iiinova — where your digital self keeps evolving

Andrew McKenzie @andrewzmck.bsky.social · 04/09/2026

I saw the great bass/drums team of William Parker & Hamid Drake at Cafe Oto last weekend. US veterans of free jazz now in their 70s, they laid down an inventive stream of deep grooves. Nicole Mitchell played various flutes beautifully, Pat Thomas added a flavour of percussive atonality. Great stuff.

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Reposted by Andrew McKenzie

Sean Thomason @seanthomason.bsky.social · 11/08/2026

So embarrassing when people think the point of reading a novel is to know the plot, so a summary is just as good. The plot isn’t important, you rube. You absolute simpleton. The point of reading a novel is to find out what the characters are eating and start thinking about what you want for dinner.

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Andrew McKenzie @andrewzmck.bsky.social · 29/07/2026

Gig of the week: my favourite bassoon/bass clarinet combo, this Thursday evening at Smokey Joe's Cheltenham.

Mick Beck bassoon, Matthew Lovett bass , Mark Sanders drums, Chris Cundy bass clarinet

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Andrew McKenzie @andrewzmck.bsky.social · 06/07/2026

M John Harrison's novel The End of Everything. Entities have arrived from somewhere, or perhaps evolved from pollution or from the internet, their nature is uncertain and impenetrable. The general atmosphere is woozy and disorienting, unclear what are memories, dreams, hallucinations. Recommended.

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Andrew McKenzie @andrewzmck.bsky.social · 11/06/2026

I have a gig with Theo May's 11-tet, at Tetbury Goods Shed on Wednesday 17th June 2026 at 2pm. Theo is a composer and multi-instrumentalist from Malmesbury. His compositions are idiosyncratic and challenging to play, and compelling to listen to. Recommended.

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Andrew McKenzie @andrewzmck.bsky.social · 02/06/2026

The Highworth jazz festival is on Saturday with loads of great musicians. I'm playing too. Not saying where or when. #antisocial.

Line up of the Highworth jazz festival 2026 on Saturday 6th June. Includes The Paul Crowther Trio plaing at the Wine Bar at 1:30pm.

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Andrew McKenzie @andrewzmck.bsky.social · 20/05/2026

What to see this week: Bohman Brothers, Smokey Joe's Cheltenham, Thursday evening (21/5/2026).

Poster for Bohman Brothers gig Thursday 21st May 2026: an evening of experimental music. At Smokey Joe's Bennington Street Cheltenham. Doors 7:30pm

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Andrew McKenzie @andrewzmck.bsky.social · 04/05/2026

At Chelt Jazz Fest I saw 10 bands, as well as several free events. No pics I'm afraid #antisocial. The best were - Robinson Khoury quartet: tranquil chamber jazz, - Emma Rawicz sextet: agitated contemporary jazz, - Cheltenham Improvisers Orchestra: group improvisation of eccentric textures. Hoorah!

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Andrew McKenzie @andrewzmck.bsky.social · 01/05/2026

I went to see The Secret Agent, a Brazilian film set in the 1970s. If I say it involved corrupt politicians, corrupt police, hitmen, disembodied legs and an innocent protagonist, it might sound like a thriller, but it really isn't. It's slow-paced, relaxed, thoughtful. I liked it.

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Andrew McKenzie @andrewzmck.bsky.social · 28/02/2026

I really enjoyed Seb Rochford's band with Tara Cunningham and David Preston on guitars. Twangy, punky and optimistic. No pedals. Recommended, I bought a CD.

David Preston gtr Seb Rochford drums Anders Christensen bass Tara Cunningham gtr (MAC Birmingham)

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Andrew McKenzie @andrewzmck.bsky.social · 11/02/2026

I really enjoyed Small Prophets. Highly recommended.

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Andrew McKenzie @andrewzmck.bsky.social · 07/01/2026

Bob Ostertag's cd Attention Span from 1990, created using samples of John Zorn's maniacal sax & Fred Frith's sonorous guitar. (I thought about this after seeing Elvin Brandhi doing something similar 35 years later at a Stroud gig this weekend.)

youtube.com

Bob Ostertag / John Zorn / Fred Frith - Attention Span

YouTube video by Andrés Quezada

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Andrew McKenzie @andrewzmck.bsky.social · 09/12/2025

I went to see the Diane Arbus exhibition in London, 45 pictures, highly recommended. (Though the city is a trifle too busy for my liking.)

Diane Arbus: Russian midget friends in a living room on 100th Street, N.Y.C. 1963

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Andrew McKenzie @andrewzmck.bsky.social · 24/11/2025

Musicians I've been to see in the last month: . Tim Berne trio . Mark Ribot solo . Laura Jurd Quintet . Evan Parker + Trance Map . Fezz (Steely Dan tribute) . Sam Eastmond's 12-tet . John Bisset + Phil Minton . Rachel Musson Quartet . Gerry Hemingway + Izumi Kimura . Neil Metcalfe trio . Kim Cypher

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Andrew McKenzie @andrewzmck.bsky.social · 27/10/2025

I finally caught Spinal Tap II: The End Continues. Was glad to see Nigel Tufnel now has a vast array of guitar pedals, including one that looks like a slice of pizza and sounds like a man singing through a duck.

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Andrew McKenzie @andrewzmck.bsky.social · 16/10/2025

I went to see One Battle After Another. Leonardo DiCaprio is first a violent revolutionary, later a brain-frazzled addict with a teenage daughter. I was tense and excited almost throughout. There are nuns and elderly nazis, a groovy 17/8 riff during the chase, some jagged atonal piano. Recommended.

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Andrew McKenzie @andrewzmck.bsky.social · 27/09/2025

I went to see Omega Institute this week. Aidan Searle drums, Jeff Green bass, Nigel Bryant oscillators. Most enjoyable. Propulsive and slightly unstable grooves, plus lots of squawking buzzing bubbling and screeching. Just what I needed, I'd like to see them again. www.instagram.com/p/DO9fcvKDOV...

instagram.com

Welcome back to Instagram. Sign in to check out what your friends, family & interests have been capturing & sharing around the world.

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Andrew McKenzie @andrewzmck.bsky.social · 09/09/2025

I enjoyed seeing The Talented Mr Ripley at the Everyman. Ten actors: at one point most of them were depicting a woozy memory of his cruel aunt. It's quite densely plotty, as he casually bumps people off and shuttles around Europe, juggling the contradictory lies he tells. I'm gonna reread the novel.

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Andrew McKenzie @andrewzmck.bsky.social · 05/09/2025

I went to Bristol Fringe and saw Laura Jurd, Raph Clarkson + Rebecca Nash playing a bunch of Kenny Wheeler tunes. As a long-time KW fan (ever since Gnu High + Deer Wan) I reckon they did a really good job bringing to life his morose compositions, including Kind Folk, Everybody's Song, Heyoke. Fab.

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Andrew McKenzie @andrewzmck.bsky.social · 13/08/2025

I went to see Bill Bailey at Tewkesbury Roses this week. He played Happy Birthday as a Kurt Weill tune, Coldplay as a Turkish folk song, Pachelbel's Canon as a Kraftwerk number. He played keyboard, two guitars, a saz-bouzouki / bouzouki-saz, a foot-operated bass drum, a laser harp, and the bagpipes.

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Reposted by Andrew McKenzie

MꙬse Allain @mooseallain.bsky.social · 13/08/2025

Not all heroes wear capes. For example this morning I am wearing shorts and a T shirt.

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Andrew McKenzie @andrewzmck.bsky.social · 08/08/2025

I bought six novels by Gwendoline Riley. Have enjoyed three of them, all have similar characters. Each features a dissatisfied young woman with little or unfocused ambition, problematic parents, difficult relationships. I really like her flat, intense, downbeat style and focus on humdrum details.

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Andrew McKenzie @andrewzmck.bsky.social · 02/08/2025

I went to see Reggie Watts at Walthamstow: I'm grateful to be living in the same simulation as him.

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Andrew McKenzie @andrewzmck.bsky.social · 24/07/2025

I saw The Other Way Around, a quiet Spanish film. A couple split up after 15 years together, and throw a big party. Most of the film is them telling everyone they know. Throughout the film the woman is editing a film, namely the film we're watching, and discussing what its faults might be. Good film

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Andrew McKenzie @andrewzmck.bsky.social · 14/07/2025

Scary lions in Eastgate shopping centre.

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Andrew McKenzie @andrewzmck.bsky.social · 02/07/2025

I went to hear Rachel Musson at Centrala, Brum. I heard what sounded like at least 3 parallel sounds looping in real time: saxes/flutes/sounds of nature/weird electronics, in subtle counterpoint, multi-textured, gently rising and falling away. The latest in a run of gigs I've enjoyed, thanks to TDE.

electronic equipment, flute, table, chair, floor rug

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Andrew McKenzie @andrewzmck.bsky.social · 26/06/2025

I went to see Woof Heckle in Digbeth: Liam Noble, Caius Williams, Will Glaser, Tara Cunningham. Cacophonous, fissiparous, disintegrational, stimulating. (Thanks as always to TDE.)

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Andrew McKenzie @andrewzmck.bsky.social · 22/06/2025

I've acquired this piano-like thing. Once it's plugged in I might do some grades, and then I might learn some Latin.

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Andrew McKenzie @andrewzmck.bsky.social · 10/06/2025

I saw The Ballad Of Wallis Island: really good, Tim Key made me chuckle a good deal, the others made me weep in sympathy. You'll probably like it too.

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Andrew McKenzie @andrewzmck.bsky.social · 06/06/2025

I went to see Joe McPhee, Susanna Gartmayer, Maria Portugal & John Edwards, an intercontinental quartet. Worked superbly together, they were excellent: playing, singing, reciting, yelling, mostly improvising, but at one point openly singing my funny valentine. I loved it and got a cd. Thanks to TDE!

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Andrew McKenzie @andrewzmck.bsky.social · 31/05/2025

I saw The Phoenician Scheme: quirky, geometrical, mannered, whimsically amusing. I liked.

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Andrew McKenzie @andrewzmck.bsky.social · 29/05/2025

A great gig at Cafe Oto on Monday: Xhosa Cole, Neil Charles, Mark Sanders. Creative, varied, imaginative collective improv. Thanks to Tony Dudley Evans as always for organising.

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Andrew McKenzie @andrewzmck.bsky.social · 16/05/2025

I saw When Autumn Falls at The Roses. A French grandmother poisons her daughter with mushrooms. Was it on purpose? I don't think so. The daughter survives, but some time later falls from her balcony and dies. Was she pushed? Possibly - we're not told. A beautiful, thoughtful, ambiguous film.

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Andrew McKenzie @andrewzmck.bsky.social · 15/05/2025

I saw Slade In Flame from the 1970s at The Sherborne. The sound in there means I can only understand speech when Tom Conti is speaking. But I perked up when Slade started playing Monkeys Can't Swing, loud and raucous and absolutely swings. This is a proper film with proper acting, I liked.

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Andrew McKenzie @andrewzmck.bsky.social · 14/05/2025

I saw Four Mothers at The Roses. Four white haired elderly ladies with quirky attitudes & firm preferences. Their four sons are all gay. One sleeps in his car, but only because the four ladies are staying in his house. Mildly amusing, jaunty, unexciting, but over and done with in 90 minutes.

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Andrew McKenzie @andrewzmck.bsky.social · 13/05/2025

I saw The Surfer, a film starring Nicolas Cage, the jazz musician of American acting, as a wealthy man who somehow over a couple of days becomes a bum living in a broken down car near the beach. The Australian heat is palpable, he drinks from puddles and eats a rat. Slightly bonkers, I liked it.

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Andrew McKenzie @andrewzmck.bsky.social · 07/05/2025

I'm in the paper - with Tommy, Graeme, Andy & Andy! Jazz Jam at 8pm on Friday 9th May at SVA Stroud. (spotted by Paul Boniface)

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Andrew McKenzie @andrewzmck.bsky.social · 07/05/2025

At Chelt Jazz Fest I saw 13 bands, as well as several free events. No pics I'm afraid #antisocial. The best were the Olivia Murphy Orchestra which was both delicate and powerful, and the Byron Wallen quintet. Both of them very creative, virtuosic, and emotionally moving. Hoorah!

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Andrew McKenzie @andrewzmck.bsky.social · 01/05/2025

My Aygo has some splendid novelties: DAB radio, lane assist, bluetooth, a backwards camera. I'm now feeling very modern, and bluesky must be told.

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Andrew McKenzie @andrewzmck.bsky.social · 15/04/2025

My tips for this year's jazz fest: Cheltenham Improvisers Orchestra (free) Mark Kavuma Flight Call Birmingham Conservatoire Sofia Jernberg and Alexander Hawkins Brown Penny Marco Mezquida Daniel Casimir The Fire Next Time! Poppy Daniels Byron Wallen Olivia Murphy

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Andrew McKenzie @andrewzmck.bsky.social · 07/04/2025

I'm said to learn that the Alex cartoon is ending after over 30 years. A very wordy format, generally half the strip consumed by speech bubbles, delivering obscure jokes about characters in the financial sector. Well, I liked it anyway. www.alexcartoon.com

alexcartoon.com

Alex cartoon

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Reposted by Andrew McKenzie

SlenderSherbet @slendersherbet.bsky.social · 29/03/2025

I try to stay away from politics but this crab eating a grape is very important.

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Reposted by Andrew McKenzie

Wolf Conservation Center 🐺 @nywolforg.bsky.social · 31/03/2025

Nature's music 🐺

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Andrew McKenzie @andrewzmck.bsky.social · 21/03/2025

I went to the Rattle and Brash venue just outside Stroud to hear Bex Burch. She encouraged her audience to clap a tricky rhythm (1 . 3 4 . 6 . 8 9 . 11 .). The very musical audience embellished it in a catchy flamenco stylee. She also prompted us to sing a melody, and we harmonised it like angels.

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Andrew McKenzie @andrewzmck.bsky.social · 18/03/2025

Went to see Hard Truths. All about someone who is angry about everything and everyone. At the start appears to be an amusingly grumpy character, gradually becomes apparent there is something very wrong with her. Great film, great acting, rather bleak. Best of all: only 90 minutes long.

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Andrew McKenzie @andrewzmck.bsky.social · 17/03/2025

Also I went to see the Royal Philharmonic a week ago, playing a load of John Williams film tunes. It's been about a decade since I heard such a big orchestra, and I was roused by the power and emotion they generated. I'd love to be a conductor.

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Andrew McKenzie @andrewzmck.bsky.social · 16/03/2025

I finally went to see the Bristol Ensemble (Mike Adcock mentioned them some time ago). They did four pieces by Arvo Part. All were very slow and very diatonic. A dozen musicians repeating triad arpeggios, and traversing scales up and down in a stately fashion. Extremely popular stuff.

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Andrew McKenzie @andrewzmck.bsky.social · 05/03/2025

My fave gig of February: Eliot Galvin, Ruth Goller, Sebastian Rochford & Mandhira de Saram, playing at MAC in Brum. Beautiful composed material, wild improvisation expertly integrated, loads of electronics ditto. Great stuff.

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