Music: Miles, Mingus, Monk as well as Sarah, Billie, Ella and Anita O’Day. Frank, Sammy and Dino, oh, and Tony Bennett. The perfection of Cole Porter, The Gershwins and Jimmy Van Heusen. Lester Bowie and The Art Ensemble of Chicago. Doctor Lonnie Smith. The immortal Cherokees. The British avantguardians. The Westbrooks, Evan Parker, Terry Riley, the incomparable Duffy Power, Tony Oxley, Steve Beresford, Billy Jenkins (remember Burlesque?) Leon and Ringo, Paul and Rick Danko. John and Curtis Mayfield. George and Robbie. Jack Bruce and Carla Bley on the sublime Escalator Over The Hill, Astor Piazolla, Johnny McLaughlin, Robert Wyatt, George Hinchcliffe and his key to perfect, accomplished and inspired entertainment. The poker-faced genius of Dan Hicks. The better-late-than-never friendship between Sting and Declan. Paul Motian, Bill Frisell and Joe Lovano. West country cool tenorist Harry S Fulcher, the Cornish Poets, Bob Dylan and his beautiful career, Sly, The Sex Mob, John Zorn, Joey Baron etc Art: Helen Clapcott, Sarah Allen, Rosie Emerson, Gwen John, Whistler, Nicky Hely-Hutch, David Inshaw, Hockney and his energy, Rauschenberg, Larry Rivers, Ian Dury's and Geoff Appleton’s drawing, Paul Tonkin, Humphrey Ocean, Jeff Rigden, Fiona Reay and the recently discovered (for me) Helene Schjerfbeck, Brian Eno, Cy Twombly, and that bloke who made boxes. Oh, Peter Blake and Jeff Steele, Ralph Steadman. Andy Warhol and Yves Klein. Messy Tom and Giotto. Raphael etc One thing I could never get my huge feet around was ice skating.
These books are great even though I illustrate them:
