TOP NEWS JAZZ

Vocalist who brought a jazz sensibility to all kinds of songs and spent 60 years in the spotlightThe singer Nancy Wilson, who has died aged 81, did not consider herself a jazz vocalist – though many others did, including the Grammy awards judges (she won three), and such jazz-rooted playing ... read more

The young art director’s idea to photograph as many of the luminaries of the New York jazz scene as possible together for Esquire’s 1959 Golden Age of Jazz edition began his career as a photographer. Police closed the road to all but residential traffic, and 57 musicians duly assembled in ... read more

(JMD)There was a time, believe it or not, when people went to jazz clubs for a fun night out, and every venue, including the original Ronnie Scott’s, had a space for dancing. It’s less lively now, but no one’s smoking, so you can actually see the band from the back ... read more

Wilson, whose hits ranged from R&B to jazz and funk and called herself a ‘song stylist’, died in California after a long illnessGrammy award-winning singer Nancy Wilson, whose hits ranged from R&B to jazz and funk, died at her California home at age 81 on Thursday after a long illness, ... read more

The saxophonist achieved a maximal sound of choral harmonies, sweeping orchestration and his own raging intensityBest albums of 2018Best culture of 2018For the saxophonist and bandleader Kamasi Washington, jazz music isn’t a technical exercise, it is a necessity. “My music is an extension of who I am, so I’m constantly ... read more

(Hajanga/Decca/Geffen) Related: Jazz prodigy Jacob Collier: 'Quincy Jones told me jazz is the classical music of pop' Pop boasts few ascents more mercurial than that of Jacob Collier, the north London wunderkind whisked from YouTube videos to the care of legend Quincy Jones, thence to Grammy recognition and global adoration. ... read more

We played music together for hours, creating new compositions without talkingI’ll never forget the first moment I saw Branko. It was 2009 and I was 25, working as a musical director for a circus in the UK. I’d travelled alone from Gloucestershire to the village of Gornja Grabovica in Serbia, ... read more

Formidable electronica meets unsettling, socially conscious rap and searching R&B in our latest additions to our best albums countdown. Find out the Top 10 from MondaySee our tracks of the yearThe best culture of 2018Along with the other producers in the PC Music stable, at first, Sophie brilliantly highlighted the ... read more

(ACT)Nils Landgren is a Swedish trombonist and bandleader who has played with everyone from Herbie Hancock to Abba. His Christmas albums are something of an institution in Scandinavia and Germany. They have appeared roughly every other year since 2005, when he assembled a group of fellow musicians for a Christmas ... read more

Ruth Wilson stars in her own family history for the BBC’s new period drama, while Jamie Dornan is more than the new Ross Poldark in Death and NightingalesMrs Wilson (BBC One) | iPlayerDeath and Nightingales (BBC Two) | iPlayerThe Truth about the Menopause (BBC One) | iPlayerJazzology with Soweto Kinch ... read more

This south London Sinatra melds jazz, electronica and shoegaze to seductive effectThe term “crooner” might bring to mind the silky-smooth voice of Frank Sinatra and the choreographed flair of his Rat Pack, Las Vegas, tailored suits and a big band on the stands. What it might not conjure, though, is ... read more

Cadogan Hall, LondonMulti-instrumentalist McCalla delivered a powerful set and deserves to follow Carolina Chocolate Drops bandmate Rhiannon Giddens to stardomThis inspired double bill brought together two very different singers with similar histories. Leyla McCalla and Mélissa Laveaux were both born in North America to Haitian parents, and are fascinated by ... read more

Gifted American trumpeter and flugelhornist who made it his mission to spread the jazz messageWhen the trumpeter Wynton Marsalis emerged as the champion of a return to traditional acoustic-jazz values in the 1980s, his single-minded charisma inspired talented disciples all over the world. One of the most gifted of them ... read more

If you go to a concert by Trinity Laban Conservatoire this season, at least half the works you hear will be by female composers. By reclaiming the neglected sounds of the past, it hopes to encourage future womenCreativity is a miracle and a blessing that needs to be nurtured and ... read more

Barbican, London The veteran sax player celebrates the art song with yelps, screeches and a fine quintet showcasing vocalist Amina Claudine Myers at the HammondArchie Shepp is now 81, the kind of age at which jazz musicians receive standing ovations simply for being alive and staggering on to the stage. ... read more