Dear RMC fans

Here's some summer news to keep you up to date with life and thoughts at RMC HQ.

First a big thank you to all who came to support the Singles Night event at the Polish Club on 13 July. It was a great turnout of familiar and new faces. The music was of course excellent throughout and each artist sold a good handful of CDs to help them wend their way home. Curiously, Ayub Ogada, who we thought would forget this gig in a blur of world music touring, told us this was one of only two UK dates he expects to play this year. He and Lol and Alex loved the RMC experience. It was the first time that RMC has used the Polish Club and it's got a lot going for it as a regular RMC venue. It's informal and friendly, central with reasonable roadside parking (harder in term-time) and has a good and widespread reputation among all sorts of music-lovers and concert attenders. One minor drawback was the Friday night revelries of the Polish ex-servicemen in the bar at the back. However, once we'd squeezed everyone in and closed the sliding door that separates the back bar from the auditorium everyone seemed more than happy. By the end musicians, Poles and RMC stragglers were one happy mix.

Future plans:

We've re-applied to the PRSF for further funding to help us on our way for another full season's programming of eight events starting in November. We're also awaiting the results of a couple of other grant decisions and applying for RMC to become a registered charity. Come what may we definitely have one more confirmed date to look forward to: Wednesday 21 November 2001, 7.30pm:The Rare Music Club at the Polish Club, 50 St Paul's Road, Bristol BS8 1LP

Satoko Fujii (piano) and Natsuki Tamura (trumpet) appear as part of a mixed-genre triple bill alongside contemporary classical and traditional roots musicians. Other musicians, time and prices still to be confirmed.

Some of you may have seen these two play to a packed Albert Inn in Bristol on their debut UK tour last November and will be making a note of this date to catch them again. Their last tour date at the Purcell Room prompted a four-star Guardian review from John Fordham, and fittingly that's the venue they return to for the start of this tour. This time however, the Purcell Room gig (Thursday 15 November) will be part of London Jazz Festival and is likely to be recorded by Jazz on 3. The whole tour goes under the Japan 2001 umbrella and may have funding from the Sasakawa and Daiwa Foundations. Other dates are Friday 16 November at the Jacqueline du Pre Music Building in Oxford (part of an all-day Japanese series of events put on by Oxford Contemporary Music), Warwick Arts Centre (Monday 19 November) and St Donat's College, near Cardiff (Friday 23 November). Since their last tour Satoko has released another three incredible CDs, one with a new Japanese quartet that includes Natsuki, Takeharu Hayakawa and Tatsuya Yoshida (drummer with the Ruins), another one with her Trio with Jim Black and Mark Dresser, and one duo CD with the amazing violinist Mark Feldman. If you're still not convinced look out for reviews and a short Wire feature in October or November or check out her website www2s.biglobe.ne.jp/~Libra/

Other artists for RMC are dependent on funding but we're not short of ideas about who we'd like to hear in which venues so watch this space. One group that we'd love to get at least once of course is the RMC 'house band' Mujician who were unable to make the WOW weekend. Going one step further we hope to get the Paul Dunmall Octet (which includes all four members of Mujician) who have just released their third CD to some acclaim in the likes of the Wire and other publications. For a taste of what to expect there tune in to Mixing It this Sunday on Radio 3 at 11.00pm where they will be playing one track from the latest CD 'Great Divide'. In the autumn, the fifth (as yet untitled) Mujician CD, also on Cuneiform, will hit the streets...

Anyone who knows the Westbrook Blake project and is anywhere near Edinburgh on Friday 12 October should make tracks for the Queen's Hall to catch a rare performance of this masterwork of British jazz (www.westbrookjazz.co.uk or www.queenshalledinburgh.co.uk). Also due soon is the release of the Westbrooks' CD 'Platterback' on Voiceprint. Sadly, there are no confirmed UK dates for this five-piece music theatre piece yet but if you are interested in knowing of any dates that may come up let us know. We are hopeful of securing a performance in London soon and also Bristol, possibly at St George's, in the new year. Among the current line-up is the talented young cellist Chris Allan, performer with The Gogmagogs. This highly original young septet of string players present their special piece of musical theatre in a piece called Troy Town at the Brewhouse Theatre, Taunton on Wednesday 12 September (www.brewhouse-theatre.co.uk). Other special Westbrook projects looming include the world premiere at the Auditorium di Milano of the new fifteen-piece jazz orchestra created to perform the multi-lingual 'Chanson Irresponsable'. It is hoped that UK audiences will get to hear this in due course but can rest content that BBC Radio 3 have commissioned the piece so can expect both live and studio recordings and broadcasts to ensue. More convenient for most of us is the Exeter Phoenix (01392 667080) where on Saturday 15 September they will host The Klinker South West, contemporary music, film, video and performance art including the City Gents (includes Phil Minton) and the South Westbrook Band, a south-west based Brass group led by Mike.

Keith and Julie Tippett meanwhile have few domestic opportunities looming but have, with Paul Dunmall, recently finished another three-week residency at the Dartington Summer School. The night after their last Dartington performance Keith and Julie managed to (just) make it to Palermo in Sicily to play a large amphitheatre as last-minute guests of Alex Balanescu looking to replace his inconvenienced string quartet. Anyone wondering what to do over the Bank Holiday weekend could do worse than head to the mouthwatering and great value Saalfelden Jazz Festival (www.jazzsaalfelden.at) in the South Tyrol in Austria where hidden among dozens of highlights Keith and Julie play together and then again Julie turns up with Lol Coxhill in a Max Nagl project.

Closer to home, early word comes of some treats in store courtesy of Frontrunners and New Notes tours. Some of these events will be at the Arnolfini and some at St George's where I gather they have over fifty concerts in the autumn season! Publicity for those can be expected to hit the streets in the near future and we'll be sure to let you know of anything that particularly catches our eye. We'll certainly be working to put on RMC concerts at these venues ourselves in the new year.

Talking of hitting the streets, an enigmatic festival called Streets Alive! Festival of Surprise with performers and community artists is about to take over the Corn Street area of Bristol on Saturday 22 September. Funded by energy and enthusiasm who knows what to expect but for fuller information nearer the time ask at [email protected] or 0117 9084182.

As ever we'd welcome you passing this newsletter on to anyone who might be interested and if you have any comments and questions about any of the above feel free to contact us. We'll be in touch again once we have finalised details of the 21 November RMC evening and/or any other interesting news. Meantime enjoy those summer leaves!

Best wishes

Janinka Lalomia and Chris Albury

Rare Music Club - A Counterblast to the Musical Mainstream!