Guardian Music — Giles Oakley writes: I saw Ottilie Patterson perform many times with the Chris Barber Band in the 1960s, often when they were backing visiting American bluesmen at the Marquee club in London. It never struck me as incongruous that a singer from North... more info

Guardian Music — Ronnie Scott's, LondonJohn McLaughlin, the Yorkshire-born musician who found himself on Miles Davis's Bitches Brew in 1969 and became a guitar legend, has returned to Ronnie Scott's for the first time in 44 years. Musing on the late proprietor's like... more info

Guardian Music — Congotronics Vs Rockers, LondonThe sounds made by Congolese group Konono No 1 far outstrip their homemade origins, taking in systemic repetitions and harmonic complexities. At this event, however, we can see how musicians from the rock world have tak... more info

Reuters — MONTREUX, Switzerland (Reuters) - Carlos Santana and John McLaughlin performed tunes by John Coltrane, Bob Dylan and Led Zeppelin, ushering in the 45th edition of the Montreux jazz festival with a spiritual note from the 1960s and 70s. more info

Guardian Music — 1967: Number 34 in our series of the 50 key events in the history of dance musicCarla Bley's 1971 triple album Escalator Over the Hill still stands as one of the grandest, oddest and most spectacular creations in jazz history. This two-hour jazz oper... more info

Guardian Music — 1967: Number 35 in our series of the 50 key events in the history of dance musicIt could only have happened in London: a Jamaican saxophonist (Joe Harriott), an Indian violin player (John Mayer), and a double quartet uniting jazz (trumpet, piano, bas... more info

Guardian Music — 29 August 1970: Number 38 in our series of the 50 key events in the history of Jazz musicThe coolest man on the planet took the stage at the Isle of Wight festival towards the end of the afternoon on Saturday 29 August 1970. He followed Joni Mitchell... more info

Guardian Music — (Abstract Logix)For his tight funk-drumming creativity, melodic and harmonic sense (he's as good a jazz pianist as he is a drummer) and musical inclusiveness, the UK's Gary Husband has the pull to assemble an all-star studio venture boasting the like... more info

Guardian Music — Senior aide to Colin Powell is among those to react to news that Iraqi testimony used to justify invasion was a lieA senior aide to Colin Powell at the time of his pivotal speech to the United Nations said on Tuesday that Curveball's admission raised... more info

Guardian Music — These days, no one would blink an eye at the thought of a jazz opera. But in 1971, Carla Bley's genre-spanning mix of poetry, country and Indian music was unprecedentedIn the eclectic 21st century, the idea of an opera drawing on sources as diverse a... more info