Sun Ra and the Arkestra would occasionally play at the Dom in NYC as would the songwriter whose on the turntable just now - Jackson Browne. I bought this greatest hits double just before I stopped driving - I suppose that�s mid October and I haven�t played it since except that I played the first of the two Cds last night.

Just now I am using a cheap DVD/TV combination to play Cds - which I bought around the same time. I eventually got the Standing In the Shadows of Motown DVD to use its full capabilities plus the 1959 Miles/Gil Evans TV Special. Maybe tomorrow I will get the Jarrett/Lloyd DVD from the same series. I see that on the R3 chatline someone is trying to get hold of the 90 minute Jarrett programme that went out on C4 just before Christmas.

Today I downloaded three Wayne Shorter lead sheets - Footprints, ESP and Nefertiti. ESP starts with a phrase in fourths - Cs and Gs and Ds. The harmony underneath shifts from an E7 to an extended Fmaj7. Really its just a major third underneath the fourth chord changing with an E&Gsharp shifting up to F&A. Second time the F is replaced by a Dm with Eb&G under - I guess the major third shifts down a step. That kind of thing can scar you for life I would say.

Somebody�s Baby is track 4 on the second CD of the JB set. I�ve always wanted to have that. So now I have. Oh yes there s also The Shape of A Heart.

I also downloaded a version of Fontana Mix today - which is on the same site that s got the Cage/Ra mp3. I have just looked up the account of that piece in Pritchett�s book on the great Aleatorist. Its method is much more complicated than I thought. Over Christmas I bought a radio with 10 shortwave bands in the interests of being more aleatory. This chance stuff is harder than you might think.

I have been talking to Ashley about his Dissertation (MBA at Warwick) which has got me digging up all sorts of stuff. I am pretty taken with an article by Prof Sutton at LSE which surfaced when I was trying to get some more material on supply chains in China following our first conversations. I told my boss that he ought to read it this weekend. We have a meeting on Monday at 9.30am so I may find out whether he manages that. Sutton gave the Clarendon Lectures at Oxford last year where he takes some of the ideas from the supply chains study and takes them to the level of grand theory. I mailed Stephen at the old firm with some of this material and a few terse thoughts on the professionalism of the economists there. I also sent him some stuff on the cash situation in the US Big 3. Don�t say they weren�t warned.

Lawrence (not Laurence) and I have been mailing about global warming. He pulled together the dialogue today. I sent him the Sutton grand theory in return - he does supply chain for a day job. We have agreed that one should just follow ones�s enthusiasms regardless.

Paul Bell to see if I was alive and/or well. He said his mother had died at the start of December - with aplomb. Also that Sue�s son Michael is into Trinity. I was pleased to see Gilbert say that he was going to write three songs for Cathy. I am a bit behind the times.