Chick Corea: his 10 greatest recordings
From hard bop to fusion, mischievousness to sensitivity, Corea’s wide-ranging catalogue lived at the vanguard of jazz Chick Corea dies aged 79Chick Corea: a fearless musical adventurer who took the art...
View Article'I don't want to fake the funk' – Henry Taylor, the painter of black American...
Adored by Rihanna and Jay-Z, he finds his subjects in supermarket queues – and on the streets of LA’s toughest neighbourhoods. How has the artist found lockdown in a tiny Somerset village?“Other people...
View ArticleJon Hassell obituary
American trumpeter and composer best known for his Fourth World music and his celebrated collaboration with Brian EnoIn his pursuit of something he came to call Fourth World music, the trumpeter and...
View Article‘There is no fear’: how a cold-war tour inspired Pakistan’s progressive jazz...
A US state department initiative was the unlikely catalyst for a creative explosion of Pakistani rhythm and western improvIn 1956, a new weapon was unveiled in the cold war: jazz. That year, the US...
View ArticlePeter Ind obituary
Jazz bassist who worked with the best in 1950s New York and in later years was the proprietor of the Bass Clef club in LondonDuring the decade from 1984 to 1994, before the rundown but artistically...
View ArticleCharlie Watts, Miles Davis, John and Yoko … and other David Bailey wonders –...
The celebrated photographer will open up his archive for the first time at Photo London – with portraits of the Rolling Stones, Michael Caine and Jerry Hall on displayContinue reading...
View Article‘It didn’t adhere to any of the rules’: the fascinating history of free jazz
In documentary Fire Music, the hostile reaction that met the unusual genre soon turns into deep appreciation and a lasting influenceWhen Miles Davis first heard the music of Eric Dolphy, a key figure...
View ArticlePee Wee Ellis obituary
American jazz saxophonist, arranger and bandleader who played with James Brown and Van MorrisonIn the summer of 1968, with black America aflame following the assassination of Martin Luther King, the...
View ArticleMiles Davis and Giants of Jazz reviewed – archive, 15 November 1971
15 November 1971: Davis and his jazz-rock group perform at London’s Royal Festival Hall, while across town a band of jazz luminaries play at the New VictoriaIn putting together the strands of his...
View Article‘I make stars look interesting, not beautiful’: Anton Corbijn on his...
David Bowie was a gent, Naomi Campbell was a revelation and Virgil Abloh was hauntingly prophetic. The great portrait photographer Anton Corbijn relives five of his best shoots Anton Corbijn, speaking...
View ArticleBetty Davis, raw funk pioneer, dies at 77
Trailblazing funk artist and second wife of Miles Davis released three influential albums in the 1970s before leaving the industryBetty Davis, the trailblazing raw funk pioneer of the 1970s who spent...
View ArticleBetty Davis projected her own liberation – and freed up generations in her wake
Loved by artists from Prince to Butthole Surfers, Davis created a fearlessly sexual, futurist sound that sowed the seed of rebellion • Betty Davis, raw funk pioneer, dies at 77In 1974, a year before...
View ArticleBetty Davis obituary
Pioneering funk singer whose uncompromising stance resonated with a new generation of musiciansWhen the singer Betty Davis marched on to the stage at Ronnie Scott’s jazz club in London in 1975, she was...
View Article‘Aphex Twin pours water on my meltdowns’: Guardian readers on the songs that...
Donald Trump is reportedly calmed by a blast of Memory from Cats – but our readers prefer Radiohead and Miles DavisStephanie Grisham, Donald Trump’s former press secretary, claimed this week that on...
View ArticleMiles Davis: That’s What Happened 1982-1985: The Bootleg Series Vol 7 review...
(Legacy Recordings)Outtakes from the trumpeter’s Star People, Decoy and You’re Under Arrest albums, plus a live gig from 1983, continue Sony’s meticulous seriesWhen Miles Davis died, in 1991, he left...
View ArticleFrom Bowie to Beyoncé: the gateway albums to get into the greatest artists
Keen to explore an artist’s oeuvre but overwhelmed by choice in today’s stream-heavy world? Fear not: from Joni to Fela, Madonna to Miles, our critics tell you where to startWe exist in a once...
View ArticleWayne Shorter, icon of jazz saxophone, dies aged 89
Composer and performer traversed numerous phases of jazz history, and fused his playing with the likes of Miles Davis, Joni Mitchell and Carlos SantanaWayne Shorter, one of America’s greatest jazz...
View ArticleWayne Shorter obituary
Saxophonist and master improviser with artists ranging from Miles Davis to Joni Mitchell, and with lineups including Weather ReportIn his youth, the jazz saxophonist Wayne Shorter was awarded the...
View Article‘It’s a rockstar album’: the UK jazz musicians marking five decades of Miles...
In an epic feat of improvisation, 12 players over three days reimagined the jazz great’s magnum opus. Nubya Garcia, Dave Okumu and producer Martin Terefe talk us through the recording of London Brew“We...
View ArticleAhmad Jamal obituary
Innovative pianist who preferred the term American classical music to jazz, and became a favourite of hip-hop artistsDapper and sagacious, Ahmad Jamal may have looked more like a UN delegate than a...
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