Elida Almeida performs a Tiny Desk concert Photo: Grace Raver hide caption
Jazz Jazz and blues music performances and features from NPR news, NPR cultural programs, and NPR Music stations.
Jazz
Wadada Leo Smith (left) and Vijay Iyer have known and collaborated with each other for decades. They have just released their second album as a duo, Defiant Life, with Smith on trumpet and Iyer on piano. @ogata_photo hide caption
Justin Tyson. duaneonline hide caption
Take a trip through the influences and trippy sounds of drummer Justin Tyson
Roy Ayers poses for a portrait in 1970. Afro American Newspapers/Gado/Getty Images hide caption
Thornetta Davis, also known as "Detroit's Queen of Blues," performed as Bessie Smith for Sky Covington's "Satin Doll Revue," produced by Covington, a jazz vocalist and Preservation of Jazz founder. The event celebrated iconic the sounds of jazz at Aretha's Jazz Café in Detroit, Mich., on Monday. Sylvia Jarrus/for NPR hide caption
Patrice Lumumba, Congo's first prime minister, in Soundtrack to a Coup d'Etat. Kino Lorber hide caption
Isaiah Collier Johanna Brinckman hide caption
Isaiah Collier explores 400 years of Black history — one movement at a time
Drummer Herlin Riley, one of 20 inaugural recipients of the Jazz Legacies Fellowship Skip Bolen/WireImage/Getty Images hide caption
A new fellowship gives 20 older jazz musicians $100,000 each — no strings attached
Sammy Rae & The Friends Paige Walter/WXPN hide caption
The Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater performs Sacred Songs, choreographed by interim artistic director Matthew Rushing based on material featured in the original 1960 version of the company's Revelations. Paul Kolnik hide caption
Lost songs from Alvin Ailey's 'Revelations' find voice in new piece
Back cover photo of Sun Ra's LP Live At Praxis'84, 1984, Soundwave Limited Flickr hide caption
Roberto Fonseca performs a Tiny Desk Concert Dec. 6, 2024, at NPR headquarters in Washington, D.C. Michael Zamora hide caption
Braxton Cook performs during Tiny Desk Concert at NPR Headquarters in Washington, D.C. Alanté Serene/NPR hide caption
Christie Dashiell at The Mansion at Strathmore in Rockville, Md. Jared Soares for NPR hide caption
First-time Grammy nominee Christie Dashiell on the history behind her jazz album
Frank Poindexter is the great-grandson of Joseph L. Walcott, who opened Wally's in 1947. George Murphy/WXPN hide caption
Castle Rat's fantasy-themed heavy metal is featured on the 2024 edition of Viking's Choice. Courtney B Hall/Courtesy of the artist hide caption
Samara Joy's performance from her Alma Mater, Purchase College, is featured in this year's Toast of the Nation. AB + DM hide caption
Courtesy of the artist hide caption
Glenn Miller wearing an American military uniform. D. Hess/Getty Images/Hulton Archive hide caption
Pianists Jahari Stampley, Kris Davis and Roberto Fonseca perform at this year's Jazz Piano Christmas, live at the Kennedy Center in Washington, D.C. Jati Lindsay/Courtesy of The Kennedy Center hide caption
Saxophonist Devin Daniels and trumpeter Julien Knowles distinguished themselves on breakthrough releases this year — Daniels on the star-making LesGo! and Knowles on his solo debut, As Many, As One, each of which features the other as a band member. Craig Allyn hide caption