Ammar Kalia

In August 1965, at the height of his fame, saxophonist John Coltrane headlined the DownBeat jazz festival in Chicago. Taking to the stage with a new member of his band, young experimentalist Archie Shepp on tenor, Coltrane’s quartet blew through a series of jagged and free improvisations, straying from structured compositions and, instead, hurling down sheets of sound so loud and aggressive that they reportedly caused widespread walk-outs. DownBeat’s own reviewer later wrote:

At 9.45am on a warm Saturday in September, a queue snakes down the pavement in Notting Hill, west London. Stretching for 20 yards past office blocks, estate agents and cafes, the line is waiting peacefully for an unusual morning snack: frozen yoghurt. The purveyor is the dessert shop Yo-Chi, which opened only a fortnight ago, one of the many hospitality businesses making queueing an increasingly common part of the British dining experience. “We wait in line for everything now

Femi Koleoso I wanted to bring together people who inspire me and whose work I think evokes hope and joy. Yinka, the first time I saw your work I thought: this is exactly what joy looks like – it’s bold, colourful and the perfect embodiment of that feeling. Leona’s music has brought me joy ever since hearing you when you were on The X Factor. You’re one of the most iconic Black British singers we’ve ever had. With you, Eberechi, your transfer to the Gunners meant a lot to a l

Gaia Wilmer Large Ensemble – Parabólico Over the past three years, Brazilian saxophonist and composer Gaia Wilmer has reimagined the catalogues of her country’s virtuosos so radically that it’s become a signature art. Folia: The Music of Egberto Gismonti transformed his finger-picked melodics into an almost prog-influenced cacophony; Trem das Cores, celebrating tropicália pioneer Caetano Veloso, found the eerie tenderness in his lilting melodies. Now returning with the first

Among the endless videos of cute animals, influencer vlogs and celebrity content, something unusual has been going viral across social media recently: omelettes. A far cry from the usual solid egg slabs served in cafes, these bright yellow omelettes are a fluffy, oval-shaped treat filled with unctuous liquid curds, which are typically sliced open to unfurl across a mound of rice. Called omurice, the Japanese dish has been called “the world’s hardest omelette to make”. London-

One of my earliest and most formative clubbing experiences was spent in a church basement in Brixton around 2010. Age 16 and blinded by dry ice, it wasn’t the thrill of gaining entry to a club underage that made the night memorable but rather its overwhelming sound. The bass pumping through the speaker stacks was so intense it became a physical presence: the fact of frequencies passing through my body to make organs quiver and the fillings in my teeth rattle. I had never hear

For British Asian households, mangoes are a matter of territorial pride. My family, who have Indian heritage, are fierce advocates of the country’s Alphonso variety, while Pakistani friends would wax lyrical about their Chaunsa fruit and east Asians would swear by the oblong Thai Nam Dok Mai for dicing into sticky rice. This year, however, mango season hasn’t been a time for celebration. “It’s been a perfect storm,” Satya Morarji, co-founder of British delivery business Alpho

Among the endless videos of cute animals, influencer vlogs and celebrity content, something unusual has been going viral across social media recently: omelettes. A far cry from the usual solid egg slabs served in cafes, these bright yellow omelettes are a fluffy, oval-shaped treat filled with unctuous liquid curds, which are typically sliced open to unfurl across a mound of rice. Called omurice, the Japanese dish has been called “the world’s hardest omelette to make”. London-

On paper, writer Jonathan Caren’s Hit Machine has all the makings of a chart-topping smash. Featuring the London stage debuts of Josh Radnor (How I Met Your Mother) and Noah Galvin (Dear Evan Hansen), with direction from Daniel Bailey (Red Pitch) and music by Grammy-winning bluesman Ben Harper, the three-hander tackles the topics of masculinity, appropriation and buried family trauma through the prism of the creative process. Set in the louche, soft-furnished home of music mo

The Zarabanda Variations – The Zarabanda Variations Classical music aficionados will be familiar with the stately form of the sarabande – a Spanish dance adopted into a languorous and tender musical style favoured by baroque composers such as Bach and Handel. For American composer Keir GoGwilt, however, the sarabande contains something far more radical. On his collaborative project The Zarabanda Variations, he enlists a 10-piece ensemble that combines free jazz with baroque s