‘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

Miroslav Vitous: Mountain Call review – double bass duets balance muscularity with mellowness

Jack DeJohnette and Michel Portal – both of whom died recently – are phenomenal foils for the Weather Report alumnus’s classical-influenced jazz

Flea: Honora review – Chili Pepper turns piper, taking up trumpet for a soulful jazz odyssey

Imaginative interpretations of Funkadelic and Frank Ocean sit alongside starry collaborations and gorgeous instrumentals on the bassist’s brassy side project

Raye: This Music May Contain Hope review – a wildly ambitious epic of unbridled self-expression

Almost overstuffed with musical ideas, the singer’s second studio album can be self-indulgent and messy, but it’s a heartfelt and exuberant grand statement from an artist determined to go her own way

Seven of the best music festivals to visit by train from the UK

From jazz in Rotterdam and hip-hop in Paris to brass bands on the beach in Blackpool, the Guardian’s music editor chooses the best European festivals that can be reached by rail

Tomeka Reid: Dance! Skip! Hop! review – an early contender for jazz album of the year

The cellist reunites with guitarist Mary Halvorson, bassist Jason Roebke and drummer Tomas Fujiwara for five stunning tracks that are boundary-pushing yet populist

Willie Colón was an explosive energy source who took salsa into the stratosphere

With his gangster image, Colón ruffled the feathers of the musical establishment, but thrilled millions of fans as he displayed the raw rhythmic possibility of salsa

Ken Peplowski obituary

Jazz musician whose virtuosic abilities with the clarinet and tenor saxophone straddled traditional and modern jazz

‘I’m trying to expand what it means to be a skier’: Mallory Duncan on jazz, freedom and the mountains

The Californian once had ambitions of winning gold at the Winter Olympics. But now he is more interested in what skiing can do for the soul

Everybody Digs Bill Evans review – absorbing delve into the tumultuous world of the great jazz man

Grant Gee’s film thoroughly inhabits the creative and personal torment experienced by the American pianist – with a terrific supporting Bill Pullman turn

‘Choosing happy is a hell of a process’: Thundercat on funk, lost friends and being fired by Snoop Dogg (possibly)

The genre-hopping bass virtuoso has backed Ariana Grande and Herbie Hancock, appeared in Star Wars and become a dedicated boxer. Ahead of his fifth album, Stephen Bruner explains his polymath mindset