Sat 2 Oct – Håkan Hardenberger, Roland Pöntinen:

This was an evening i won't forget in a hurry. The trumpeter Håkan Hardenberger was fantastically, ridiculously good, making music of incandescent beauty. His accompanist Roland Pöntinen was also brilliant.

Highlights included a number by Astor Piazolla, a trumpet sonata by Hindemith and the encore which was apparently an improvisation based on a tune called "Chanting" by Ornette Coleman.

Sun 19 Sep – Alim Qasimov, Homayun Sakhi:

The concert was in two halves. The first featured Afghan Rubab player Homayun Sakhi and two percussionists - one of whom turned out to be something of a juggler too! Their set was very enjoyable and they were warmly applauded.

It was the Alim Qasimov ensemble that most people had evidently come to see though. Qasimov and his daughter Ferhane sang Sufi devotional songs, their voices growing more and more ecstatic as the music developed. At the end the audience rose to give them a standing ovation.

Each performance was preceded…

Tue 31 Aug – Luca Luciano

The music was better than i could ever have expected: lyrical, poignant, powerful and bold. My favourite was the second piece Sequenza #2, a mostly improvised work it seems. Luca Luciano seemed to send his music flying about the air as he explored further and further. But it was all good. A clarinet virtuoso and a half!

According to iTunes the first track i added in 2009 was Cindy's Main Mood on the 15 January, while the last was Doctor Who Theme on the 29 December. Quite a difference!

In between these two tracks i discovered the Danish group Catbird, the Uzbek singer Yulduz Usmanova and the great brass ensemble Boban Markovic Orkestar. I also mopped up lots more music by 2008 faves such as Outkast and the Ivar Kolve Trio and got very very into Dusty Springfield.

I also picked up a lot of jazz: Art Farmer, Kenny Dorham, Blue Mitchell…

I have been trying out the free (legal) music streaming service Spotify, which was recommended to me by my friend Beth. The catalogue is impressive, although the search functionality needs some work.

The main concern for me though is the sound quality. It sounds a bit… flat… empty. Strangely, other people seem to find it very impressive. Well, i suppose when you consider that the music is being streamed it is good.

I tried it out with:

Ain't No Thang
The Man Don't Give a Fuck
I'm gonna sit right down and write myself a letter
With my little…

I can't believe it's taken me this long to discover OutKast! I followed a recommendation on iTunes after buying some tracks by UK Hip-Hop artist Sway and was shocked at how good the Speakerboxxx / The Love Below and Stankonia albums both are. So good in fact that it's impossible to pick a favourite track.

The Speakerboxxx / The Love Below split-album is particularly fascinating: one minute i think i prefer the Prince-like second half, for example She Lives In My Lap, and the next i'm sure it's the more obviously hip-hoppish first half that i like best.…

Three trumpeters i never grow tired of: Maurice André, Louis Armstrong and Roy Eldridge. Such different artists with such different styles: the first pure and golden, the second earthy and humble, while the third is just so… elusive . I've been searching for words to describe the magic of Roy Eldridge, but they're just not coming.

My trumpeting trinity.

… and i've discovered quite a few new artists in that time.

Some of those discoveries:

Well, US-resident Japanese vocalist Aiko Shimada certainly requires a mention. Her music is at once delicate and fearless. Two of her songs, Rare Flower and She Is A Cloud, are among the most beautiful i've heard in my life.

Also Japanese but very different: Melt-Banana. Unlike about 99% of noise-rock this group's music is genuinely good to listen to. Something about the contrast between the wild banshee-ish noise and the charming (if absolutely crazy) Japlish lyrics delivered by girls who sound like…

Listening to Tuvan folk-metal band Bugotak's cover of Come Together, which in their version is retitled Kon' Togethy (The Beatles's Come Together), i couldn't help noticing, that (amidst the Jaba the Hutt style throat singing and ewok elastic band accompaniment) there was a horse neighing away.

Imagine my surprise when what sounded like the same horse turned up on another new discovery, the Avalanches' mad psychiatry anthem: Frontier Psychiatrist.

And then the very next day i download Rainbowarriors only to find… there it is… the horse AGAIN!

From Bugotak to The Avalanches to CocoRosie in the space…

Looking at pages for different artists yesterday it struck me that every other linked journal entry seemed to be entitled something along the lines of "100 Greatest…" Well, it makes sense, doesn't it? Most journal entries are about listing favourites after all.

Determined nevertheless to avoid a "100 Greatest" title this time, I delved inside the dark rooms of my brain and found… the usual hungry monsters.

Back in the real-ish world meanwhile, I have been getting reacquainted with hip-hop.

Back in the 80s i can remember feeling excited by Grandmaster Flash and the Furious Five and by the wealth…