Precarious to some, safe to others...

Playlist
Cloudland Blue Quartet - Twenty Four Paintings (Details)
The Divine Comedy - A Short Album About Love
Mahavishnu Orchestra - Mahavishnu
Various - Sid Smith's Podcast from the Yellow Room 61

March away and a sad, sad month for both me and the Exec Producer - and, of course, for many many others...

Jamie's family is at the forefront of my mind as we slowly edge towards Thursday...

We have some experience of what they are going through - and it is not good...

We cannot bring Mr Frain back but we can and will remember him and his always uplifting spirit...

Meg the Black Cat was here when I entered the kitchen this morning and, although unpictured, was occupying exactly the same space when I entered the kitchen this evening...

Hopefully, she got a little exercise in during the day...

Some flowers are out, or coming out, in the garden...

A call this morning to ask if I would play a small part in the ceremony on Thursday...

I will be proud to but would rather no-one had to...

Home in the mist...

Large birds perched precariously to us, safely to them...

The day soundtracked by the 10 minute details which will hopefully make up one of the versions of the "Twenty Four Paintings" release later this year...

I was buoyed in that I was able to listen and it sounded ok...

Sometimes in such situations, confidence in what I've done ebbs away...

Meanwhile, in the post, the first of my one pence (ok, with £1.26 postage) CDs arrived - an early, short, good album by The Divine Comedy...

I love their song "A Lady of a Certain Age" from "Victory for the Comic Muse" - it reminds me of Jamie - not because he was a lady of a certain age - but because, when we first stumbled across it one night while driving to perform our own, not quite so good songs at Out of the Bedroom, we both found it to be so well crafted, we just had to listen to it again, immediately...

A rare occurrence for me these days...

Anne's mum likes it too "because it tells a story"...

Unlike my soundscapes - which do not tell any discernible stories, nor were they popular with Jamie, and nor would they be likely to be with Anne's mum I imagine, were she ever to hear them - which is highly unikely...

On TV, "Silk" ended well - it will not return - and "Rev", unmentioned last week, continued to impress...

Other than that, an evening spent mostly transferring around 160 recently ripped albums from one hard drive to another hard drive...

Given what's happened this month, you might think I should not waste what time I have left on such nonsense...

But, if you do, you do not realise that, contrary to all common sense, I do quite enjoy mucking about like that...

Would I be happier doing something more "worthwhile"...

Perhaps..

Who knows...

Lights out...

Highlight of the Day : An invite which I wish was not necessary...

Clever little machine...

Playlist
Various - Weekly Playlist No 13
Chopin - Polonaises (Alfred Brendel)
Cloudland Blue Quartet - Live Set Rehearsal 2014-03-30
Morrissey - Years of Refusal
Alice Cooper - Killer
Capital Models - Live Set Rehearsal 2014-03-19 (Unedited)

Up late...

I had thought it was early but (a) my eyesight re the clock wasn't what it once was and (b) the clocks went forward last night...

So, when I thought it was 6:30 - it was actually 8:30...

Not to worry...

Meg helped me update this...

Breakfast to the sounds of Mr Brendel playing the music of Mr Chopin...

Then, took Anne to her mum's re today's triumphant victory at Tynecastle by Hearts over Hibs 2-0...

Hearts then still aren't technically relegated but face a sterner test on Wednesday when Aberdeen visit the castle of tyne...

Anne texted to say the JTs had done it for Jamie - he should have been there...

Meanwhile, your correspondent worked on a possible CBQ live scenario, this time collating the necessary backing tracks from various hard drives before running through a set playing bass rather than yesterday's guitar...

A visit to my mum on Mothers' Day, bearing appreciated gifts...

Then to Anne's mum's where a tasty Chinese takeaway was enjoyed by me, Anne, Keith, Jane, Bobby, Olly and Kitty...

The kids and I enjoyed singing along to Alice Cooper's "Dead Babies" as we drove to collect the food...

A new painting was on the wall in the dining room...

...based on this photo, taken almost a year ago...

A very good likeness...

Back home and The Musketeers came to an end tonight - we very much enjoyed this series and look forward to its return - surprised though that the two main villains were let off - but then, what's to be done if you're looking to a second series commission...

The best I've left for last though...

Early morning on 21 March, two days after the rehearsal, at which Jamie, me and Andy had run through the entire Capital Models sets for the proposed gig in April, I took an hour or so to edit out around 20 minutes of the recording re a couple false starts and all the chat between the songs... 

Later that day, of course, Jamie passed away...

This afternoon, as I loaded the memory card into the laptop to listen back to my attempts at the CBQ stuff, imagine my surprise to discover that the very clever little recording machine had saved, not only the revised version, but the original too...

And so, although there are a few hopeless gaffs on the tape, our banter remains unexpectedly intact...

In the big scheme of things, it means nothing...

It's nice to have it back though...

So sad that we'll never get to play it all again together now...

Highlight of the Day : Clever little machine...

Disappointing myself...

Playlist
Various - Weekly Playlist No 13
Cloudland Blue Quartet - 2014 Live Set Possibilities

A swift entry as not much done today...

Up around 5:30 and some fruitless work on soundscaping, utilising both the field recordings carried out at the beginning of the month and the Virtual ANS synthesiser programme...

Next, recording the weekly playlist - no chat, so a simple two hour run through...

A quick trip to the store for breakfast provisions...

Some housekeeping re systems...

Anne off out to finalise holiday plans with Lynn and Penny...

Looking at possible live set setlists...

Playing through them...

Disappointing myself...

Honing the selection...

Playing through them...

Disappointing myself again...

On Anne's return, Meg the Black Cat had disappeared...

While we waited her return, we enjoyed Bill Bailey's show "Qualmpeddler" on DVD...

Meg turned up two and half hours later having been who knows where...

Not strange for a cat but she hardly ever ventures outside these days, even with a 24/7 open catflap scenario...

Vegetable curry for tea...

Some tivo'd stuff, "Person of Interest" has returned, "Brooklyn Nine Nine" and the film "Turks and Caicos", followed by live and excellent "Stewart Lee's Comedy Vehicle"...

Managed around half of "Match of the Day" before hitting the sack...

Highlight of the Day : The playing of some songs, not the playing of others...

Weekly Playlist No13

A selection of tracks I've been listening to this week...

Cloudland Blue Weekly Playlist 2014 No 13 by Cloudland Blue Quartet on Mixcloud

Cloudland Blue Quartet - The Actor Takes The Stage - Starlightnight

James Jamieson - Fairytales - Precious (2004 Version)

James Jamieson - The Morning After - Precious (2008 Version)

David Bowie - Starman - Ziggy Stardust

Elvis Presley - Blue Suede Shoes - Elvis Presley

Jason Lytle - You're Too Gone - Yours Truly, The Commuter

Eugene Ormandy/The Philadelphia Orchestra - Barber - Adagio for Strings

Cloudland Blue Quartet - Very Small - Aftersilence

Glenn Gould - Beethoven - Piano Sonata No 14 in C Sharp Minor, 1st Movement

Gyorgy Sandor - Bartok - Piano Sonata 3rd Movement, Allegro Molto

Hakon Austbo - Janacek - Piano Sonata I.X.1905 - 1st Movement, Predtucha (Foreboding)

Andre Watts - Liszt - Études D'Exécution Transcendante D'Après Paganini, La Campanella

Hélène Grimaud - Rachmaninov - Piano Sonata No 2 in G, 2nd Movement

Hélène Grimaud - Ravel - Piano Concerto No 2, 3rd Movement

Rudolf Barshai/WDR Symphony Orchestra Cologne - Shostakovich - Symphony No 1, Allegro

Tajj String Quartet - Vrebalov - Pannonia Boundless

Alban Berg Quartett - Bartok - String Quartet No 3, 1st Movement

Medici Quartet - Beethoven - String Quartet, Opus 132, 4th Movement

Vertavo String Quartet - Brahms - String Quartet in A Minor, 3rd Movement

Andrew Hill - Without Malice - Mosaic Select

The Haxan Cloak - Miste - Excavation

Robert Rich - Somnium (Opening)

Uriah Heep - The Easy Road - Wonderworld

The Cure - The Drowning Man - Faith

The Velvet Underground - Beginning to See the Light (Early Version) - White Light/White heat

King Crimson - The Sailor's Tale (Alt Mix) - Islands

Asia - Valkyrie - Gravitas

Through the rain...

Playlist
Jason Lytle - Yours Truly The Commuter
Beethoven – String Quartet Op 132
Brahms – String Quartet in A Minor
Shostakovich – String Quartet No 10
Barber – Adagio for Strings
Ravel  - Miroirs
Liszt - Études D'Exécution Transcendante D'Après Paganini
Cloudland Blue Quartet – Aftersilence
Cloudland Blue Quartet - Starlightnight
Nico - Chelsea Girl
James Jamieson - Precious

Driving first thing - service time for the car...

The wonderful album "Yours Truly, The Commuter" by Jason Lytle was on the sound system...

Some poignant moments...

The main soundtracking this week though, has been the classical pieces which may be experienced in the summer at the Edinburgh Festival...

Today, that playlist came to an end...

So then, I listened to my back catalogue and my last album - as you do...

Back home, as Anne prepared a very hot lamb curry, I picked up the guitar and played through around 25 of my old songs...

Some seemed good, some not so good...

Cloudland Blue Quartet has not played live for over two years now...

We'll see...

Late on, some TV with "Law & Order UK" and the final two episodes of "Pramface" being enjoyed...

Finally, some compiling of tomorrow's "Weekly Playlist" podcast, which will include some Jamie and Jamie related or dedicated material, the previously mentioned classical-fest, some old favourites, some newly acquird and/or discovered stuff and some stuff Jamie would have hated...

But no chat...

To bed around midnight...

Highlight of the Day : A very tasty curry indeed from the Exec Producer...

Out with the count...

Playlist
Cloudland Blue Quartet - Field Recording 2014 03 03 AM
The Velvet Underground - White Light/White Heat
Janacek - String Quartet No 2
Smetana - String Quartet No 1
Beethoven - String Quartet Op 59 No 2
Janacek - String Quartet No 1

Another fine morning - on arising I soundtracked it with one of the recordings, made just over three weeks ago now, of the environs of Crispycat Towers...

Out and down the hill...

Later in the day, a trip to the National Museum with chum Gavin for some interesting economics based chat...

We were in the same auditorium where Brian Eno entertained last summer...

So, today wasn't quite as good - but entertaining nonetheless...

Early evening, post yesterday's axe scenario, this single shoe was spotted...

...as I made my way to a (too rare) meet up with Count Brodski for a few drinks...

A good night of much reminiscing about stuff, Jamie in particular, and generally setting the world to rights - as is the way of two approaching 55 years old men...

Home around 9:30, this having been snapped...

Being a little the worse for wear, I chose bed over "Question Time"...

Lights out...

Highlight of the Day : Out with my old buddy...

Facing the axe...

Playlist
Asia - Gravitas
Asia - XXX
Bartok - String Quartet No 3
Schubert - String Quartet No 14 Death and the Maiden
Stravinsky - Three Pieces for String Quartet
Webern - Six Bagatelles for String Quartet
JS Bach - Overture in a French Style
Schumann - Novelletten Op 21
Schubert - Piano Sonata in C Minor
Ravel - Le Tombeau de Couperin
Rachmaninov - Piano Sonata No 2
Uriah Heep - Various Albums

A better morning...

At the cathedral, the daffodils are out...

To Fopp at lunchtime - nothing enticed - however, back at the computer, 1p (yes 1p - ok with £1.26 postage) albums partaken of and winging their way as I type...

Back through Charlotte Square...

Missing...

On the way home, these, lying abandoned on the way up Crispycat Hill...

Dangerous in the wrong hands...

Back home, word from Jim Park re Jamie's funeral - next Thursday at 3 at the same place I said farewell to my dad and my sister...

Then to Jamie's beloved Tynecastle - like the Exec Producer, Jamie was a Jambo through and through...

On telly, only "W1A" was sampled - very funny - surely these people aren't really indicative of the types who work for the venerable BBC?

Sausage, crushed potato and cabbage based tea from Annie was much enjoyed...

Elsewhere, some updating of the number of albums by Uriah Heep stored on the hard drive...

For no particular reason - perhaps looking to go from the sublime to the ridiculous, having been soundtracked for most of the day by string quartets and solo piano music...

That's it...

Highlight of the Day : Annie's tea...

The power of music...

Playlist
Shostakovich - Symphony No 1
Ravel - Piano Concerto in G
Brahms - Variations on a Theme by Haydn
Rihm - Lichtes Spiel
R Strauss - Ein Heldenleben
Dowland - If My Complaints
Gesualdo - Ave Dulcissimo Maria
Paredes - #16 (Speakers) - Fiesta for 2 Channel Tape
Mozart - String Quartet - No 14
The Cure - Discography
King Crimson - A Sailor's Tale (Alt Mix)
The Bad Plus - The Rite of Spring
Asia - Gravitas

Out into an overcast day, soundtracked again by potential late summer listening...

Gulls on the roof opposite...

Nothing to report today - a fruitless and frankly vague search for some Schubert piano sonatas...

Back home and Anne was out with chum Theresa for dinner...

Me and Meg the Black Cat were on our own...

Post another enjoyable episode of "Marvel's Agents of Shield", much of the evening was spent compiling a 2CD collection of highlights from The Cure's discography for chum Spike, requested after he'd heard their track "Fire in Cairo" by chance on BBC 6 - which brought back good memories for him...

Such is the power of music...

In the inbox, correspondence with Capital Model and stand up comedian Jim Park re Jamie - suggesting something musical ought to be organised at some point in our old chum's memory...

I hope it will be so...

Late on, two CDs listened to, two CDs ordered and one track and one album downloaded...

The Bad Plus's take on Stravinsky's "The Rite of Spring" is here to stream - and mighty impressive it is too - the CD is on its way...

Along with a 3p (yes 3p - ok plus £1.26 postage) disc of a couple of Schubert's piano sonatas, including the one which will be played at this year's EIF...

Also enjoyed this download from DGM of an alternative version of the track "A Sailor's Tale" from King Crimson's 1971 album, "Islands", demonstrating Robert Fripp's experiments re how to tackle what ended up being one of his best ever solos...

Finally, the new Asia album, "Gravitas" was downloaded and enjoyed as I hit the sack...

Lights out...

Highlight of the Day : New Bad Plus / New Asia....

A helpful cat is a happy cat...

Plylist
Vrebalov - Pannonia Boundless
Beethoven - Piano Sonatas 30, 14, 13, 32
Glass - String Quartet No 5
Mansell/Kronos Quartet - Requiem for a Dream
Beethoven - Piano Sonata 27, 28
Bartok - Piano Sonata
JS Bach - Overture in a French Style
Janacek - Piano Sonata I.X.1905
Liszt - Études D'Exécution Transcendante D'Après Paganini
Robert Rich - Somnium

Up early...

..and Meg helped me compile a playlist based on the choices from the EIF programme made yesterday...

Wildlife in the garden...

Frost on the garage...

The beast was about its business...

Wildlife on the way down the hill...

...including this cute wee chirupy beastie...

The decaying CD, first noted here on 7 February, has finally disappeared...

A beautiful day...

At lunchtime, over to the Royal Mile...

...and to the White Horse to cancel the Capital Models gig...

In the distance, the flat me, Jamie and Angus shared in 1979/80...

Just the other week, after our rehearsals, Jamie was telling me, Anne and Andy how moving into the flat changed his life...

Home under the setting sun...

...and a rising jet...

An episode of "Marvel's Agents of Shield" entertained, before I worked again on the playlist re the Edinburgh Festival, the beginnings of which had already been soundtracking my day...

Another half hearted attempt at musicking...

No appetite...

Later on "Silk" headed to its finale...

To bed intending to listen to the Robert Rich seven hour piece overnight...

Highlight of the Day : Compiling...