What’s New for the 19th of April: Psychedelic Turkish music And Cuban Jazz, E.B. White biography, Tricksters, Music of a Heavenly Nature, On Tap in Our Pub, and other cool matters

For every thing there is a season, and a time for every purpose under the heaven: A time to be born, and a time to die; A time to plant, and a time to pluck up that which is planted; A time to kill, and a time to heal; A time to break down, and a time to build up; A time to weep, and a time to laugh; A time to mourn, and a time to dance. — Ecclesiastes 3:2, King James Bible

Ahhhh, I see you’re studying the chalk board that lists our libation offerings this evening. It shows that we’re currently offering Full Moon Ale, Celebration Ale, White Horse Ale, Lady in The Wood IPA, Queen’s Lament IPA, Wind in The Willows IPA, Albion Cider, Draw Down the Moon Cider, Kinrowan Special Reserve Cider, High Meadow Mead, Widdershins Mead, Dawn Breaking Mead, Odin’s Ravens’ Metheglin, Banish Misfortune Stout and Oberon’s Wood Stout. And of course all are produced here on the Estate by Bjorn, our Brewmaster.

Quite a list to choose from. As the Pub Manager here, I’ve sampled all of them and I’d particularly recommend the Queen’s Lament IPA named after a story told here late on an Autumn night, Drink Down the Moon Cider which is named after a novel by Charles de Lint, a favourite writer round these parts, is rather good and I recommend the Banish Misfortune Stout if you’re in the mood for something seriously dark. If you’re a drinker of Welsh style meads, our metheglin is well-worth trying.

Speaking of de Lint, we’ve been updating our  edition on him and his works for an Autumn publication as he’s been quite busy as his Triskell Press has been releasing new editions of his rather deep catalog and impressive new offerings as well including ‘Somewhere in My Mind There Is a Painting Box’ which is one of the reviews we’ll have soon, and it involves one of the three Dillard Sisters who are to be found togather in Seven Wild Sisters; with just two of them, Laurel and Bess in Medicine Road and Lillian who’s related to them in The Cats of Tanglewood Forest.

Denise takes us from espionage to E.B. White, with a review of Melissa Sweet’s Some  Writer!: The Story of E.B. White.  At first, Denise thought she might not be up to the task of reviewing an autobiography of this esteemed author, but quickly changed her mind. ‘I needn’t have worried; Sweet did all the work for me, and beautifully too. For anyone else who wonders if a book about a writer they remember from childhood tales (and perhaps that Freshman English guide) may be outside of their bailiwick?  I say dig in.’

In keeping with her YA theme this edition, Denise also looks at Maryrose Wood’s What I Wore To Save The World . “A very engaging story with a main character that is down to earth and not just an author’s wish fulfillment in prose form.  This will be a fun series to follow in future volumes; Ms. Wood has provided just enough change in Morgan’s life — natural and supernatural — to keep readers hungry for more.”

Robert brings us a look at an investigation of folklore — from an unexpected source: Avram Davidson’s Adventures in Unhistory: ‘What makes this collection of more than passing interest, and particularly appropriate for Green Man Review, is that it is, quite legitimately, an exploration of the mechanisms of folklore. Call them lectures, call them essays, call them wild speculations with a solid foundation in the ways people rationalize their universe, they are a series of madcap, breathless adventures in the histories of many of our archetypes.’

And from the frying pan into the fire, so to speak: next up is Robert’s look at a particular kind of folklore — what we can call “Trickster tales,” as presented by Ellen Datlow and Terri Windling in The Coyote Road: ‘Trickster gods have long fascinated me, mostly because they are the most entertaining characters in mythology. They also represent the element of chance in the universe, and point as well to an underlying truth about our conception of godhood: Tricksters are the polar points on the continuum of “good” and “bad” — heroes and villains, buffoons and sages, creators and destroyers — most points in between.’

Gereg looks at an interesting culinary book: ‘Where does your food come from? What elements of the landscape made their way into the flavour of your favourite maple syrup, or your apples? If you haven’t been asking yourself questions along these lines already, Rowan Jacobsen’s American Terroir will make you eager to start.’

Donna looks at a boxset from the Byrds entitled There is a Season: ‘I am old enough to remember listening to the early Byrds singles on my transistor radio when I walked to high school from my house. I liked them better than the Beatles, but not as much as the Rolling Stones or the Jefferson Airplane or the Who. Listening to the first couple of CDs in this retrospective boxed set took me back, as in ‘I think I’m goin’ back to a more innocent time in my life and in the ongoing saga of the music industry.I also remember playing later Byrds songs, like ‘Chestnut Mare’ and ‘Lover of the Bayou,’ when I worked at album-oriented rock radio stations in the 1970s.’

The Seattle-based trio duende libre plays ‘solid, groove-filled Cuban jazz,’ Gary says. Their self-titled debut CD, he says, ‘is a solid, upbeat collection of tunes that, like Cuba itself, is an engaging blend of musical styles.’

Lebanon’s Marcel Khalife is a prolific, controversial and well-known composer, singer and player of the oud. Gary takes a look at his latest work, Andalusia of Love, which draws on the poetry of the late Palestinian poet Mahmoud Darwish. He’s joined by his sons, pianist Rami and percussionist Bachar, and Jilbert Yamine on the hammered dulcimer called the kanoun. ‘Throughout this work there is virtuosic playing, some of a solo nature but mostly by the ensemble,’ Gary says. ‘It’s a moving performance of music that is complex yet welcoming.’

Psychedelic Turkish music released by a German label in the ’70s and ’80s? That’s what Gary says Uzelli Psychedelic Anadolu is. The label is preparing for digital re-release of its massive catalog, and this sampler focuses on psychedelic recordings on cassette and vinyl from 1975 to 1984.

Robert has a look at a new take on an old form in a newly released recording from ECM, Trio Mediaeval and Arve Henriksen’s Rímur: ‘My first exposure to rímur came about when a recording by the Icelandic performer Steindór Andersen crossed my desk. Having wrapped my head around the forms and sounds in Andersen’s renderings of a traditional Icelandic form with strong foundations in medieval sources, I was intrigued by the idea of Trio Medieval tackling the same kind of material, given their own background in medieval music.’

The biblical quote that is at the beginning of this post is in itself wonderful language, but it was also turned into a song by Pete Seeger in the late 50s. The song was originally released in 1962 as ‘To Everything There Is a Season’ on the Limeliters’ album Folk Matinee and then some months later on Seeger’s own The Bitter and the Sweet. In late ’65 when it was covered by the Byrds, it became an international hit reaching the top of the charts stateside and here.

The performance of it that I’ve got for you here is neither by Seeger nor the Byrds but rather done by Judy  Collins at the Newport Folk Festival, 25th of July 1965. So here’s  ‘Turn, Turn, Turn’ as superbly performed by her.

Reynard

I'm the Pub Manager for the Green Man Pub which is located at the KInrowan Estate. I'm married to Ingrid, our Steward who's also the Estate Buyer. If I'm off duty and in a mood for a drink, it'll be a single malt, either Irish or Scottish, no water or ice, or possibly an Estate ale or cider. I'm a concertina player, and unlike my wife who has a fine singing voice, I do not have anything of a singing voice anyone want to hear!

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