Carla Bley is arguably the greatest living jazz composer; John Doran talks to the woman fellow musicians have nicknamed 'Countess Bleysie' and 'Bleythoven' about foundational free jazz sessions, the magic of The Liberation Music Orchestra and her epic jazz opera, Escalator Over The Hill. Home page photograph courtesy of Tod Papageorge
Fifty years ago, a 27-year-old pastor and a youth choir on Chicago's South Side recorded an album of gospel soul which crossed lines and provoked scepticism. Newly reissued as part of a major box set of Barrett's work, Like A Ship is more than a holy grail record and continues to move in mysterious ways, uplifting even the most ardent of non-believers, says Amar Patel