It’s one of the best albums of the decade so far and it provided the repertoire for this short British tour, whose final date had the Canadian trumpeter Kenny Wheeler joining the sextet for the second set.
It was a glorious performance, both with Wheeler and without. In the main, Douglas’s music is unapologetically written rather than improvised, full of deep, recessive structures and dense, parallel themes, but it is played with the risk and immediacy of spontaneous composition by his superb group. The ensemble passages are unerringly precise while the members of the band are given free-rein to express themselves in short, sharp solos, and Douglas’s own trumpet playing is masterful but never flashy, favouring a stoically melancholy mid-range. A preview of a number from the band’s next album, which re-interprets the music of Wayne Shorter, exemplified the virtues of their method; drummer Ben Perowsky eased into a rhythm familiar from Tony Williams’s work with Miles Davis, while Douglas quoted obliquely from the Shorter compositions on “Filles De Kilimanjaro” A whole jazz era was summoned up in a few careful phrases. In the second set, the addition of Kenny Wheeler provided an extra edge for the programme of Booker Little themes and variations. Wheeler’s tone on flugelhorn manages to create a signature-sound of almost unbearable poignancy. It was a stormer of a gig, validating equally the great tradition and the continued shock of the new..
Floating Tory voters were last night warned by John Major that polling day would be a “day of destiny” and “a Battle for Britain” as he launched an 11th-hour appeal to halt the momentum behind Tony Blair. The Prime Minister ended his final election rally in London with a warning to the voters of Middle England that tomorrow’s vote would be irrevocable – with the nation, its economy, and the bright prospects for the future hanging in the balance.
But with the polls painting the Tories on the brink of defeat, and Mr Major requiring an election miracle, The Independent was told yesterday that the supporters of Michael Heseltine, the Deputy Prime Minister, fear a deal has been hatched between Michael Portillo and John Redwood to run on a twin ticket in the Conservative leadership election after Mr Major stands down.The Heseltine camp believes that Mr Portillo and Mr Redwood are planning to “carve up” the leadership election together to secure the maximum support of the right wing in a new Parliament, and the suspicions underline the febrile state of morale in the Tory ranks.That was reflected by Kenneth Clarke, the Chancellor, who in a Sky TV interview warned that the Conservatives should avoid “internecine warfare” if they lost. They should think about winning the next election.In his last-ditch effort to rescue the Tories from defeat, after 18 years in office, Mr Major last night accused Labour of a triple threat on the economy, Europe and devolution. Reinforcing the message in an election broadcast, he gave a stark warning that Mr Blair was not selling second- hand cars.
“It’s your job, your savings, your mortgage, your prosperity that’s at stake.”Mr Heseltine has ordered his supporters not to engage in any leadership speculation and yesterday continued loyally to support Mr Major’s efforts to avert a Labour victory But he sent out confused signals during the day. At the morning press conference, he appeared to warn that Britain could be marching towards a Labour victory, unaware of what it could mean. “This country is sleepwalking into the sort of disastrous policies Labour in power have always been responsible for,” he said. “The best way to avoid sleepwalking into a nightmare is to wake up.”Later, though, Mr Heseltine repeated his long-standing claim: “I have given my view that the Conservatives will win this election and I have even gone as far as to forecast the outcome – a majority of 60.” And he added: “I have now come to the conclusion that figure is nudging up as I do more research.”Earlier, Mr Major attempted to distance himself from his own election campaign when he accused interviewers of going “on and on” about Europe to the neglect of other issues – apparently forgetting that he had put Europe at the top of his agenda last month.It was “fantasy”, he told BBC Radio 4’s Today programme, to suggest that he had given prominence to Europe.