Music

In February of 1800 the great Prussian explorer Alexander von Humboldt headed inland from the coast of present day Venezuela with his travelling companion, the French botanist Aimé Bonpland. Their quest was to explore the course of the Orinoco River and its tributaries and to solve the long-rumoured question of a connection between the Orinoco and the Amazon. In fact...

'It is easy to see the beginnings of things, and harder to see the ends'. Taking her title from the essay by Joan Didion which closed the author's debut collection Slouching Towards Bethlehem, this week Jess Williamson introduces her new album A Mile South of Heaven by way of the single and record opener 'Goodbye to All That'. The singer duly notes: Didion's essay is about leaving New York after eight years and how 'it's distinctly possible...

A couple of weeks ago Downbeat published their August issue and with it their 74th annual critics poll of the best in jazz. The list is a lengthy undertaking in so far as it contains 62 categories, which invite critics to vote for a mix of established figures and rising stars. The headlines for this 74th edition of the...