Jak Kilby (29 April 1949 – 3 January 2020)

Very sad to hear of the passing of Muhsin Jak Kilby, a truly great jazz photographer, particularly in black-and-white, who had a deep love for free-jazz and African music and was an expert on the Little Theatre scene, among his other interests. He died on 3 January in King’s College Hospital, London, his daughter Safiyah confirmed. Another daughter of Jak's, Naomi, wrote on Twitter: ''He was surrounded by family until the end, and went peacefully.''

Beyond music, Jak, who was born on 29 April 1949, was passionate as a documentary photographer of the holy sites of Jerusalem and was committed to the Palestinian cause. For some years, a convert to Islam, he had been living in Malacca in Malaysia. His work appeared in The Guardian, Independent, Telegraph, and The Times, Jazzwise, Jazz on CD, where this writer got to know him in the 1990s, Time Out and The Wire.

His exhibitions included ‘A Slice of Life: Ghana', held at the Africa Centre in London and ‘Camden Jazz In Time'. His photographs were used extensively in the BBC 4 television series Jazz Britannia broadcast in 2004. The last time I saw him was about five or six years ago, when he was over from Malaysia on a brief visit back to his beloved London. He was in his element, telling stories and examining rare jazz records over cups of tea in Alan's record store in Finchley.

A gentle spirit, with an eye and ear for the music, Jak will be greatly missed by all who knew him. His extraordinary photographic achievements, many included in the book Innovations in British Jazz by John Wickes, including rare pictures taken in conditions of poor lighting of cult figure Mike Taylor among many others, are an abiding gift to us all as testament to a bygone era. Jak loved the music of John Stevens and Trevor Watts. Listening to their records is a great way to remember Jak. Our condolences to his family.