Fri, 15 Jan 2021 14:36:18 GMT
The cost of 2020 — in lives, livelihoods, legacies and communities — is high and still being tallied. For jazz critic Nate Chinen, all that loss demands change to old ideas of critical objectivity.
Thu, 14 Jan 2021 19:16:07 GMT
2020 was an annus horribilis if there ever was one, writes Francis Davis, the founder of NPR Music's Jazz Critics poll, and much of the year's best jazz carried post-apocalyptic feelings within it.
Thu, 14 Jan 2021 19:16:07 GMT
The best new and rediscovered jazz recordings that lit up the dark and unsettling year that just ended, as voted on by 148 jazz critics.
Tue, 12 Jan 2021 14:00:56 GMT
Half of the top 10 spots in 2019's NPR Music Jazz Critics Poll went to women. But a deeper look at the data from across the poll's lifetime complicates claims about women's equality in jazz.
Thu, 31 Dec 2020 18:38:24 GMT
The French jazz pianist was best known for his 1975 collaboration with classical flutist Jean-Pierre Rampal. It stayed on the Billboard charts for more than ten years.
Thu, 31 Dec 2020 12:00:00 GMT
Jon Batiste was born for show business. Hear him play an intimate set in New York and on our radio show as we trace his story to his current gig as band leader of The Late Show with Stephen Colbert.
Mon, 28 Dec 2020 15:29:45 GMT
Say goodbye to 2020 and hello to 2021 with live music from some of the best jazz groups performing today, featuring the Catherine Russell Trio, Pink Martini, KOKOROKO and The Jazz Gallery All-Stars.
Sat, 26 Dec 2020 10:00:33 GMT
The renowned musician and Late Show bandleader has sage advice on everything from finding your north star and owning your own orbit to honoring lineage.
Fri, 25 Dec 2020 10:02:00 GMT
Batiste is one of several real-life musicians who consulted on the new Pixar film, about a middle-school band teacher who ends up in a fantastical realm called The Great Before.
Mon, 21 Dec 2020 10:00:57 GMT
The former Snarky Puppy keyboardist and bandleader performs a special holiday Tiny Desk for our quarantine series.
Thu, 17 Dec 2020 13:00:00 GMT
Grammy-winning trumpeter Keyon Harrold performs "Ethereal Souls" for Jazz Night In America's tribute to the jazz musicians we lost in 2020.
Thu, 17 Dec 2020 13:00:00 GMT
We remember luminaries we lost this year in our In Memoriam program: Jimmy Heath; Lee Konitz; Càndido; Tony Allen; Annie Ross; Freddy Cole; Gary Peacock; Henry Grimes; Wallace Roney; and McCoy Tyner.
Wed, 16 Dec 2020 20:56:00 GMT
After months of silence, music programs are attempting to resume limited in-person rehearsals at NOLA public schools, where the stakes go far beyond what kids do with their after-school time.
Thu, 10 Dec 2020 15:59:00 GMT
Sherman Irby, saxophonist in the Jazz at Lincoln Center Orchestra, brings a fresh take to holiday favorites with his quintet. Christian McBride hosts.
Wed, 09 Dec 2020 15:38:00 GMT
This year's edition of A Jazz Piano Christmas features REDWOOD, Cory Henry and Kenny Barron. We're celebrating the holidays with swing from the East Coast jazz scene.