James Blood Ulmer, adventurous US guitarist and vocalist, dies aged 86
Musician who spliced jazz, funk and blues, including in a spell on a major label in the early 1980s, was celebrated as ‘fearless’ by his family
Kanya King, founder of Mobo awards for Black British music, dies aged 57
Entrepreneur died of colon cancer, with Mobo Organisation hailing her as ‘one of the most fearless champions’ in the music industry
Köln 75 review – how a legendary jazz-improv show was cajoled into being by a German teenager
Watchable biopic charts how an 18-year-old German booked the sickly American pianist Keith Jarrett for what became a landmark concert
Magic, mastery and magisterial power: 10 of Sonny Rollins’ greatest recordings
After his death aged 95, we look back at a remarkable catalogue of work that stretches from vivacious mid-50s sets to his evocative performance after 9/11
Sonny Rollins obituary
One of the great American jazz saxophonists regarded as an improvising genius by fans all over the world
Sonny Rollins, colossus of jazz saxophone, dies aged 95
One of the last stars of the bebop generation, Rollins was a genius of melodic invention and improvisation, working with Davis, Monk, Coltrane and others
The Guardian view on 100 years after Miles Davis’s birth: why he still shapes modern music
Editorial: The trumpeter, composer and band leader still towers over jazz because he treated reinvention not as a betrayal, but as necessary for its survival
Miles Davis: Ascenseur pour l’Échafaud review – harmonic openness for Louis Malle’s haunting noir thriller
The trumpeter’s improvised soundtrack for the new wave director’s 1957 film still glows with sensuality, tension and nocturnal beauty in this lavish reissue
‘We must keep her name alive’: Cesária Évora, the captivating Cape Verdean who went from restaurant singer to global star
After a lifetime of poverty, Évora found huge success aged 51 with 1992 album Miss Perfumado. As Cape Verdean singers celebrate her morna ballads on stage, those who knew her recall her power, pride and constant smoking
‘I will sing at the drop of a hat’: Jeff Goldblum’s honest playlist
The actor and pianist swapped playing Beethoven for Deep Purple and knows what to put on at a party, but which of his movie themes has he put words to?
‘Geordie optimism is this rigorous spirit of hard graft’: Newcastle jazz band Knats break out of the north-south divide
While their London peers thrived, Knats faced dwindling funding. But after a Proms appearance and as they release a new album produced by Black Midi’s Geordie Greep, their confidence is high
Add to playlist: the disaster-baiting jazz-rock brinkmanship of Taupe and the week’s best new tracks
The trio combine sludgy rock, homemade electronics and squawking into a watertight groove that makes light work of their complex musicianship
Walter Smith III: Twio Vol 2 review – classic jazz is vividly alive in the hands of this incisive saxophonist
The redoubtable musician and guests including Branford Marsalis and Ron Carter make standard song-shapes sparkle with focus and rugged phrasing
Mike Westbrook obituary
Acclaimed musician, composer and bandleader who was one of the most significant figures in the history of British jazz
Terry Cox obituary
Drummer with Pentangle, the folk-rock group who found fame in the 1960s with their fusion of jazz, blues and traditional songs