Kevin Whitehead

Everybody knows jazz is an American invention that mediates between African and European musical conventions. But for decades, African and European improvisers have been forging their own bonds and hybrids, without American mediation. As a case in point, here's a newly issued historical recording by the South African-born bassist Harry Miller: Harry Miller's Isipingo: Which Way Now.

Jazz alto saxophonist Jackie McLean passed away in March. McLean was a disciple of Charlie Parker and a leading hardbop saxophonist in the '50s.

Jazz critic Kevin Whitehead reviews a new reissue of the 1958 Duke Ellington's Spacemen album, The Cosmic Scene.