Over six decades, Val Wilmer has become "a world figure in the history of African-American musical culture". Her remarkable career has seen her interview and photograph almost every significant and influential figure in post-war jazz, blues and R&B.

In 1956, aged 14, Val took a snap at London Airport of a grinning Louis Armstrong. Since then she has covered names including Duke Ellington, Thelonious Monk, John Coltrane, Charles Mingus, Sun Ra and Albert Ayler - as well as countless unrecognised men and women who have shaped African-American culture since the 1950s.

Radio 3's Sunday Feature: A Portrait of Val Wilmer talks to Val and discusses her career. Here are some of the photographs she's taken...