Music Outside

The second edition of Ian Carr’s book “Music Outside. Contemporary Jazz in Britain” from 1973 is out now (Northway, 2008). This is a well written description of jazz as the music outside the main market. Carr’s focus is on the new jazz of Britain in the late 60s and early 70s, and there are portraits of Mike Westbrook, John Hiseman, Evan Parker, Derek Bailey, John Stevens, Trevor Watts, Chris McGregor, Mike Gibbs and Ian Carr (and even more). If you are completely new to this area, I guess some parts of the book will feel like a catalogue of artist names, but come on and try! You get fascinating portraits of musicians and stories about the eternal conflict between making art and earning money for bread and milk (and get some appreciation perhaps).

Soundtrack while reading:
Back Door: Back Door (1973)
Ian Carr: Belladonna (1972)
Ian Carr with Nucleus: Labyrinth (1973)
Ian Carr’s Nucleus: Roots (1973)
Centipede: Septober Energy (1971)
Stan Getz/The Kenny Clarke-Francy Boland Big Band: Change of Scenes (1971)
Dave Holland Quartet: Conference of the Birds (1973)
The Mahavishnu Orchestra: The Inner Mounting Flame (1972)
John McLaughlin: Extrapolation (1969)
John McLaughlin: Where Fortune Smiles (1971)
John Surman: Westering Home (1972)
The Keith Tippett Group: Dedicated to you.. (1971)
Mike Westbrook: Citadel/Room 315 (1975)
Kenny Wheeler: Gnu High (1976)
Gary Windo: His Masters Bones (1996)