Bob And Mavis

It's good to see that Bob Dylan and Mavis Staples will be hitting the road together on a tour of the States later this year.

They've known each other for more than 50 years – and Bob is said to have proposed to her early on, only to be turned down.

That never ended their mutual admiration – and there's a lovely duet by them which closes the excellent album "Gotta Serve Somebody - the Gospel Songs of Bob Dylan".

And Mavis's latterday blues/soul/gospel albums have sounded rather like Dylan without Dylan actually being present.

The two of them on the same stage is bound to be a powerful experience for those lucky enough to be there.

In the current era of formulaic, passionless and gutless songs and singing, Dylan and Staples are on another plane, almost another planet. When we lose them, the music really will be dead.

Free Spirit

A lot of rock stars kill themselves by accident. Only a few do it purposefully. Keith Emerson appears to have been one of the latter.

He is destined to be a remembered as a 'prog rock legend' – when perhaps he should simply be hailed as a great musician, and a great and free spirit.

Before the juggernaut of ELP took to the road, Emerson had long paid his dues on the club circuit and found fame as the keyboard player with The Nice.

He added a little spice to his solos by throwing knives into his keyboard and amps. And The Nice stirred things up in the States with their own (wildly superior) version of Bernstein's 'America', particularly when Emerson decided to burn the US flag on stage.

I recall seeing Emerson and his knives at a free concert in London's Hyde Park in an era when the music represented a counterculture – rather than being a willing and greedy part of the establishment.

Emerson was his own man – to the end. That's how he should be remembered.

Ride On

I spent some time yesterday playing ride cymbal… two ride cymbals to be precise. One the new Bosphorus Antique Series model (pictured above) and one my old faithful Istanbul model.

I'd been semi-seduced by the sight and sound of the Bosphorus on a visit to the excellent Drumshack in south London. It's a beautiful and clever piece of work and has a variety of lovely, dry sounds. In short, I quite fancied it.

I thought it might cut through the high volume of the Unison Bends band better than my Istanbul. So I took my own ride into the store, set them both up and tried them out against each other.

What this proved was that they were two different instruments, and what I could have with one, I couldn't have with the other. And in terms of volume, they were about the same.

My decision was to stick with what I have. And at the gig tonight, I will appreciate my old ride cymbal having found that it stood up so well to the new kid on the block.

Ginger

In answer to the previous post's question: what are we rehearsing for?

The response today is: because we are bloody lucky to be able to play.

The following terrible, if not unsurprising, news is on Ginger Baker's website: "Just seen doctor… big shock… no more gigs for this old drummer… everything is off… of all things I never thought it would be my heart…"

See my other previous post for how I feel about this curmudgeonly genius of the drums.

It's only through practice that we reach our real potential. Long ago Ginger used to do his seven hours a day or whatever, playing the rudiments until they were absorbed into his body. And that gave him the vocabulary to speak with a unique musical voice.

When you heard Ginger… you knew it was Ginger and no one else.

I don't know how he has lived this long… and played so brilliantly and been such an inspiration to so many.

If it's not too late, I wish him health… and peace.