Saturday 30 November 2002

Happy St Andrew's Day and all that stuff.  After me moaning about the clampdown on live music in public places, I was delighted this morning by a jazz quartet in Maryhill Shopping Centre.  I'd just dropped the car off for its MOT (passed).

There's nothing earth-shattering to report from the past week, apart from some movement towards making the Earl of Kellie recording (possibly with some of it recorded in Kellie House itself) and my still trying to finalise the repertoire for January's concert.  I have had time to hang out with some musicians though - something I can recommend with confidence to the sick, infirm and feeble of mind.  

I was in London on Wednesday night and made it to the pub with some of the finest representatives of Walthamstow's baroque ghetto: fishing for suggestions for where else to take ConCal's repertoire now that we've dipped into the last century by playing Zappa, the consensus was that Piazzolla and Cage might be our next targets.  So watch out: the scores are on their way.  And then yesterday Margaret Preston came over to play some flute tunes and swap some music: I got some of Robert Edwards' virginal tunes in return for Oswald's basslines for his Macbeth music !  But we spent more time talking - we both have family experience of Asperger's Syndrome, so I think we swapped more anecdotes than tunes.  

I'm coming to the conclusion that when making music in a small group, the social functioning of the group is as important as its musical function (hence more time yesterday spent drinking tea and chatting than actually playing).  You have to take a lot of musical competencies and compatibilities for granted of course.  Joanna MacGregor was talking on Wednesday about how she chooses collaborators, and her theory is that 'interesting people write interesting music'.  If you enjoy someone's company, you're more likely to enjoy the process of making music with them.