Time And Relative Dimension In Jazz
It hit me on Saturday night what the jazz club reminds me of:
Look at that big column in the middle. It’s the T.A.R.D.I.S!
It does look smaller on the outside, too.
Come to think of it: I realise that I haven’t blogged yet about the actual venue that I’m playing in every night. Very remiss of me. So here you go…
It’s a decent-sized, but not huge, room. Which means it’s pretty much the perfect size; because even when it’s a quiet night, it doesn’t feel too empty. I would guess that, at full capacity, it holds about 100 people.
The stage is directly ahead of you as you walk in; and the bar runs along the left-hand side wall (ie. it’s the view in the photograph above). There are a couple of cosy, circular areas (one of which is curtained off with one of those ’70s-style, string curtains), and a couple of high-seated tables, which is where the groups tend to congregate.
The stage is perfect - not too high - the sound system is excellent and sight-lines are good. Unless you’re sitting at the high-seated table directly behind the central T.A.R.D.I.S. control column (or whatever Doctor Who afficianados would call it).
In short, it’s a great little venue:
As you can see from that last photo, too, they have three large, framed black and white prints of Miles, Dizzy and Bird on one of the walls. Which is a nice touch.
In fact, I suggested to M today that they start to fill the other large wall, at the back of the room, with framed photographs of the people who play at the club - like they do at many jazz, and comedy, venues. Such as the 55 Bar in New York, a fabulous former speakeasy in Greenwich Village, where I took this photo (of this photo) of Anita O’Day:
I may not be Anita O’Day hanging on a wall in New York, but I may yet be Andrea Mann hanging on a wall in Malaysia. That’s Asian Jazz Famous for you.
March 3rd, 2008 at 4.29pm
I reckon that would be a great album title, although perhaps by someone like Ornette Coleman in about 1962.
Looks like great venue. A lot better than the typical ‘The Dock and Duck’ or ‘The Fool and Bladder’ (as Alan Barnes refers to).
March 3rd, 2008 at 4.33pm
You could shorten it to TARDIZZ
March 3rd, 2008 at 4.36pm
sounds better than TARDIJ
March 3rd, 2008 at 4.58pm
To boldly go where no Mann has gone before …
March 3rd, 2008 at 4.59pm
I may have to rename the quartet ‘Andrea Mann and The Daleks’
March 3rd, 2008 at 5.06pm
Are you Rose or Davros?
March 3rd, 2008 at 5.08pm
I’d like to be David Tennant!
no, wait, that’s not right.
I’d like to be *with* David Tennant.
that’s it.
March 3rd, 2008 at 7.47pm
you and amillion others. K has the hots for him and is going to see him as Hamlet at the RSC twice! Mind you, I’m gogint o one of those too. not that, well, you know……..
March 3rd, 2008 at 7.49pm
don’t be ashamed: it’s OK to have a boy-crush on David, too. thousands do.
March 3rd, 2008 at 7.49pm
Andrea - are you saying that this is your band?
Wikipedia: “Daleks are grotesque mutated organisms from the planet Skaro, integrated within a tank-like mechanical casing. The resulting creatures are a powerful race bent on universal conquest and domination, utterly without pity, compassion or remorse (as all of their emotions were removed except hate).”
R x
March 3rd, 2008 at 7.49pm
PS. you know what? I never have seen Hamlet…
March 3rd, 2008 at 7.50pm
Rachel - no. but it does sound like my nemesis here. ooh, I have a nemesis! just like Doctor Who. or James Bond.
John - as Alan Barnes refers to what? or rather: where?
March 3rd, 2008 at 7.52pm
It might not be the greatest marketing approach for your world tour (sorry, universal conquest):
“‘Hiding behind the sofa whenever the Daleks appear’ has even been cited as an essential element of British cultural identity”
xx
March 3rd, 2008 at 7.53pm
well, I think British audiences might react in the same way to my trio. I’ve realised that they’re not unlike Jerry’s band in Phonenix Nights, bless ‘em.
March 3rd, 2008 at 8.01pm
Not like this then:
Externally, Daleks resemble human-sized salt or pepper shakers around five to six feet tall, with a single mechanical eyestalk mounted on a rotating dome, a gunstalk containing a death ray which can also be fitted with a projectile weapon, and a telescoping robot manipulator arm. … The creature inside the mechanical casing is depicted as soft and repulsive in appearance and vicious even without its mechanical armour. The voice of a Dalek is electronic; the Dalek creature is apparently unable to make much more than squeaking sounds when out of its casing.
March 3rd, 2008 at 8.21pm
Alan always goes on about a pub called ‘The Fool and Bladder’ which he says that most of the takings from his CD sales goes to. I don’t think there really is a pub called that but there should be.
The band in Phoenix Nights was ‘Les Alanos’ if I remember rightly, alias Les and Alan.
Re Dr Who references. There’s an application thing on Facebook where it decides which Dr Who character you are. No matter what I answered it kept coming up with Captain Jack. I didn’t feel right in that role somehow…
One of my Facebook buddies was named as Madame de Pompidor by this application. The actress who played her in Dr Who is David Tennant’s other half I think.
March 3rd, 2008 at 8.27pm
It’s OK Andrea - (or A1 as I like to think of you) Wikipedia reports:
he dated actress Sophia Myles, who appeared with him in the Doctor Who episode “The Girl in the Fireplace” as Madame de Pompadour. They started dating after filming in October 2005. However in October 2007 Tennant was reported to have finished the relationship over the phone, blaming the lack of time the couple had spent together following Myles’ move to LA.
Over the phone indeed!
March 3rd, 2008 at 8.27pm
*was* David Tennant’s other half. they broke up and now he’s going out with some Doctor Who production assistant or something. or at least, that was last month’s news…
March 3rd, 2008 at 8.29pm
so no, sadly, it’s *not* OK, Rachel
March 3rd, 2008 at 8.30pm
Whoops sorry… I didn’t realise that was old news.
March 3rd, 2008 at 8.31pm
His wikipedia photo is scary. And would you want to go out with a person who broke up over the phone? You’d expect at least an email
March 3rd, 2008 at 9.02pm
Or even perhaps a text…
His wiki photo is a bit scary.
Anyhow it mentions rumours of him seeing Kylie on there
March 3rd, 2008 at 9.07pm
Rachel, you realise of course that that description of a dangerous and tank like outer casing with a soft jelly like internal being which can do little more than squeak is just a translation of Theweleit’s decription of men int sci-fi-ese?!
March 3rd, 2008 at 9.10pm
Oh and he is apparently single at the moment. Karen has checked and it is true!
He is ok though. Rosa wrote to him asking him to come to lunch at ou house sometime and he wrote back! with a nice signed photo and everything. K has framed it and put it next to her side of the bed.
March 3rd, 2008 at 9.11pm
he isn’t coming to lunch though. BUT, coincidence f the day, Andrew T Davies who writes some of the Dr Who episodes is also writing the screenplay for Jim Hawes’ Speak for England which is being done as a BBC TV series.
March 3rd, 2008 at 9.58pm
So work on Jim for that invite to the awards ceremony / launch party and you can all be dahhlings together.
Until then, Rosa will remain the person who’s come closest to being his girl/boyfriend.
I quite liked Tom Baker
x
March 3rd, 2008 at 9.58pm
Joke
March 3rd, 2008 at 10.17pm
He was oK. I met him in a second-hand bookshop on Charing Cross road once and I swear he was actually dressed in his Dr Who constume. And he shouted like a true Luvvy. It was great.
March 3rd, 2008 at 10.45pm
Who’s Theweleit?
March 3rd, 2008 at 10.47pm
The opposite - soft and safe on the outside, hard as steel on the inside - would be the gendered idea of a woman of course. And if you added ‘wonderful powerful outer and inner voices’ it would be Andrea.
March 3rd, 2008 at 10.48pm
Klaus. Wrote a great book called Maennerphantasien, where he basically roots fascism in the dualist masculine division between hard outer shell and inner soft and damaged core. Freudian interpretation of male behaviour but quite convincing. And we know that the Daleks were expressly designed as representatives of fascist values and the SS uniform.
March 3rd, 2008 at 10.50pm
nah. all the women I know know are both hard and soft all the way through. Like chocolate toffees.
px
March 3rd, 2008 at 10.54pm
In one cunning stroke of keys we overcome the dichotomy of gender. Women are chocolate toffees. And men are coffee creams.
March 3rd, 2008 at 10.56pm
But both from the same box.
March 3rd, 2008 at 11.11pm
It makes more sense than the whole Johnn Gray Mars and Venus dichotomy. Though Maybe men are Mars Bars and Women are Crunchies?
March 3rd, 2008 at 11.12pm
Rach, you and I are obviously spending too much time chained to our laptops!
March 3rd, 2008 at 11.52pm
I’ve had three very important meetings today, thank you very much. And a free lunch. I even got an ‘excellent work’ from the PVC.
March 4th, 2008 at 12.29am
Rachel - you are too sweet.
Peter - I think this could be a new post for discussion at The Lock-in…
March 4th, 2008 at 12.36am
Watch out for the ones that are soft on the outside and completely nuts on the inside (Can’t think of a suitable chocolate bar analogy).
March 4th, 2008 at 1.39am
it sounds like the one which used to have the advertising jingle:
“Nuts!/Ohhh hazelnuts/Cadbury’s take them and they cover them with chocolate”.
…whichever ones those were.
March 4th, 2008 at 2.13am
Cadburys Fruit and Nut surely ? or was it Whole Nut ?
March 4th, 2008 at 2.15am
…and if men are chocolate toffees and men are coffee creams, whats the explanation for those horrible sickly orange and strawberry ones that are always left at the end ?
March 4th, 2008 at 2.23am
They are the Jazz geeks. Sweet but no one likes them!
March 4th, 2008 at 2.23am
Matt - they’re the ones with too much fake tan/make-up.
March 4th, 2008 at 2.25am
heeyyyy! I’m a jazz geek!!
March 4th, 2008 at 2.27am
I know
March 4th, 2008 at 10.00am
Any pix of you and the trio taken while performing?
March 4th, 2008 at 4.57pm
Suraya - not while it’s my camera! ;-). there is a picture of us on Ben’s blog, though. and I will be posting some of the band shortly on Flickr (look out for them under ‘Latest pics’ above right).
March 4th, 2008 at 5.35pm
Let’s hear more about the band and your work with them!
March 4th, 2008 at 5.40pm
ok, ok…!
there hasn’t been much to report lately, really.