When a research expedition for a developing theatre production took vocalist Zara McFarlane to Jamaica, the country of her ancestral origins, that island's native music took on ever greater significance in her soundworld.
Exceptional British flautist Gareth Lockrane has been pushing his instruments to ever greater heights as a fi rst-call session player, star sideman to a who's who of UK and international artists, and as a bandleader with his Grooveyard and Big Band projects.
Ahmad Jamal has always walked his own path, from precocious beginnings as a piano-playing three-year-old to his mastery of a bluesy minimalism, which indelibly influenced Miles Davis' 1950s modal period and also saw him release a string of classic trio recordings.
Through extensive engagements playing alongside jazz legends such as Mulatu Astatke and Louis Moholo, British pianist Alexander Hawkins has emerged as one of the most exciting and original young musicians on the current European scene.
The profile of Los Angeles jazz vocalist Dwight Trible has been in the ascendency for the last 15 years through his work with such greats as Charles Lloyd, Kenny Burrell, Pharoah Sanders and Kenny Garrett, along with a starring role on Kamasi Washington's all conquering triple album, The Epic.
A crucial but frequently overlooked aspect of Duke Ellington's creative life was his engagement with literature.
This month marks the 50th anniversary of the passing of John Coltrane, one of the true musical giants of the 20th century whose monumental legacy casts a considerable shadow across jazz and out into the wider artistic world.
New Orleans-born trumpeter Christian Scott has emerged over the last decade as a leading figure in the vanguard of younger musicians bringing jazz to a wider audience.
From the remotest galactic wildernesses blaze The Comet Is Coming, Shabaka Hutchings' flame-tailed multi-cultural-indebted crew.
This month marks the 50th anniversary of the passing of John Coltrane, one of the true musical giants of the 20th century whose monumental legacy casts a considerable shadow across jazz and out into the wider artistic world.
