Have just finished Roberto Bolano’s 2666. Completely at a loss as to what to make of it. I have almost no idea of what went on…and yet…it’s totally wonderful, and what a beautiful ending. It’s taken me months to read – I can’t remember anything else taking me this long. Maybe I need to digest it for a while before writing anything about it…but wow, in a way I can’t really put my finger on.

And moving back 656 years, if years they are in the title of the book…I’m very flattered to have been named by four journalists in Jazzwise’s end-of-year double issue in that magazine’s ‘Into Tomorrow: Who to look out for in 2010′ feature…I was kindly chosen by John Fordham of The Guardian, the BBC’s Jazz on 3 programme, Duncan Heining of Jazzwise, and Oliver Weindling of the Vortex Jazz Club.

I was also really flattered to have ‘No Now is So’ mentioned in various end of year ‘top ten’-type lists…among them Clifford Allen’s at Ni Kantu (Clifford kindly also nominated the album as best debut in the Village Voice), Derek Taylor’s for Dusted, and Bill Shoemaker’s submission to the Village Voice. Mr Shoemaker was also kind enough to name mine the best debut album of 2009.

So moving into 2010, hopefully exciting things…look out for The Convergence Quartet’s second album, and first studio recording, Song/Dance, coming on Clean Feed in the Autumn…Barkingside in Madrid in February…my Ensemble on tour in July, and then into the studio…and lots more…