It is now half a century since the death of jazz titan Louis Armstrong. As Mosaic releases a comprehensive box set covering the period 1946-66, Alyn Shipton looks back at the musical, cultural and political impact of a true 20th century icon. Photos courtesy of the Louis Armstrong House Museum/Jack Bradley Collection
Vocalist, violinist and composer Alice Zawadzki goes off the beaten track to nominate Neo-soul classic The Miseducation of Lauryn Hill as the record that changed her life. Interview by Brian Glasser
The multi-talented Logan Richardson’s new album Afrofuturism has been winning plaudits for its category-defying eclecticism and savvy use of technology. Is this what the future of jazz sounds like? Selwyn Harris, catching up with Richardson via a transatlantic phone call, thinks that it could well be…
At the start of ‘The Jazz Age’ a century ago, the music was in danger of being crushed by an establishment moral panic and America’s cultural elites before it had even had the chance to put down roots. But a concert by the unlikely figure of Paul Whiteman changed all that...
A thinker as much as he is an artist, Vijay Iyer marks his fifth decade with a thrilling new trio album, Uneasy, on ECM which also debuts his new trio of bassist Linda May Han Oh and drummer Tyshawn Sorey. Kevin Le Gendre caught up with the New York-based pianist-composer and found him in reflective, if fiery, form
As Squarepusher’s debut album gets a 25th anniversary remaster and LP release this June, Mike Flynn spoke to man behind the music, Tom Jenkinson, to find out how jazz and improvisation have been ever-present in his work
Featuring great new albums from Sons of Kemet, Roxana Amed, Belmondo Quintet, Graham Costello’s Strata, Jihye Lee Orchestra, Julian Lage, Anaïs Reno, Paul Towndrow and Dara Tucker
Stuart Nicholson looks back at the remarkable life and musical legacy of a truly game-changing jazz legend
Our decade-by-decade exploration of The 100 Jazz Albums That Shook The World continues with the 1970s, a decade in which new musical revolutions seemed to transpire with every release. This is an ideal introduction to the best albums of the decade, featuring Keith Jarrett, Herbie Hancock, Pat Metheny and Chick Corea
The quantity and diversity of great jazz albums recorded in the 1960s means that any list of great albums that claims to be in any way 'definitive' is on very shaky ground. Nonetheless, the albums highlighted below are benchmarks in the history of jazz on record and if you are discovering jazz for the first time then you've just found the perfect place to start. Let's start with a masterpiece...
