‘People falling asleep wasn’t that unusual’: experimental pioneers the Necks on four decades of improvising

They never rehearse. Their music is borderline indescribable. And their live shows have become the stuff of legend. Now on their 29th album, Bleed, the trio look back on creating a career from thin air

Ashley Henry: Who We Are review – upbeat innovation from a pianist with talent to burn

The London-born musician laces his jazz with a heady blend of soul and hip-hop on this fierce but joyous second album

One to watch: Holysseus Fly

Ishmael Ensemble’s Holly Wellington creates her own brand of jazz-soul fusing improvisation and theatricality

Anna Butterss: Mighty Vertebrate review – jazz meets post-rock on shape-shifting delight

With guests including Tortoise’s Jeff Parker, the LA bassist’s second solo album is cerebral, groovy and beyond categorisation

Ezra Collective: Dance, No One’s Watching review – new moves with an emotive edge

The Mercury-winning quintet bring high energy to Afrobeat, Latin and soulful grooves – yet it is in the quieter moments that a fresh musicality emerges

Alice Zawadzki/Fred Thomas/Misha Mullov-Abbado: Za Górami review – beautiful music and absorbing stories

Seven years after a supposed one-off gig, the jazz-immersed trio release their debut album full of uniquely conveyed songs drawing from European, Latin and Sephardic Jewish sources

Lady Gaga: Harlequin review – Joker companion album does jazz standards with a gaudy grin

The pop superstar sounds fully in her element in these immaculately covered classics, but the whiff of big band week on The X Factor is hard to shift

Benny Golson obituary

Tenor saxophonist whose compositions were valued for their harmonic challenge and melodic grace

Jazz Conversations review – breezy tribute to Miles Davis

The Body of People Jazz Theatre Company brings together a rich programme, including a celebration of the great trumpeter

Nubya Garcia: Odyssey review – a rich, orchestral journey of self-discovery

The British sax star rekindles her love for scoring strings on her second solo album, with the help of Chineke! Orchestra, Esperanza Spalding and more

Paradise Cinema: Returning, Dream review – walking a fine balance between chaos and euphoria

Portico Quartet saxophonist Jack Wyllie teams up with three percussionists for a thunderous, west African-influenced second album

Daniel Inzani: Selected Worlds review – unhinged, exhilarating adventures in genre-hopping

In his first major solo release, the pianist and composer explores the very different sides to his musical personality across three contrasting but connected LPs

Wendy Eisenberg: Viewfinder review – insightful jazz voyage into life after laser eye surgery

Instrumental interludes and unexpected shifts in pace mix with Americana and jazz, while the singer-songwriter’s distinctive guitar sound drives a song cycle like no other

Sérgio Mendes obituary

Brazilian musician best known for his hit Mas Que Nada who popularised bossa nova worldwide

Sérgio Mendes, the musician who left Brazil to bring the sounds of his country to the world

The man who made bossa nova an international sensation has died at 83, after a 60-year, 35-album career that straddled musical genres