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The provincial towns that you jog round
Yesterday I got a parcel in the post. It was from my parents, but contained the missing part of my Christmas present from my uncle.
Last night I hopped into bed and listened to it (it was a CD, by the way).
It was, in fact, Knee Deep in the North Sea, which I stuck on my wish-list after hearing an interview with the Portico Quartet on some terribly high-brow Arts programme on Radio 4.
However... there is a surprising part here. Hold on to your hats, gents. The Portico Quartet plays... jazz. Yes, this is me voluntarily listening to modern(ish) jazz.
What makes them special ? Well... they have a double bass, sax and percussion. All pretty straightforward so far. But they also have a hang.
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oxfordgirl introduced me to the hang some years ago when she bought one. It's a magical-sounding instrument. Although it qualifies as "percussion", it's tuned and the result is a soft torrent of chiming, fluid music. It's the gentler cousin of the steel drum, and if all else fails I think you can probably cook a reasonably decent stew in one.
People who do eMusic can download/listen to Knee Deep in the North Sea here.
Everyone else should dash out and buy it. Off you go.
Last night I hopped into bed and listened to it (it was a CD, by the way).
It was, in fact, Knee Deep in the North Sea, which I stuck on my wish-list after hearing an interview with the Portico Quartet on some terribly high-brow Arts programme on Radio 4.
However... there is a surprising part here. Hold on to your hats, gents. The Portico Quartet plays... jazz. Yes, this is me voluntarily listening to modern(ish) jazz.
What makes them special ? Well... they have a double bass, sax and percussion. All pretty straightforward so far. But they also have a hang.
oxfordgirl introduced me to the hang some years ago when she bought one. It's a magical-sounding instrument. Although it qualifies as "percussion", it's tuned and the result is a soft torrent of chiming, fluid music. It's the gentler cousin of the steel drum, and if all else fails I think you can probably cook a reasonably decent stew in one.People who do eMusic can download/listen to Knee Deep in the North Sea here.
Everyone else should dash out and buy it. Off you go.