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Wandering around The Duke's Hall at the Royal Academy one afternoon between rehearsals I noticed one particularly odd portrait among the many splendid 19th century oils. It was Sir Harrison Birtwistle, painted by his son, Adam. In a modern, almost Francis Bacon-like style, Sir Harrison looks like he might be pronouncing his famous commentary on pop music. It's too loud and uses too many cliches, he said.

Butch Morris could be fierce. If he didn't like the way things were going or how you were reacting he could fling sparks of anger across the stage that were absolutely devastating. A friend of mine came up to me at the break in one of our rehearsals and said he wasn't sure he'd make it. He was convinced Butch had it in for him. Another friend almost got hit by a set of headphones Butch threw across the room at him. But when Butch got what he was looking for, man, it was heaven.

I heard an interview some time ago with an author who listed the “Ten Most Harmful Novelists for Aspiring Writers.” Is there a record or records you think have the effect of changing artists to a degree that may be detrimental?

A reissue of the three string group albums, Parallel Worlds, Convergence, and Five! Plus discs by Mark Dresser, Rova, and Jon Lindberg that I played on. CAM Jazz is reissuing lots of gems from the Black Saint/Soul Note catalog including George Lewis, Muhal Richard Abrams, Julius Hemphill, George Adams, Don Pullen, Jimmy Giuffre and many more. Check it out at camjazz.com.

There were some tough news stories towards the end of last year. That's no reason not to appreciate the great things from 2012. Here are a few things I really appreciated. Thank you.