Bright Size Life

by Pat Metheny

Metheny’s debut LP, released 50 years ago today, remains one of my desert island jazz albums. Almost everything about it is, well, bright. Bob Moses on drums and pre-Weather Report Jaco Pastorius on bass shine throughout, and the man himself is not bad either. I said “almost”. I’m not a fan of “traditional” hollow-body jazz guitar sound which is too dull for my taste. IMHO a purely acoustic guitar or a solid-body electric guitar would make Bright Size Life even brighter. (Later, Metheny would develop the taste for guitar synthesiser which I also don’t care for; luckily, no such abomination here.)

If I had to choose my favourite tracks, I’d go with Midwestern Nights Dream, Ornette Coleman’s Round Trip/Broadway Blues and the title composition.

Lo normal

a play by Menudas Pájaras
interpreted by Núria Cano Cano

I saw this event advertised simply as “obra teatro” to take place in the Civic Centre of Nanclares de la Oca. By what theatre? Anyway, I was intrigued: finally, something cultural is happening in Nanclares! Great or awful, I was determined to see it.

Thankfully, I was not alone: the auditorium was optimistically half-full. I’m glad that I came to the show. It’s clever, it’s funny, and it’s necessary. Núria Cano, a clown and a sexologist (that’s right), engaged the audience in unusual ways but, as I don’t want to spoil a surprise, I’ll say no more.

A Dry White Season

a film by Euzhan Palcy
based on a novel by André Brink
music by Dave Grusin

Donald Sutherland, Susan Sarandon and Marlon Brando notwithstanding, A Dry White Season was a box office flop. As the director put it, “That’s the terrible thing about being a pioneer”. I have to admit that I never heard about this film until now. So thank you La Filmoteca Valenciana for enlightening me.

It’s not an easy watch, and why should it be? But watch it, you won’t regret it. Featuring the flugelhorn of Hugh Masekela and songs by Ladysmith Black Mambazo; also starring Zakes Mokae, Thoko Ntshinga, Winston Ntshona, Jürgen Prochnow and Janet Suzman.

The Duke

a film by Roger Michell

I only paid for TV licence in the UK for about 18 months, in 1995 and 1996, and that was for an old black and white telly that my professor lent me. (I’ll never get this money back.) During and after that time, the TV Licensing folk kept harassing me by sending threatening letters: first, by implying I might well have acquired a colour TV set and should pay more, and then, when we moved far away, by asking why don’t we pay if, in all probability, we already have TV in our household. Which we didn’t.

So Kempton Bunton should have been my hero, except I never heard about him until I watched this film. Starring Jim Broadbent and Helen Mirren, it’s a charming, very English comedy.

Two museums and two films in Valencia, February 2026

What I saw during my week in Valencia:

• Six exhibitions at Centre del Carme Cultura Contemporània (CCCC), Carrer del Museu, 2, Valencia:
  • 12 December 2025 — 22 February 2026: La transformación de Valencia 1866—2026
    Transformation of Valencia as documented by the newspaper Las Provincias and in works of Marta Torres, Ada Sinache, Jaume Mora, Alba García, Laura Pérez, Mario Barrachina, José Miguel Guillén, Virginia Lorente, Juanma Martínez, Ángela Salerno, Raúl Salazar, Fran Parreño, Anneta Santacreu, Dakota Hernández, Ivan Mata, Daniel García, Mario Dubla, Pau Valls, Núria Tamarit, Pablo Caracol, Tomás Ferrer-Dibujador, Jordi Ferrándiz, Sr. García, Elga Lamas, Luna Pan, Laura Castelló, Mar Hernández, Enric Ejarque, Martín Forés and Felip Ariza.

    

  • 21 January — 5 April 2026: El ritual del respawn by Ana Esteve Reig
    Videoinstallations by Ana Esteve Reig (Agres, 1986).

    

  • 21 January — 12 April: Circuito Cerrado (“Closed Circuit”)
    Works and installations by Marta Azparren, Ana Esteve Reig, EXONEMO, Takahiko Iimura, Inma Femenía, Jean Genet, Almudena Lobera, Aya Momose, Arata Mori, Laura Ramírez Palacio, Manuel Saiz, Kentaro Taki and Kei Uruno.

    

  • 5 February — 19 April: Pepe Beas. Los Margenes de lo Real
    Retrospective of works by Pepe Beas (Córdoba, Argentina, 1955). Depressing as hell, apart from the red room.

    

  • 6 February — 17 May: Chema Madoz. Letra y Compás
    Works by Chema Madoz.

    

  • 13 February — 26 April: Paco Camallonga
    Works by Valencian designer, illustrator and sculptor Paco Camallonga.

    

• 6 February — 15 March: Exposición del Ninot 2026, Museu de les Ciències, la Ciutat de les Arts i les Ciències
  According to the blurb, “this exciting exhibition showcases over 700 ninots carefully selected by the Falla commissions, each competing for your vote to escape the flames. The two most popular ninots, both in the infant and adult categories, will have the honor of joining the prestigious collection of the Fallero Museum.”

  

I also went to see two films at La Filmoteca Valenciana (Plaça de l’Ajuntament, 17): pretty soporific 1933 silent movie Japanese Girls at the Harbor by Hiroshi Shimizu, somewhat redeemed by the live piano accompaniment (Arcadi Valiente), and A Dry White Season, of which later.

Танго и вальс

by Various Artists

Here’s another LP that my mum often asked “to put on”. I don’t know who and when bought it. By all accounts, it was a weird compilation. Only on five (of 16) tracks the performers were credited, one of them incorrectly; the rest of the songs was played by an anonymous “orchestra”. Some of the titles were translated in a funny way (how A media luz even can be «Твоё имя»?) and some not translated at all (El Choclo = «Эль чокло»). But my mum loved this album and, re-listening it now, I realise that I liked it too. What not to like? After all, it delivers what is says: a waltz after a tango and a tango after a waltz, and comes with a psychedelic cover artwork.

Side A Mama, yo quiero un novio (Ramón Collazo) Angelica (Rolf Zimmermann) Il pleut sur la route (Henry Himmel) — Yoichi Sugawara Květ Aloe (Vlastimil Kloc) La Paloma (Sebastián Iradier) La Valse à mille temps (Jacques Brel) — Jacques Brel A media luz (Edgardo Donato) It’s A Sin To Tell A Lie (Billy Mayhew)	1 сторона Мама, я люблю (Коллацо) Анжелика (Р. Циммерман) Дождь идёт (Ц. Биксио*) — Еити Сугавара Цветок алоэ (Клоц) Голубка (Ирадье) Всё о вальсе (Ж. Брель) — Жак Брель Твоё имя (Донато) Скажи мне правду (Мейхью)
Side B Gruß aus Paris (Ralph Stüwe) Tango Italiano (Walter Malgoni, Bruno Pallesi, Luciano Beretta) — Marino Marini Song of the Islands (Na Lei O Hawaii) (Charles E. King) Confesión (Enrique Santos Discépolo) Sous le vieux Pont des Soupirs (Marguerite Monnot, Jean Broussolle) — Lucienne Delyle El paso (Jürgen Hermann) Les Bicyclettes de Belsize (Les Reed, Barry Mason) El Choclo (Ángel Villoldo)	2 сторона Привет издалека (Р. Штюве) Танго итальяно (Мальгони) — Марино Марини На далёких островах (Кинг) Признание (Дисцеполо) Всюду звучит вальс (М. Моно) — Люсьена Делиль Шаг за шагом (Ю. Герман) Тандем (Л. Рид) — Том Джонс† Эль чокло (Вилольдо)

*	I’ve no idea who it is but it’s not the composer of the song.
†	Definitely not Tom Jones. The song was recorded by Engelbert Humperdinck but on this compilation it’s somebody else.

Entrevista

This is the Spanish version of Interview, a short story that appears in our new book, The Thread. Available in paperback and on Kindle from Amazon.

Yo no pregunto ningunos acertijos. ¿Para qué? Me entretiene charlar con hombres en su idioma, nada más. O sus idiomas. Todas las lenguas humanas son parecidas: sujeto, objeto, verbo. Una vez que domines una, puedes hablar la otra.

Los dioses no nos dicen nada en ningún idioma hablado. Nos dan señales. Si no sabemos interpretarlos correctamente, es decir, en nuestro beneficio, ¡peor para nosotras!

Además, los dioses nos dieron cerebro para que pudiéramos pensar por nosotras mismas. La devoción no sustituye al cerebro.

Para que lo sepas: corro más rápido que cualquier hombre y cualquier caballo. Sólo lo menciono para que no te desgastes en vano. No es que tenga que retenerte aquí. Por mucho que disfrute de tu compañía, si quieres ir pa’ casa ahora, no hace falta correr, no me moveré. Pero no intentes colarte.

Por última vez: no matamos a seres humanos. Tenemos instrucciones muy claras al respecto: «No hacer daño a los humanos».