bentenlaughing

 Introduction:  I interviewed Judy; in perhaps late 1979.  There is a Part One of this interview but I've yet to locate it.  I was studying Jazz theory with visiting USA Jazz musicians; via the courtesy of Jeanette & Greg Quigley who had organized Jamie Aebersold to teach in Australia. I've the feeling that it was around this time that I managed to sit down and have a chat with Judy with my trusted tape recorder.  As this interview will show; Judy displays a brilliant; quirky, humorous and insightful take on her idiom along with the generalities of life in the Antipodes.  I've decided to try to stick to the original transcription with as few edits as possible. Along with that as it's a very long interview which I'm having to retype I'm going to break it up into segments. I know for those who are familiar with Judy's work you'll enjoy hearing her responses to my questions and for those new to her that you'll check out her gorgeous music.   Chee...

Now that we are through the worst of the situation, for the moment, on the far south coast of New South Wales, Australia, we are safe. And the good news is that solid rain is forecast for the entire south eastern region of Australia in the coming days, which promises to finally put this crisis to and end, a crisis that began in September and has continued to ravage our lands, our lives and our lungs. So our attention now can safely turn to recovery and rebuilding our communities.  We are passionate gardeners and have planted a food forest of over 300 plant species at our home. This includes greens for daily eating, as well as tomatoes and pumpkins, but also fruit and nut trees and herbs such as All Spice, Cinnamon and Lemon Myrtle. What we are presently looking for is soil donations so we can collect plant cuttings to give to our friends who have thankfully saved their houses, but faced with the blackness every day of looking at scorched lands.  Many people in ...

  Janice:  Margaret, you recently were in Vietnam working with students of theatre.  Can you share some of your experience with us? Margaret: This was my second visit as Guest Lecturer at the Hanoi Academy of Theatre and Cinema working on plays by Russian dramatist Anton Chekhov with third year acting students.  In 2018 we worked on The Seagull and in 2019 Three Sisters.  These intensive classes form part of a semester on Western Theatre in which the students also explore texts by Moliere and Shakespeare. The Chekhov texts are difficult for acting students around the world because the style of naturalism requires detailed study of the text for clues about what motivates the characters. The Vietnamese style of acting is much more presentational - big on physicality and powerful gestures - with less emphasis on the tiny moment by moment shifts and inter-personal relationships that playing Chekhov requires. Als...

You might notice The way that spaces Surround each moment's gift. How hurrying people adorn A world That sighs with murmured wind. Clocks will tick Unheard behind The pressure of today. One day silent they sit As cicadas cut the air. How this now Can't ever be grasped No matter how you try. You are void and open mind Dancing throughout so called time. Biog: I was born in Cootamundra in country NSW in 1955 but spent my formative years living by the ocean in Sydney's northern beaches, many hours spent walking on deserted windswept sand ,soaking in the vast beauty of sea and sky .  I tried my hand at poetry in my teens and twenties , particularly inspired by Gary Snyder , but I lacked confidence to do much with it. Now that I'm in my mature years I don't care very much what others think but I'm delighted if someone enjoys my ramblings, rough and unpolished as they are. I feel that poetr...

A note on climate-change and music composition. This morning ash and charred leaves fell as I put shade cloth on my vegie patch (while wearing a mask).  I am living in a poorly insulated rental property which seems to heat up quickly and cool down slowly, and I have a chronic health condition (ME/CFS) which is exacerbated by the poor air quality. I don’t feel the need to ponder the intricacies of climate change and its causative impact on the current fire situation and impending heatwaves in my local area. This is not my area of expertise. But it appears (in addition to my somewhat disturbing subjective reality) that the science is in and there is no room for dispute. I will instead focus here on the relationship between music composition and climate change, as that is something rarely (if ever) considered. What is the relationship between climate change and our current way of “doing” the arts in general and music composition in particular? I would have to argue the ...

Dear bentenlaughing friends. I hope you enjoy Arterial Flow's new collaboration with gifted Brazilian singer/songwriter ERLER PINHO Some months back I invited Lee to translate our song Strange Day into Portuguese. Arterial Flow's "Strange Day" beautifully reinterpreted & translated by Brazilian singer/songwriter, ERLER PINHO . Arterial Flow members live on distant shores from me so it's an often slow process in developing tracks.  We rely on goodwill and our shared love of experimentation.  After ERLER PINHO translated Strange Day he then added a vocal to our original track. I decided it required a new treatment especially for him.  Kirk Kadish brought it magically to full realization and included my original backing vocals!  Thanks again Kirk & ERLER.  I love the final mix. In the new year I hope to do an interview with Erler so that you can learn more of his own formidable music as he's a great singer/songwriter .  Cheers from the ...