Jazz
The stark, frugal world of Piet Mondrian
In September 1940 the Dutch abstract artist Piet Mondrian arrived in New York, a refugee from war and the London…
Hard to love – but Shirley Manson is terrific: Garbage, at Usher Hall, reviewed
There’s nothing quite like the drama of a prodigal’s return. ‘I’ve been singing in this venue since I was ten…
The mutilation of Radio 3
On Saturday 12 December 1964, Harold Wilson addressed his first Labour party conference as prime minister, George Harrison was photographed…
It was midnight in a field in Wales and I was lying face down in six inches of mud: Green Man Festival reviewed
I love Green Man. The smallish festival is the second most beautiful site I’ve ever visited (after G Fest, which…
Uneasy listening: Kathryn Joseph, at Summerhall, reviewed
I have always been fascinated by artists who bounce between tonal extremes when performing, particularly the ones who serve their…
Ian McEwan’s capacity for reinvention is astonishing
Ian McEwan’s latest novel is unusually long and autobiographical. It’s surprising in other ways, too, says Claire Lowdon
Sensational: Herbie Hancock, at the Edinburgh Festival, reviewed
‘Human beings are in trouble these days,’ says Herbie Hancock, chatting to us between songs. ‘And do you know who…
Ethel, Ella and all that jazz: the soundtrack of a Chicago childhood
Margo Jefferson’s Constructing a Nervous System compresses memoir and cultural criticism into one slim, explosive volume, and in doing so…
How I fell in love with the blues
I was never into the blues that much. I listened to a bit of Roy Buchanan and Rory Gallagher but…
Fabulously boring: Weather Station's How Is It That I Should Look at the Stars reviewed
Grade: C– Anyone remember that TV advert for Canada from the 1980s – a succession of colourful images, including a…
Expectations were met and then exceeded: Arooj Aftab, at Celtic Connections, reviewed
We gathered on a freezing Sunday night, inside a barrel-vaulted church designed in the 1890s by Charles Rennie Mackintosh, to…
Joyous perfection from a band that's sure to go far: Gabriels at The Social reviewed
The bigger the next big thing, the smaller the room you want them playing in. You want the people who…
Good noisy fun: black midi, at the Edinburgh International Festival, reviewed
This year we must love Edinburgh for her soul rather than her looks. The EIF should be commended for making…
Could she be the new Sade? Celeste at Union Chapel reviewed
Some years ago, when I was the music editor of a newspaper, I called a number of historians of black…
Whiny, polite and beautiful: Kings of Convenience's Peace or Love reviewed
Grade: A– The problem with Norwegians is that they are so relentlessly, mind-numbingly pleasant. Well, OK, not Knut Hamsun or…
A perfect welcome back to live music: Sarathy Korwar at Kings Place reviewed
There is a reason music writers tend to stick with music writing rather than transferring their manifold talents to the…
In Chet Baker's albums you can hear America’s romantic self-image curdling
The thing to remember about Chet Baker, an old acquaintance says of the errant jazz musician in Deep In A…
Like much jazz, it might have benefited from being less solemn: BBC4's Ronnie's reviewed
Ronnie’s: Ronnie Scott and His World-Famous Jazz Club was like the TV equivalent of an authorised biography: impressively thorough, often…
A gripping portrait: Billie reviewed
This documentary about Billie Holiday is transfixing. Not just because it’s about Billie Holiday — I am not into jazz…
The dazzling, devious, doomed sound of James Booker
Dr John called James Booker ‘the best black, gay, one-eyed junkie piano genius New Orleans has ever produced’. Booker died…
Taylor Swift is fascinating – but you really wouldn't want to be her
There had been some question about whether Taylor Swift’s Netflix special would actually appear. Last year it seemed that the…
The good boy of jazz: Dave Brubeck’s time has come round at last
On 8 November 1954, Dave Brubeck’s portrait appeared on the cover of Time magazine, accompanied by the words ‘The Joints…
Britain’s jazz scene is in full swing
Jazz died in 1959. At least, that’s what New Orleans trumpeter Nicholas Payton wrote in 2011 as part of a…
Jazz is dominated by men. So what?
I’d recommend any aspiring writer to marry a jazz drummer. It’s done wonders for my powers of concentration. If I…
Paris at its most liberated: the turbulent 1940s
We all have our favourite period of Parisian history, be it the Revolution, the Belle Époque or the swinging 1960s…
