Mobo awards 2024: Central Cee tops winners thanks to megahit Sprinter
London MC wins best male and song of the year, while Potter Payper beats stiff competition to win album of the year
‘A man cannot learn without discipline’: jazz guru Marshall Allen on life with Sun Ra – and turning 100
From fighting in a second world war cavalry unit to sharing in a vision for an interstellar Black utopia, the multi-instrumentalist – in a rare audience at his astonishing practice space – has had a musical journey like no other
Blue Giant review – electrifying animation captures the ecstasy of live music
A sublime score from Hiromi Uehara drives this coming-of-age-anime, which brings three young jazz musicians to life with spectacular imagery
Early Life Forms ft Marc Ribot review – freewheeling guitar heroes wing it in style
Belgian guitarist Vitja Pauwels and his new band get it on with the Tom Waits collaborator – live and unrehearsed
Sam Gendel and Fabiano do Nascimento: The Room review – a tender, complex modern classic
The shapeshifting LA-based saxophonist and Brazilian guitarist’s LP is a bossa-tinged celebration of their instruments
Marlena Shaw obituary
American soul and jazz singer best known for California Soul, Mercy, Mercy, Mercy and Go Away Little Boy
‘I’d take a mediocre album rather than nothing!’: the new music readers want to hear in 2024
Guardian readers are longing for returns by artists from Ariana Grande to Archie Shepp –and even possibly Kate Bush?
Mary Halvorson: Cloudward review – compositions fuse with improv to wondrous ends
(Nonesuch)The Brooklyn jazz guitarist’s seamless, beautifully interwoven tracks are full of welcome surprises
Jazz guitar ‘genius’ Mary Halvorson on cocktails, tarot and making music that combusts
The 43-year-old likes to disrupt tradition with noise, experimental and indie influences. She explains how new album Cloudward is yet another curveball
Keyon Harrold: Foreverland review – genre-defying post-bop
Dazzling instrumentals are supplemented by guest vocals from Laura Mvula, Common and more on the US trumpeter’s classy third album
Nellie Small: the trailblazing, cross-dressing cabaret star who Australia forgot
When women weren’t even allowed in Sydney’s pubs, Small was there singing the blues, dressed in a masculine suit. But her remarkable life was marred by racism and bigotry
Les McCann obituary
American jazz musician whose popular blues and gospel-inspired sounds were later sampled by a host of rap artists
The big band theory: is the jazz orchestra seeing a renaissance?
Before bebop ushered in the age of trios and quartets, large outfits dominated the scene. Now a new generation of players are bringing back the tradition – and its sense of community
Pop, drill and inhuman metalcore: new music to get excited about in 2024
Eight fresh acts to check out, from the astonishing flows of Brixton rapper Cristale to the southern rock of MJ Lenderman
Carlos Lyra obituary
A charismatic performer and fine composer who played a key role in the development of bossa nova