Jazz: From New Orleans to the new generation

Jazz: From New Orleans to the new generation is a new Guardian ebook that offers a distinctively British perspective on the history of jazz. Consisting of Guardian and Observer reviews and profiles  from 1919 to the present day, the book includes everyone from Duke Ellington, Miles Davis to Robert Glasper. I've written a bit more about this unique collection in a blog for the Guardian's music pages.

Bibliomancy on the South Bank

To the Queen Elizabeth Hall last night to see Norwegian trumpeter Nils Petter Molvaer. An enjoyable evening although for anyone familiar only with the breathy solos and beats of his 1997 album Khymer, this was challenging stuff. "A 21st-century Bitches Brew," was how Guardian critic John Fordham described the material in a review of Molvaer's new album, Hamada.

Anyway, enough of all that jazz. Rather more pertinent to this blog is the Bibliomancer's Dream, an art installation consisting of hundreds of books, situated in the QEH foyer. Inspired by the ancient ritual of Bibliomancy- the art of divining the future with books, visitors are invited to "select a book at random and pick a line or verse to learn a truth or simply inspire the imagination". It looks rather good too.