as secular, operatic experiments and making use of all the acoustic potential of the building to enhance the resonance of the music. Such was the artistic quality and musicianship of Jamie Smith (Cornet), Jonathan Bates (Tenor Horn and Composer/arranger), Chris Robertson (Euphonium/arranger) and Michael Cavanagh (Baritone), who have been playing together as a quartet since they met as students at the Royal Northern College of Music in Manchester over a decade ago. Each also plays a prominent solo and leadership part in one of the nationally acclaimed Brass Bands of these northern parts.

Their programme was as wide-ranging as their skills. The first part began with a spectacular, scary flourish by Callum Au (who was raised in Blackpool) entitled ‘Crown and Spectre’. This was followed in complete contrast by Bates’ well appointed arrangement of the Overture: ‘Die Fledermaus’ by Johnann Strauss and ‘A Little Prayer’ by Evelyn Glennie. Then Bates’ arrangements for two pairs of instruments of four of the Two Part Inventions of J. S. Bach s created suitably measured, Baroque musical space to enjoy before the riotous ‘Molly on the Shore’ by Percy Grainger and the more gentle strains of Vaughan Williams’ ‘Folk Song Suite’ brought the first half to a happy conclusion.

The second part of the concert began with Bach’s ‘Little Fugue in G minor’ and Bartok’s ‘Six Romanian Folk Dances’ both arr. Robertson. The fugal clarity of the Bach and the precise textural and harmonic framework of the Bartok were communicated with an authenticity as though these contrasting works had both been written originally for brass quartet. A more romantic moment provided by the Bates’ arrangement of ‘Tsuna’ngari’ by the Japanese composer, Kentaro Sato, gave pause for reflection before two of Bramwell Tovey’s ‘Street Songs’ – written for the A4 Brass Quartet’s first London appearance – led up to the climactic, final item on the programme. This was a movement from Jonathan Bates’ ‘Mists of the Mountains’, twenty-first – century music choreographed and delivered with justifiable swagger and aplomb.

Story 6

THE BURY BLACK PUDDING COMPANY

an I Love Manchester Newsletter story

Bury is home to a delicacy that has stood the test of time, evolving from a humble market staple to a nationally and international celebrated product: black pudding.

Love it or hate it, it’s one of Greater Manchester’s most iconic foods.

The blood sausage, a staple of the full English breakfast, has been a cornerstone of Bury’s identity for over a century, thanks in no small part to The Bury Black Pudding Company. From its deep-rooted history at Bury Market to its current status as the UK’s leading black pudding brand, this is the story of how a local delicacy became a global sensation.

Black pudding’s history in the UK can be traced back to European monks who brought the ‘blutwurst’—or blood sausage—to Yorkshire before it made its way over the Pennines to Bury. Here, it quickly became a beloved local dish, with early producers like Casewell’s making their mark as far back as the early 20th century. When Casewell’s retired in 1968, a new generation of black pudding makers stepped in, ensuring the tradition continued.

At the heart of today’s Bury Black Pudding Company is a recipe that dates back over a hundred years. Richard Morris’s father was among the first to produce black puddings in a small shop, supplying local traders and independent businesses, including Bury Market. Decades later, Richard, together with Debbie Pierce, officially registered The Bury Black Pudding Company in 2002, securing its place in the annals of food history.

Bury Market has been a crucial part of the black pudding story. As one of the longest-standing traders at the market, The Bury Black Pudding Company has retained a strong presence, serving loyal customers who have been enjoying their products for decades.

Debbie Pierce’s journey started at just 12 years old, working as a Saturday girl at James Wallace’s stall. When James retired, Debbie took over, recognising the growing demand for Bury’s beloved black pudding. As more visitors flocked to Bury Market, requests for black pudding beyond the town grew, prompting her to launch a website that allowed customers to order the product nationwide. This online venture laid the groundwork for national distribution, leading to a deal with Asda that saw black pudding land on supermarket shelves across the UK.

The transition from a local favourite to a household name was not without its challenges. Scaling up production to meet the demand of major retailers required a significant investment in logistics, supply chain management, and production facilities. But the hard work paid off. Today, The Bury Black Pudding Company supplies over 100 tonnes of black pudding per week and exports its products to destinations as far afield as the Canary Islands, Southern France, Spain, Greece, Portugal, Hong Kong, and the UAE.

Matthew McDermid, the company’s Brand and Marketing Manager, proudly spoke about the company’s global reach. “Our heritage is something we take great pride in. We’re always putting Bury on the map,” he says, emphasising the brand’s commitment to authenticity.

While traditional black pudding remains a best-seller, The Bury Black Pudding Company has embraced modern food trends and dietary needs. Recognising the demand for dietary-friendly options, they developed gluten-free and vegan black pudding, both of which have been met with enthusiastic responses from consumers.

The vegan black pudding, made primarily from black beans and retaining the signature blend of herbs and spices, has proven particularly successful, securing a place on ASDA’s shelves nationwide. The gluten-free version was developed in response to customer requests, allowing those with dietary restrictions to continue enjoying the delicacy.

This adaptability has ensured that Bury Black Pudding remains relevant in today’s food market, appealing to both traditionalists and new consumers alike.

One common misconception about black pudding is that it is an unhealthy indulgence. However, The Bury Black Pudding Company prides itself on offering a product that is both nutritious and delicious.

“Many people assume black pudding is unhealthy because it’s often served as part of a full English breakfast,” Matthew explained. “But our black pudding contains less than 3% fat and just 57 calories per slice. It’s also packed with iron, making it a great dietary choice.”

While Scottish black pudding can contain as much as 30% fat, the Bury variety prioritises a balance of health and flavour, making it a guilt-free option for those who enjoy hearty, traditional foods.

While black pudding is most commonly associated with a fry-up, creative chefs have incorporated it into a variety of dishes. The combination of black pudding and scallops is a classic pairing, while some use it as an ingredient in pasta dishes, burgers, or even pizzas. Nigella Lawson famously created black pudding meatballs, which quickly became one of the most popular recipes on The Bury Black Pudding Company’s website.

For the adventurous foodie, black pudding can be used in chicken supreme dishes, combined with poached eggs and avocado, or crumbled into a salad for a flavour-packed twist. The versatility of black pudding continues to inspire culinary experimentation across the UK.

The Bury Black Pudding Company’s success has not gone unnoticed. Set to appear on BBC One’s Inside the Factory in February 2025, the company will offer viewers a behind-the-scenes look at the production of the UK’s favourite black pudding. Hosted by Paddy McGuinness and Cherry Healey, the episode will delve into the meticulous process of making black pudding, showcasing the passion and dedication that goes into every batch.

As Matthew added, “This is a fantastic opportunity to showcase the heritage and passion that goes into making our black pudding. We are incredibly proud of our history and our role in bringing this traditional product to consumers.”

story 7

RADIO WHISPERS through STEREO SPEAKERS

When Peter Pearson mentioned to me recently something about Whispering Bob Harris it fell on me like a ton of bricks that, for just over ten years now, I have been a lapsed whisperer. Hearing the dj´s name again nevertheless released a flood of happy memories of being an avid fan of this presenter throughout his Old Grey Whistle Test television persona and for many more years after he became the weekly presenter of the BBC Radio 2 country music programme. Somehow, when I first left the UK to live here on Lanzarote more than ten years ago our media services couldn´t receive BBC Radio and, by the time it could, we had become entrenched in so much media work and un-missable playtime that a music programme I so loved became just another memory.

So when Peter recently whispered Bob´s name I vowed to become a listener again and have since tuned in to a couple of consecutive shows in his 9.00 pm slot on a Thursday evening..

One of my secret joys in life is listening to an enthusiastic expert in any field, and Whispering Bob Harris, loved by his audience and it seems by the artists he previews, reviews and interviews, is the epitome of the expert enthusiast.

When I tuned in for the first time in more than ten years on Thursday 24^th April I was astonished by the first words Bob whispered. The sentence confirmed his voice has lost none of its softness of tone but even more astonishing to me was the fact that his first sentence confirmed that Kimmie Rhodes was a non-performing guest in the studio.

I interviewed Kimmie a couple of times when she toured the UK in the eighties and nineties and she became the cover artist of an issue of my Sidetracks magazine. On one occasion she collaborated live shows with Wes McGhee, a great songwriter who was a little under the radar in his English homeland, but rather more appreciated in Texas, where Kimmie (left) and her husband the late Joe Gracey, a musician and dj of great repute, worked with Wes in concert and encouraged his song-writing images of Texas which subsequently built Wes a massive fan base back home.

This was a great start to my return to the fold, and I knew that any supplementary questions I might have could, and would, be answered by our Americana correspondent Peter Pearson, and proof of that is carried in Peter´s own All Points Forward column later in this issue of Sidetracks and Detours.

The first music Whispering Bob played was Need You Now by Lady A, formerly known as Lady Antebellum, He then ran two songs one after the other beginning with Hey Baby by The Cactus Blossoms and Searching For A Light by The Texas Troubadours, a song so good that I immediately listened to their album straight after the show.

Carly Pearce later confessed that it was Country Music Made Me Do It. Carly was a fairly new name to me but the track was again strong enough to compel me to listen to her album.

So far so new, but I suddenly found myself sharing memories of the late Guy Clark as Bob played The Randall Knife and Black Diamond Strings, highlighting not only Guy´s prowess as a songwriter but also as a wonderful storyteller

Telegraph Road by Dire Straits was Bob´s next selection. That set me thinking of how big a fan Peter Pearson is of the group´s erstwhile leader,Mark Knopfler, and you will find fascinating evidence of that when you read All Points Forward on the following pages.

Bob has a great knack of linking his own stories of the artists he plays, as he has met almost all of those on his playlists in one capacity or another.

The final passage of tonight´s programme included The Best Day by George Strait, and Backseat Driver by Kane Brown with next in this segment of three being Ian Munsick,…again an unknown to me but with a song  that insisted I listen later to his album, too.

When I finished listening to the albums by artists I had particularly after the show I knew that I was being inexorably drawn into a few more years, hopefully, of listening to Whispering Bob and of adding a lot of great music to my playlists.

The following Thursday evening I listened to The Bob Harris Country Music Show through stereo speakers placed on my patio and watched one of the most beautiful of Lanzarote sunsets as I listened to another inspiring and inspired selection of music from Bob Harris.

The presenter chose to open the programme with a lovely, gentle song, Same Moon by Mitchell Tenpenny and followed that with Caylee Hammack with a song about Tumbleweed Man that sent me scurrying, after the programme, to download her album, Bed Of Roses.

Then came another example of the three great songs in succession that so often punctuate a Bob Harris presentation These three songs had Lucas Nelson with his song Ain´t Done and then came a song that has much to do with country music and even more to do with the telling of Americana.  King  Of The Road by Roger Miller was a formative part of  my recognition of music as a recording of history and the song paints a seminal Americana image. Tonight it set Bob to wax lyrical about a biography of the singer and actor that we should all get hold of to read. I will, Bob, I will !.

Bob then returned us immediately to the third song in this segment which was George Strait with Wasted Words.

The next song on Bob´s playlist was Steal Your Thunder by Gareth, another new name to me but who has released an ep which I played in its entirety later in the evening and then downloaded it in entirety on to my playlists.

A second name also previously unknown to me was Jake Vaadeleand who also earned himself a whole album on my playlist and I also loved a couple of tracks Bob played by The Castellos. ,

The DJ then played Sneaky Snake by the late storyteller Tom. T Hall and followed it by playing a beautifully slinky cover version of the song by,….blast, I missed it ! There´s no playback on radio, of course, so tomorrow I´ll be heading out on a snake-hunt !

For the second time in a week, Bob Harris, in that  soft, eloquent voice of his, has sent me out to walk sidetracks and detours in search of the past, present and future of Americana Music. I am confident, though, that these rambles down what Art Taum (a fifties country music star) called ´happy trails´ will prove rewarding. I have listened to only two offerings in ten years from the avuncular Bob Harris but have, nmevertheless, already completed a hundred song compilation that I have called Radio Whispers Through Stereo Speakers Volume 1,

I also have the biography or Roger Miller to look forward to and to finding that sinewy, sneaky snake that has shed its former skin to escape my attention,…..but start slithering snake,…I´m on my way.

story 7

ALL POINTS FORWARD

Americana News by Peter Pearson

I heard the Americana songwriter singer Dave Mallett (right) died 17 December from an aggressive leukemia form of cancer. Very sad. I always looked forward to his visits to Westhoughton and meeting again with my friend John Graeme Livingstone, (musician, songwriter and proprietor of the excellent Stillwater Times music magazine, in which he frequentlty lauded the work of Dave Mallett) . Sadly, Dave´s passing is shamefully much unreported across the internet music websites. I just happened to see some youtube vids posted in his memory.

I also happened to stumble on a Leland Sklar video. Its a short interview, in which Lee talks about recording with John Stewart and in particular on the track Time In Bolinas, a Stewart composition which Lee plays in its entirety, and then speaks very highly of John.

I hope readers of Sidetracks and Detours can find and enjoy Lee Sklar’s You tube. It was praise indeed for John Stewart when you consider the hundreds of famous artists Lee has recorded and performed with. You will recall that Lee featured in my Immediate Family piece, previously published here in All Points Forward, and still available in our archives.

I have since seen a more extended John Stewart Encore piece on his You tube channel which our readers might also like to search for.

On that Bolinas clip, mentioned above, I should add that The Lonesome Picker album was re-mastered and sold in audiophile version a few years back. The sound is a quantum improvement on the original vinyl and subsequent CD versions

I recently saw a ´trio gig´, I had been eagerly looking forward to for some time. My labelling of it as a trio gig reflects that it featured Mary Chapin Carpenter  on guitar and vocals with Karine Polwart, also on guitar and vocals, and Julie Powliss on vocals and whistle These three well established performers, even though from slightly different genres, formed this recording trio and cut an album called

Tonight´s gig was sold out and the first night of the UK tour to support the album tour. Sadly, there was a somewhat embarrassing false start due to technical issues with the  bands instruments but that done with, it was an excellent gig and warmly received by an enthusiastic audience.´ The back up band consisted of percussion, double bass, piano and organ and acoustic/electric guitar. The venue was ideal for the largely acoustic performance and the sound was excellent.

It was presented in a trio format with Mary C on guitar / vocals, flanked by Karine Polwart also on guitar/vocals and Julie Fowlis on vocals and whistle. The songs were mostly from their new trio album, so they took turns on lead vocal, with the others providing harmony. There were also a couple of songs each from their own catalogues.

Having seen Mary Chapin solo on many times it was rewarding to see her in a different setting. Her vocals and acoustic guitar work was as impressive as I have ever seen her and it was clear that the other two were slightly in awe of her.

I have seen Julie Fowlis many times, mostly on the TransAtlantic Sessions, but I had never seen Karine Polwart and I was highly impressed. That song of hers on the Rebecca album has been playing in my head since I first heard it and she delivered it note perfectly on stage.. She has a beautiful voice and is no slouch on acoustic guitar. I would certainly go again to see her solo if she were in the area in future.

That said, I have nothing now until October, when I go with my brother to the Bridgewater Hall in Manchester to see Graham Nash. Interestingly, Peter Asher is the support. Yes – that Peter Asher !

Kimmie Rhodes recently played in London as part of her European tour. Her UK agent is Bob Paterson, a big pal of Bob Harris. I Once met him at Cambridge Folk Festival and he kindly gave me a cassette of a  radio interview he did with Chip Taylor on a London radio station.  I visit his website from time to time, as he acts as an agent for Tom Russell, Chip and quite a few more. His website carries details of his clients´ gigs and he also advertises who is visiting these shores in the near future and looking for bookings from promoters.

Kimmie has been coming over here on a regular basis but she has not appeared anywhere near these parts. I saw her quite a few years ago supporting Emmylou Harris.

My friend, the promoter Mr Kite, was there. He told me he was impressed but knew little about her. When I told him that she has been around since the mid 70’s he was surprised. I told him she was often featured in Omaha Rainbow and sent him a photocopy of a feature on her that was in my own collection of that magazine.

Mr. Kite has retired now. Sadly I suspect other promoters in this area have never heard of Kimmie, as she flies somewhat under the radar.

Kimmie featured in Back to Beth’s, part of the BBC documentary that Bob Harris did in Nashville, culminating in a guitar pull at Beth Neilsen Chapman’s house. Eric Brace was another of several that featured along with Jason Isbell, whose music I have recently been listening to a lot.

I did a bit of googling of Manchester´s New Century Hall. It turns out that what was once my old workplace and accountancy examination centre has now been converted to this music and leisure venue. It hosts standing only gigs in the main hall and soundsa  bit like a larger version of Band On The Wall.

There are a variety of venues now spread around the City – BOW, The Academy, The Ritz, The Deaf Institute, The Albert Hall -a truly horrendous venue.

Frankly, in my dotage, I am reluctant to pay £35 plus to stand up in a crowd. In the larger venues the decibel levels tend to be turned up and the listening experience is not great to my ears.

The Turnpike Troubadors are appearing at New Century Hall. in June 2025. Bit odd that, though.  It is not really a music venue and until your email I knew nothing about it.

I also checked Bob Pattersons website and along with her current euro tour Kimmie Rhodes is listed as looking for UK dates this time next year.´ I knew she was visiting nearly every year but venues always seem to be in London and the South plus Ireland. 

Iris Dement is similar. The days of the acts we used to see in this area are now long gone.

Let me know how you get on with your book project on Townes Van Zandt, A novel that includes only songwriters and characters  in their songs sounds a little off the wall but it could well shed more  light on the (fictitious) death of that girl in Tecumsah Valley.

I have been picking up on some of your listening choices. J J Grey is a name I had seen but not heard. I like what I hear. He is on at Band on The Wall in August, so I might go to check him out.

JJ Grey and Mofro‘s music is based loosely on a  combination of several genres such as blues, funk, soul, and rock.  Written by JJ Grey (see our cover picture) the songs carry echoes of his youth and the narratives tell us of the region where he grew up in around Jacksonville, Florida. 

Perhaps it is no surprise then that JJ Grey´s lyrics occasionally attribute artists such as Big Bad John and Jim Reeves due to their style of story songwriting and how that style has influenced the way he writes his songs.

Southern Rock acts such as Lynyrd Skynyrd and Jerry Reed are artists who have influenced his style of music, as well soul artists such as Toots Hibbert and Otis Redding. JJ Grey and Mofro are also known for their extensive touring schedule and have continually played at major summer music festivals including Bonnaroo, All Good Festival, Austin City Limits, Wakarusa, and Rothbury.

 Early on in their touring days, JJ Grey and Mofro ained fame within the jam band scene while touring with acts such as Widespread Panic, Galactic and Ben Harper.JJ Grey attributes most of the band’s strength to their stage performances rather than in the studio

Jason Isbell has a new acoustic solo album out you might like to try.

I plan to sample some more of your music finds and will keep in touch

Meanwhile, I have just finished reading That Thin Wild Mercury Sound by Daryl Sanders. The book is entirely about the making of Dylan´s Blonde On Blonde album. I wrote a piece for All Points Forward, in my column in Sidetracks And Detours / Pass It On about it being recorded in Nashville with the A Team but at that time I had not come across this book.

It is not a short book and goes into immense detail about his time in Nashville and the recording sessions and is a good read. There were several generations of the A Team. Charlie McCoy, Pig Robbins ,Kenny Buttrey et al were the next generation after Harold Bradley and Grady Martin and co.

Apparently the older generation were a bit averse to recording artists bringing in their own band members because they were not familiar with the Nashville way of recording. Robbie Robertson had been a victim of this in the past and was reluctant to travel to Nashville with Dylan.

Fortunately the new generation of the A Team were a lot more pliable and a good time was had by all- in spite of the expense of the studio time. Dylan composed the songs on the fly in the studio and the musicians were sat around waiting for hours,… not to mention the number of takes for each track.

By all accounts the film biopic concentrates on his transition from acoustic to electric, rather than an account of his career.

I was never a great fan. I went to see Dylan at the Apollo in Manchester in the mid 80’s.He had a crack band and his vocals were ok.

I then saw him again in the late 90’s at the Manchester Arena only because Mark Knopfler was the opening support. I watched Knopfler’s great sixty-minute set then Dylan came on. Horrendous! Vocals excruciating and band poor. After 10 minutes people were leaving in droves. Prior to this, or since, I have never walked out of a concert but after about 30 minutes I could stand no more and left.

By the way, I have just read your recent e mail regarding a proposed review of the Dylan biopic, Like A Complete Unknown. It is true that, as you say, the film has been on general release for a while now but as Dylan and his music is so much part of the Americana stuff we so love at Sidetracks and Detours, placing on record your thoughts on the film in particular and on Dylan´s input to the Americana scene in general seems quite logical.

Also, please Norman. let me know how you get on with your book project on Townes Van Zandt, A novel that includes only songwriters and characters  in their songs sounds a little off the wall but it could well shed more  light on the (fictitious) death of that girl in Tecumsah Valley.

Story 8

DYLAN: PROPHET OR PILFERER?

Dylan is best described as enigmatic, and I think you might agree that the adjective can also be used to describe his lyrics and his life story. We know of all that, but amazingly  photo Timathee Chalomet, in the lead role of the film Like A Complete Unknown clearly signals that the enigma of Dylan is a carefully crafted structure created by Dylan himself. Chalomet who also directed the film, gave a performance so nuanced that it also revealed why Dylan created a legend for himself even before he stepped into Woody Guthrie´s  hospital ward.

Given the musical growl that is Dylan´s singing voice it’s hardly surprising, then, that Timathée  Chalamet had to undergo extensive coaching to replicate Dylan’s singing voice in the film

Appearing on the BBC on the Graham Norton Show in December, 2024 Chalamet revealed he had in fact spent five years training to sing and play like Dylan.

“I had a lot of time to practice because we were meant to make Like A Complete Unkown five and half years ago, then there was Covid and then there was the actors’ strike, so I had years to prepare,” he revealed.

“I was confident about singing and by the time we got to do the film I wanted to sing and play the songs live.”

He added: “I didn’t know much about Dylan but now, having worked on it for so long, I really worship at the church of Bob. I am deeply passionate about this man and his work.

“My friends are tired of hearing me talk about him ad nauseam. This man has been so impactful on culture and this film and this role are the ones I am most proud of.”

All of the numbers heard in the film were performed live by Chalamet on set, and several of the other cast members, including Ed Norton and Monica Barbaro, also provide their own takes on some classic songs throughout the film.

The songs heard in the Like A Complete Unknown soundtrack represent, generally, those titles which first introduced us to Dylan, during the short few years which saw him first step on stage and so quickly become a household name, so loved by many and misappropriated by many more. Running through my mind as I watched this lengthy but never dull, film was that Dylan´s emergence was like the coming of Christ. Nobody really knew where Christ had come from, nor where he was going to but almost all were willing to follow.

Was it Christ himself, or his parables, that led the way? Christ knew he could have attracted a vast unthinking crowd by performing miracles but chose not to do so. Dylan could have attracted a huge following too, by allowing his songs to hint at promises neither he nor they could possibly keep.

The film Like A Complete Unknown shows its own miracle by Timothee Chalamet´s voice being so akin to Dylan´s in both tone and delivery.

Highway 61 Revisited and Mr Tambourine Man  are performed by Timothée Chalamet as Bob Dylan, as so, too,  is the slightly lesser known I Was Young When I Left Home.

A Hard Rain’s A-Gonna Fall has Chalamet  delivering with the precise certainty of Dylan´s tone that also infuses Masters Of War and The Times They Are A Changing.

The actor also delivered an uncanny Dylan-like rendition ofIt takes A Lot To Laugh, It Takes A Train To Cryand Like Rolling Stone as well as a solo version of  It Ain´t Me Babe.

Of all the renditions in the film, Subterranean Homesick Blues performed by Timothée Chalamet sounded, to me, absolutely like Bob Dylan incarnate.

For me, Chalamet´s enactment of Dylan visiting a hospice to sing A Song For Woody Guthrie was one of the most moving moments in a film that will no doubt attract new listeners to Dylan´s catalogue (and surely to the bodies of work of the likes of Joan Baez and Johnny Cash) but will undoubtedly also satisfy those of my generation who lived through the folk / protest narrative of the nineteen sixties.

Whilst Chalamet delivered all the Bob Dylan vocals from solo shots screened in the film the rest of the cast members playing their roles as members of the folk, country and rock scenes of the era and the supporting cast also delivered their scenes in their own singing and playing voice.

House of the Rising Sun and Silver Dagger and the Phil Ochs´ offering of There But For Fortune were therefore performed by Monica Barbaro asJoan Baez.

As on occasions when Dylan and Baez performed together, so too was Girl From The North Country  performed by Timothée Chalamet & Monica Barbaro as Bob Dylan & Joan Baez and Blowin’ in the Wind was delivered the same way, along with Don´t Think Twice, It´s All Right

There were other soloists featured in the narrative, such as when Wimoweh, was performed by Edward Norton as Pete Seger. In fact, Chalomet and Norton (Dylan and Seger) were also shown later performing When The Ship Comes In.

I was particularly interested in scene showing Dylan and Joan Baez (left) sharing a stage at a time when their ´personal´ relationship was fraying at the edges. The lyric of It Ain´t Me Babe is ostensibly the response of a man who recognises he can´t, or won´t, provide the wants and needs of undying love. He was probably right, given that he was in a long standing relationship with another woman at the time, but the scene of Dylan and Baez performing It Ain´t Me Babe portrays a shift in the balance between the couple. It seems obvious by the way she makes the lyric hers in this performance, simply by an emphasis of tone, and she throws steely stares at Dylan until, towards the end of the song, with a sparkle in her eyes, she seems to accept the honesty of the lyric and agrees with Bob that he is right,… he is not the one she was looking for !

Of course her own song, Diamonds And Rust, which she wrote and recorded a few years after the timeline of this film, poured more oil on troubled waters, but happily reiterated a story that for the second time sold lots of albums for each of them! 

Like A Complete Unknown showed Pete Seger in the role of organisor and prophet and also as a self-elected lord of a dreamed of future eutopia that had rules, his rules, that would be abided by.

Seger, perhaps aware of his own subdued charisma, was too ready to proclaim Dylan ´King´. However the film showed Seger becoming increasingly disillusioned in Dylan but also showed Seger´s pain that Dylan seemed to him to be rejecting the protest movement.

It was interesting that this film has been streaming at round about the same time as Conclave, a film about about shift of position and promises never intended to be kept, delivered in the past by those seeking support for the position of Pope.

This Dylan biopic stretches across a period of my life from the age 12 to 16, and despite my later fascination with those years, I was not at that time buying Dylan´s singles or albums, as I was listening more to the likes of Jennifer Eccles and A Girl Like Jesamine. To be honest, though, I was already in love with Joan Baez even before Dylan came along. With black hair down to her waist, soulful eyes, sweet smile and tight jeans she had inner beauty too, looking out for the disenfranchised and playing important roles at critical moments on a global scale. She seemed to me to be an angel. She is still as beautiful and caring and is as much respected still on the music scene as is Dylan.

Baez and Dylan have each enjoyed massive success and have retained the respect of their contemporaries whilst attracting new audiences too

My first Dylan purchase was Blood On The Tracks, an album that followed a series of releases met by critical derision, that therefore became relative commercial failures compared to his early days, I have since built an entire library of Dylan´s mainstream albums. These also include the series of ´Bob Dylan´s Radio Hour´, a series in which he revealed an encyclopaedic knowledge and understanding of the growth of popular music throughout the twentieth century, which went in some way to corroborate the belief that Dylan knew things that the rest of didn´t know we didn´t know,

Whilst building that library I have read some wonderfully thought provoking books about or by Bob Dylan, including his own Chronicles. 

Of the scores of book about Dylan written by others my favourites include Song and Dance Man III: The Art of Bob Dylan by Michael Gray. This is a meticulous tour through Dylan’s lyrics with lots of great context.

Bob Dylan by Greil Marcus: Writings 1968-2010. contains some of the best Dylan criticism. Not every entry is a gem but my copy now contains my own pencilled-in observations and questions marks are placed alongside lines that still would like to explore further.

Behind the Shades by Clinton Heylin. is a 1991 biography, which was updated 10 years after it´s first edition. Heylin has written quite a lot about Dylan including everything from biography to a meticulous detailing of Dylan recording sessions and tours. Heylin has a strong ego, which occasionally can seem quite provocative, but that´s ok,…  I love a good argument.. 

I now think of the song Like A Rolling Stone as lending itself to the title of this wonderful Like A Complete Unknown biopic. However, I will also always remember that the song also lent a line of its lyric to No Direction Home a biography in book form by Robert Shelton. This is a straight-ahead Dylan bio by the New York Times critic who first wrote about Dylan for the paper. It’s not flashy, but it was the first Dylan biography I bought and set high the bar by which I have judged other biographies of Dylan.

Nevertheless, a later publication of work on Dylan, became, and remains, my favourite, essay on the song-writing  of Bob Dylan.

Dylan’s Visions of Sin is a 2004 book by Christopher Ricks, a British poetry scholar and literary critic, in which he considers the songs of  Bob Dylan as literary works (in 2016 Dylan was awarded the Nobel Prize in Literature). Ricks’ analysis of Dylan’s songs is organized around the Christian theological categories of the seven deadly sins and, four virtues, and  after seeing this film I will ponder Visions Of Sin even more deeply . 

According to Ricks, Dylan’s is an art in which sins are laid bare (and resisted), virtues are valued (and manifested), and the graces brought home. The seven deadly sins, the more-difficult-to-remember four cardinal virtues and the three heavenly graces: these make up everybody’s world, but Dylan’s in particular. Or rather, his worlds, since human dealings of every kind are his for the artistic seizing.

I still think on that word seizing whenever I read that passage, and will dwell upon it for even lengthier periods whenever I watch further screenings of Like A Complete Unknown. That is because the film production team seemed to also portray Dylan as a seizer, though there are less pejorative terms for his ´acquisitiveness´ such as magpie, borrower, pilferer or collector.

The Complete Collection Of Dylan Lyrics sits on my poetry bookshelf, containing Wordsworth´s Preludes, William Blake and biographies of the aforementioned. There, in line with them, stand Simon Armitage, Walt Whitman, Robert Frost and half a dozen anthologies of all those above and others.

The film Like A Compete Unknown is one those atmospheric, poorly-lit films, where barely recognisable characters speak in shadow. Nevertheless the film succeeds in illuminating, shedding light on the songwriters, poets and musicians of its period. Of course, if I might quote out of context, another pop song

still remains that reminds us that  ´there are more questions than answers.´

Two thousand years and a quarter of a century ago a pilgrim and prophet named Jesus upturned the trinkets and treasures and three quarters of a century ago a pilgrim and prophet named Dylan seized, ravaged, and wrecked, then repaired and returned,  musical and political  treasures and trinkets to the people.

Now it is our generation that is acknowledging that The Times They Are (Again) A-changing

The Masters Of War are playing games on the chessboard of the world all over again….

and Bob Dylan remains our voice of reason.

That is why it was such a joy and privilege to watch the film in one of the eight viewing room salons in the cinema on the waterfront of the beautiful lagoon at Arrecife on Lanzarote. This salon was full, whilst the other rooms showing lesser films were virtually empty. The audience in our room included representative from the UK, Spain, and Germany and from what we could make out of the languages spoken before the film started, also Holland and France.

It was as if the whole world, of all colours, creeds and generations, was listening to Bob Dylan all over again.

MUSIC OFFERING CODES TO LIVE BY

by the Sidetracks & Detours team

R.I.P.

We open this file with the sad news of the passing of Geoff Higginbottom,

a well-loved figure on the Manchester folk club and festival scene.

Based in the North West, Geoff was a guy who loved traditional folk songs and sang them with all his heart in every gig.

Dawes (left) have been around for a long time now, and I always find their recordings catchy and attractive but there is a current you tube of what seems to be a home performance of a wonderful track called House Parties And Local Bands (That´s Where I Belong). It speaks in some ways to Chip Taylor´s I Want The Real Thing and melodically it has slight echoes of In Five Years Time by Noah And The Whale. Come to that, it also has the innocence and fizz of Peter Starsted´s Frozen Orange Juice. Its almost like those seemingly throw away songs by John Sebastian, both with and without The Loving Spoonful. If you´re in the mood for a Daydream, have a listen to the lovely Dawes track,

Paste magazine on line today announced that Fiona Apple (right) (an artist on our Sidetracks & Detours playlist here in our office)  has released “Pretrial (Let Her Go Home),” her first original song since her 2020 record, Fetch the Bolt Cutters.

Made in support of the Free Black Mamas DMV collective, “Pretrial (Let Her Go Home)” delves into the plight of women who are wrongfully incarcerated. “At homе she’s got two kids and gramma needs her care/ Who pack the lunch and give meds if she’s in jail and not there? / They already took the only daddy that they ever had / Shot him then put a gun near him that he never had / Wouldn’t let him go home /Wouldn’t let him go home / Wouldn’t let him go home,” she sings in the heartbreaking chorus.

“I was a court watcher for over two years. In that time, I took notes on thousands of bond hearings. Time and time again, I listened as people were taken away and put in jail, for no other reason than that they couldn’t afford to buy their way free,” Apple wrote in a statement about the track. “It was particularly hard to hear mothers and caretakers get taken away from the people who depend on them.”

“For the past five years, I have been volunteering with the Free Black Mamas DMV bailout, and I have been lucky to be able to witness the stories of women who fought for and won their freedom with the tireless and loving support of the leadership,” she continued. “I hope that this song, and the images shared with me, can help to show what is at stake when someone is kept in pretrial detention. I give this song in friendship and respect to all who have experienced the pain of pre-trial detention and to the women of the group’s leadership who have taught me so much and whom I truly love.”

LENDANEAR TO MUSIC

Pete Benbow, a folk music performer who introduced Norman Warwick to the Americana music of John Stewart, Townes Van Zandt and Jackson Brown and Guy Clark, some forty years before the word Americana was coined to describe such artists initially labelled country, is expecting to be back in the studios this year to record a second album, following the radio-friendly Friends album of a couple of years ago. This time around he is considering a song that it´s writers, Norman Warwick & Colin Lever, never recorded when they were together in Lendanear. Norm feels that Roll Slowly, a song Pete  occasionally played when he was a peripatetic third of the duo will suit Pete´s style quite beautifully.perfectly

Colin Lever (left), formerly one half of Lendanear, is delighted with the success of his Open Mic radio series, itself based on his book of the same name. We reviewed the book and the series, and these files can still be founding in our archives simply be entering Colin´s name into our archive file.

He sends the following message to Sidetracks & Deours and all our readers.  

We are still having download orders of the sit-com. Thanks for your support. If you could spread the word that would be great. Not forgetting that the aim of OPEN-MIC is to raise money for charity. Jersey Hospice Care https://www.justgiving.com/page/open-micor one of your choice.

www.justgiving.com

Colin also reminded us that the fastest moving track on the bandcamp collection of 4 Lendanear albums is Last Boat Home co-written with our editor, Norman Warwick. This ghostly, romantic story tells of a girl who loses a loved one on the fishing boats  and speaks of how she walks down to the harbour each night for the rest of her life, praying for the last boat home and certain her husband will one day return.

You can find all Lendanear music at

https://lendanear.bandcamp.com

https://lendanear.bandcamp.com/00:11

SIDETRACKS AND DETOURS TO FOLLOW HAPPY TRAILS

We perhaps announced the closure of Sidetracks and Detours when in fact what we wanted to announce was the promise to follow HAPPY TRAILS across the Americana muisc we listen to here in the offive. Whilst ill health has determined that I can no longer provide the daily blog we delivered to you for almost years, However, we can perhaps still manage to publish a quarterly magazine that will deliver news, interviews, previews and reviews of all the music we love: country, folk, blues, classical , jazz, acoustic,……and most of all Americana

Thank you for still being here for us,…… and we´ll be here for you.

Join us again on 1st August and if you want to submit articles or news please do so through normanwarwick55@gmail.com