Now I don't really see Shostakovich as a badass... but that Gesualdo chap—certainly!

Random tweaks to code. A late one for me, really. Spent a lot of the day writing some educational materials; and went to look at a lovely old venue for putting on concerts... I'm going to try something a bit different, and get some innovative music happening near me for a change.

Not a music site per se, but a common-sense guide to using the web to promote a band, written in a friendly straight-forward way.

Was just sent this list by someone on Twitter. If you're in Europe wanting to listen to jazz this list is definitely worth a perusal...

Just received the nicest of gifts. Mr Chalklin [i.e. the maker of the mallets I buy] has just written me the best letter ever, and sent me a whole bundle of mallets. I wasn't expecting it at all—the postman had just left the package on my doorstep. They sound beautiful, just beautiful, and just in time for Manchester Jazz Festival! Really touched.

Just to explain: it isn't an official endorsement from Chalklin, but certainly a personal one—and it means a hell of a lot. Now, do I tidy the house or do I play all day with my new mallets??

I'm starting a new series of rambles called grow your own site which I hope will be useful to any artist thinking of getting a site! Only a gentle introduction so far. In my continuing efforts to move out of the social networking silos, I've spent my time learning about WebIDs and have set myself up with one too, with more of a relation to music. The technology is simple yet fascinating and secure; and as it's open Web technologies I can use it as my "universal profile page", stating my connections to other sites and presenting my work concisely.

Just put the score to Heralds' the worm up. If you try it out, let me hear your version!

Just testing my sharing of pictures... and showing you the new mallets I gratefully received from Chalklin Percussion.

I've used Chalklin mallets for years, and I thought I might try and get some form of endorsement: so I sat down and wrote a letter. I didn't succeed, but I got the nicest letter from Paul Chalklin, and these lovely mallets! Used them yesterday in a recording session with James Kelly, and of course I'll be taking them out to Matlock and Manchester! But don't they look lovely all arranged?

One of my abiding influences is Joe Chambers. It was his compositions that drew me into the Bobby Hutcherson albums, more than the sound of the vibes themselves. Here he lays down the pure fundamental of music—to educate oneself. Inspiring.

Here's some more of Joe Chambers in the great percussion ensemble!

A fine video showing a master musician's process. I'm really into watching process.

Wow. What a band... and such a driving song too!

Following on from a link about the biggest bad-ass composer a while back, I thought I'd check out Gesualdo. Such beautiful harmonies!

I was reading journalist Nate Chinen's blog where he referred to this hilarious advert.

A conversation I had on Twitter about music with pianist/keyboardist Rob Grundel . I'll draft it over here in a more... palatable form later, but for now it's collected here.

Might add comments to these link posts too. I've been coding and reading up on OpenID, so if you've got a Google/AOL/Wordpress/Blogger etc. account you'll be able to use it! But just got to decide on whether to add it...

Dave Kane and I are currently talking about the despicable evil in Norway. Whilst we're talking about Norway, I am thinking about the despicable evil in Macedonia. Both beautiful countries, marred by a vicious, uncaring minority. Saddening.

Thanks to everyone who came out to hear us at Manchester Jazz Festival—we had a great time!! And Nick Malcolm—there's a name to check out, some lyrical trumpet and fantastic writing. Going to hear the Blink trio today.