Listening to this just made me go all gooey inside. Its a wonderful piece of jazz music, an excellent live performance from candy Dulfer on saxophone and Dave Stewart on guitar. The tune is entitled “Lily Was Here”.

Christmas just isn’t complete without this song. It means something different to everyone who hears it.

My past week has been spent working in my capacity as president of Jazz and Blues Leeds to recruit new members to the society and I’d like to report that it has gone particularly well.

Our publicity consisted of running s freshers week stall all week, on one day having a stall in two places, holding a free gig in the outside tent and handing out over 2,000 flyers, each one coming with comments from me about what we had coming up and how our social consisted of free food and drink.

We had our first social on Thursday evening and at the end of the night I’d met a load of great people who were as into Jazz and Blues music as me if not more so and also added over 65 paid members to the books.

This financial injection is going to ensure the future of Jazz and Blues Leeds for the coming months and provide us with the ability to deliver some of the best jazz and blues events that Leeds University Union has ever seen.

A few days ago I was contacted by the new promoter of events at the Wardrobe jazz club and it looks like we may finally be seeing some improvements at the club. I’ve been given a preliminary event listing for the next few months and it all looks very positive.

I’m hoping to try and work closely with the Wardrobe when planning events for the Jazz and Blues society and perhaps together we can help bring some superb jazz and blues to the university and indeed to the whole of Leeds.

While the frequency of events at the Wardrobe doesn’t seem to be returning to what it once was, it does look like we have a little more jazz in Leeds to get our teeth into and that can’t be a bad thing.

If you haven’t heard guitar playing that made your insides go all gooey before, you’re about to. This performance from Mark Knopfler from Dire Straits is overflowing with emotion and brilliance and the words “pure magic” just don’t do it anywhere near enough justice.

I was listening to the radio today when Phil Collins’ song, Both Sides of the Story, was played. The words seemed to say a lot to me about the world today and how we frequently misunderstand things just because we don’t consider everything we have the ability to consider. For this reason I thought I’d share them here.

‘Though we might hate to admit it, there are always two sides to every story…’

Find yourself in the gutter in a lonely part of town
Where death waits in the darkness with a weapon to cut some stranger down
Sleeping with an empty bottle, he’s a sad and an empty hearted man
All he needs is a job, and a little respect, so he can get out while he can

We always need to hear both sides of the story

Both sides of the story

A neighbourhood peace is shattered it’s the middle of the night
Young faces hide in the shadows, while they watch their mother and father fight
He says she’s been unfaithful, she says her love for him has gone
And the brother shrugs to his sister and says “looks like it’s just us from now on”

We always need to hear both sides of the story

We need to hear both sides of the story

And the lights are all on, the world is watching now
People looking for truth, we must not fail them now
Be sure, before we close our eyes
Don’t walk away from here
’til you hear both sides
No no no nooooo

Here we are all gathered in what seems to be the centre of the storm
Neighbours once friendly now stand each side of the line that has been drawn
They’ve been fighting here for years, but now there’s killing on the streets
While small coffins are lined up sadly, now united in defeat

We always need to hear both sides of the story

And the lights are all on, the world is watching now
People looking for truth, we must not fail them now
Be sure, before we close our eyes
Don’t walk away from here
’til you see both sides
No no no no no no

White man turns the corner, finds himself within a different world
Ghetto kid grabs his shoulder, throws him up against the wall
He says “would you respect me if I didn’t have this gun
‘cos without it, I don’t get it, and that’s why I carry one”

We always need to hear both sides of the story

While revising this afternoon Man at the Top by Bruce Springsteen came on my player and the lyrics sounded worth posting, so here they are. They go much better with the music though.

Here comes a lawyer,here comes a cop.
Here comes a rich, here comes a car-hop.
Goin’ on forever, ain’t ever gonna stop.
Everybody wants to be the man at the top.
Everybody wants to be the man at the top.
Everybody wants to be the man at the top.
Well, name your gun, son, shoot your shot.
Everybody wants to be the man at the top.

Now rich man, poor man, beggar man, thief.
Doctor, lawyer, indian chief.
Don’t ever start to ask them why.
Everybody wants to be the man at the top.
Everybody wants to be the man at the top.
Everybody wants to be the man at the top.
Well, name your gun, son, shoot your shot.
Everybody wants to be the man at the top.
All right (All right). Oh yeah (Oh yeah)
All right now (All right). Oh yeah (Oh yeah)

Man at the top says it’s lonely up there.
If it is man, I don’t care. Build a big white house.
Build a parking lot. Everybody wants to be the man at the
top.

Here comes a banker, here comes a businessman.
Here comes a kid with a guitar in his hand.
Dreamin’ of his record in number one spot.
Everybody wants to be the man at the top.
Everybody wants to be the man at the top.
Everybody wants to be the man at the top.
Well, name your gun son, shoot your shot.
Everybody wants to be the man at the top.
Say right now (All right). Say yeah now (Oh yeah)
Say right…Who’s the man at the top?
Who’s the man at the top, now?

I enjoy classical music but it doesn’t form the bulk of my music collection. One collection of classical music I am particularly fond of however is Gustav Holst’s “The Planets”. The music takes you on a magical journey of war, peace, mystery and serenity all wrapped up in a package we are all familiar with - our solar system. I first heard The Planets as a child on vinyl and have enjoyed it ever since.

It was therefore with great pleasure that I was able to see my first ever live performance of The Planets at the town hall in Leeds, performed by the Leeds University Music Society orchestra. Heather and I got tickets at the last minute but I’m so glad we did as the performance was breathtaking. I knew the music practically note for note but even so I was still amazed by the sound. It filled the hall and the orchestra really used the building to the best possible advantage. Jupiter is my favorite piece and was played to absolute perfection. You could have heard a pin drop when it ended - everyone was so caught up in it.

My favorite part of the whole concert however had to be Neptune, right at the end, where a choir sing a set of notes that fade out that are really rather desolate and haunting. They made use of the concert hall however in this performance by the choir filing out while still singing and then walking along the corridors at the top so although getting fainter by the second it seemed to be filling the room more. Magic just doesn’t do this performance justice.

I must praise the Music Society orchestra for their superb level of skill and commitment. This was quite simply the best charity concert I have ever been to and I will most certainly be supporting them in their classical music efforts next year.

From time to time I hear a song that I like so much that not only do I mention it here but I blog the lyrics. The other week I was round at Heathers and we were listening to some of her music collection and she played me the title track from Mark Knopfler’s album Golden Heart. The music and lyrics combined are simply beautiful, and every time I’ve listened to it since it reminds me of the night I first heard it and puts a smile on my face.

She was swinging by the bangles in a main street store
A while before we met
The most dangerous angels that you ever saw
She spied her amulet

And she took a loop of leather for around her neck
And that was then the start
The most dangerous lady on her quarter deck
She found her Golden Heart
You found your Golden Heart

Then we swirled around each other and the thread was spun
to some Arcadian band
I would stop it from swinging like a pendulum
Just to hold time in my hand

And you shot me with a cannonball of history
And long forgotten art
I’d be turning it over as our words ran free
I’d hold your Golden Heart
I’d hold your Golden Heart

Nothing in the world prepared me for you, your heart, your heart
Nothing in the world that I love more your heart, your heart
Your Golden Heart

And every time I’m thinking of you from a distant shore
And all the time I sleep
I will have a reminder that my baby wore
A part of you to keep

And I’ll send you all my promises across the sea
And while we are apart
I will carry the wonder that you gave to me
I’ll wear your Golden Heart
I’ll wear your Golden Heart

Nothing in the world prepared me for you, your heart, your heart
Nothing in the world that I love more your heart, your heart
Your Golden Heart

Jazz and Blues society are going to be huge is the word from the committee! Basically we took close to 100 sign-ups over the course of the last two days at the re-freshers fair and by normal freshers fair standards the turnouts were rather poor. This means that come September when we will have a massive turnout at the fair we may well have a big society by LUU standards.

We are all looking forward to our first social which will be at Hi-Fi club on Sunday for lunch. Considering the number of people who might go I’m going to have to make sure I call up the club and let them know we are coming!