And the award goes to . . .

That time of year again. For anyone who's interested, here are my nominations for the best of 2008:

Best album
Schlippenbach Trio, Gold Is Where You Find It (Intakt)

Best music I heard on the radio
John Butcher Octet, somethingtobesaid (Jazz on 3, broadcast December 15th [recorded 22nd November, Huddersfield Contemporary Music Festival])

Best book
Branden Joseph, Beyond the Dream Syndicate (Zone Books)

Best film
There Will Be Blood

Best concert
Didn't get out to many gigs I wasn't playing at this year, but for completely contrasting evenings it's a toss-up between:
Public Enemy (supported by Edan, Anti-Pop Consortium and Kool Keith) at Brixton Academy, May 23rd
and the double bill of Portable with Patrick Farmer and John Wall/John Edwards/Mark Sanders at Cafe Oto, September 8th

In memoriam
Many great people sadly died in 2008, but some artists who particularly meant something to me:

Steve Harris, Freddie Hubbard, Mauricio Kagel, Humphrey Lyttleton, Harold Pinter, Oliver Postgate

And one who won't be missed: