- Source: Scratches of Spain
Scratches of Spain is an album by English experimental jazz guitarist and bandleader Billy Jenkins, featuring the Voice of God Collective. It was released on the Babel Records label in 1987.
As with many of Jenkins' records, Scratches of Spain showcases Jenkins' "spaß jazz" approach which combines serious musicianship with conceptual irreverence, musical jokes and détournement. This is reflected in the album title (which refers to the classic Miles Davis album Sketches of Spain, with the cover art also being a parody of the Sketches of Spain artwork), the piece titles (which refer to down-to-earth, mass culture or tourism-related topics rather than the grander romantic conceptions featured on Sketches of Spain) and in the musician credits (which make jokey reference to the stylistic and technical approaches used by each player).
Track listing
All compositions by Billy Jenkins.
"Monkey Men" – 6:15
"Cuttlefish" – 6:09
"Barcelona" – 7:57
"Benidorm Motorway Services" – 4:00
"Bilbao/St. Columbus Day" – 4:51
"Cooking Oil" – 5:12
"McDonalds" – 4:41
Personnel
Billy Jenkins - "spaß" guitar, violin
Chris Batchelor - "straight" trumpet
John Eacott - "trad" trumpet
Skid Solo - "spaß" trumpet
Iain Ballamy - "bigtime" saxophones
Steve Buckley - "straight" saxophones
Dai Pritchard - "spaß" saxophones, clarinets
David Jago - "grown-up" trombone
Ashley Slater - "juvenile" bass trombone, tuba, vocals
Davo Cooke - "heavy metal" guitar
Django Bates - "doodle" keyboards
Jimmy Haycraft - "golden" vibraphone
Jo Westcott - "proper" cello
Tim Matthewman - "fat" electric bass guitar
Simon Edwards - "skinny" acoustic bass guitar
Dawson - "experienced" hand drums, percussion,
Steve Argüelles - "stuntman" hand drums, "midget" drumkit
Roy Dodds - excited percussion, "spaßtic" drumkit