New summer classics playlist: 15 artists pick sunshine tracks

From road-trip energy to lazy-days vibes, artists including Nia Archives, Joe Goddard, Beabadoobee, Arlo Parks and Lias Saoudi name the best summer tunes of the past decade

Milton Nascimento and Esperanza Spalding: Milton + Esperanza review – a quixotic double act

The veteran Brazilian singer and US composer-musician’s contrasting vocal styles captivate on an album that also features Paul Simon and Dianne Reeves

Irène Schweizer obituary

Freewheeling jazz improviser and pianist who demonstrated outstanding versatility through a career of collaborations

Meshell Ndegeocello: No More Water: The Gospel of James Baldwin review – an inspiring homage

Part church service, part exploration of Black identity, the Grammy-winning singer-songwriter’s tribute to Baldwin revisits his writing in the light of Black Lives Matter

Wayne Shorter: Celebration Volume 1 review – first posthumous LP is a true classic

This 2014 live recording of the saxophonist’s late-career quartet showcases one of the great modern jazz bands and the enthralling genius of their leader

Meshell Ndegeocello: No More Water: The Gospel of James Baldwin review – a fire reignited

Baldwin’s stinging words on race and America are matched with the kind of musical eloquence that the great writer himself so admired

Maestros in Fusion review – virtuosic Indian ensemble knit two traditions together

Six supremely talented jazz and classical instrumentalists, whose humility belies their mastery, all show how malleable and moving their music can be

Nigel Kennedy: why I’m going on stage to play jazz with my ‘young cats’

Best-selling violinist who learned from Yehudi Menuhin and Stéphane Grappelli, reveals he has been mentoring budding musicians ahead of London residency

Mark Winkler: The Rules Don’t Apply review – crisp, timeless joie de vivre

The LA singer-songwriter and co hit the sweet spot once more on this elegant set of originals and covers, which include a surprising Beatles number

Mercury prize 2024: Charli xcx, the Last Dinner Party and Beth Gibbons among nominees

The British music industry’s award for outstanding albums features eight debuts, from the likes of Nia Archives and Barry Can’t Swim, as the prize fails to find a sponsor

Volume festival: André 3000 brings experimental flute jams to an event that’s wonderful when weird

The rapper turned jazz avant-gardist was an astute choice for the Art Gallery of NSW’s new festival – which, in its second year, is still finding its identity

‘I sexed it up’: 1970s disco queen Asha Puthli on Warhol, Dali and influencing Donna Summer

Her spacey jazz-disco almost made her a huge star in the mid-1970s. Now having a long-awaited renaissance, Puthli reflects on working with Ornette Coleman and inspiring young south Asian artists

Kessoncoda: Outerstate review – ambient London jazz duo’s expansive debut

Drummer Tom Sunney and keyboardist Filip Sowa trade grooves and plaintive melodies to create satisfyingly complex mood music

Arooj Aftab review – crackling wit and songs of elegiac beauty

Boundaries disappear as the extraordinary Grammy-winning Pakistani-American singer showcases her lithe latest album, Night Reign – and hands out whiskey, T-shirts and roses…

‘A folk music wolf in doom metal clothing’: readers’ favourite albums of 2024 so far

Following our rundown of the best albums in the first half of the year, you responded with your own suggestions, from Kali Malone to Kim Gordon