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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.

I've loved getting your feedback on Be Still at Greenleaf. With this record in particular it has been touching to read so many of your notes relating your thoughts and experiences. Thank you for that. We make the music to reach out, to communicate. Making this record, and perhaps even more performing it live, has deepened my own perception of the reality and the transcendence of loss. It has been an uplifting and life affirming process for me.

Dave Douglas has been an important player in the jazz world for more than two decades, producing a broad body of work as both a trumpet player and a composer. His newest album, Be Still, has a bittersweet backstory: It contains his arrangements of several hymns that his dying mother asked him to perform at her funeral service.

If you’re like us, you have a number of custom ringtones on your iPhone that you use for your alarm clock, text and email alerts, and even a specific tone for when your BFF calls. We have a whole slew of ringtones on our office computer from our artists, and here are 7 of them, all by Matt Ulery from his album By A Little Light that’s been receiving so much deserved attention lately. We hope you enjoy and share this post. Together we can rid the world of “Marimba” “Bell Tower” and the dreaded “Blues.”

Six nights of Sound Prints Quintet at Village Vanguard. Dave Douglas, Joe Lovano, Lawrence Fields, Linda Oh, Joey Baron.

The Many Voices of Trumpeter and Composer Dave Douglas

On tour this week: Dave Douglas Quintet with special guest Aoife O'Donovan playing music from "Be Still."