We speak to musician journalist Christopher Weingarten about why so many high-profile drummers have either been fired or retired this year in what's been dubbed the "Drumpocalypse."
Members of the Detroit group I Am In Demand aren't just rappers, they're also teachers. They tell us about their Tiny Desk entry, "Spark the Flame," which they hope inspires Black men to follow in their footsteps.
After extended tenures on Warner Brothers and Nonesuch Records, saxophonist/composer/bandleader Joshua Redman debuted on the Blue Note jazz label in 2023 with Where We Are. And while its successor, Words Fall Short, is right in line with...
Polymath Judy Whitmore has taken time away from her busy and productive career(s) to record her fifth album, Let's Fall in Love, and like the first four, it is a smooth and delightful tour of memorable themes from the Great American...
The movement of moths inspires a new music project by composer Ellie Wilson. She used data shared by ecologists to create a piece where the insects take center stage.
Upon listening to alto saxophone virtuoso Nick Biello , a quote attributed to Charles Mingus may come to mind: "If Charlie Parker was a gunslinger, there'd be a whole lot of dead copycats." "Slow down," you might say, "Biello is not...
Once the opening number is discounted as an anomaly, Llegue (pronounced yeh-geh) is a generally pleasing debut recording by the New Jersey-based Reddish Fetish octet, led by drummer Jason Reddish and featuring the Jersey City...
While Craft Recordings' new OJC reissue series has largely drawn from its treasure trove of Prestige and Riverside titles, the label recently expanded its scope to include two standout jazz albums from Chicago's historic Vee-Jay Records....
Independence Day means different things to each of us. On this 249th birthday for America, we spend some time looking at different definitions of America by revisiting NPR's 2018 series: American Anthem — which had the simple goal of...
Author Ricky Riccardi says Armstrong's innovations as a trumpeter and vocalist helped set the soundtrack of the 20th century. His book is Stomp Off, Let's Go. Originally broadcast Jan. 30, 2025.
The four original members of the pioneering heavy metal band Black Sabbath will perform one last time together on Saturday, back in the city where they grew up: Birmingham, England.
Kesha. Kae Tempest. Nilüfer Yanya. It's an abbreviated Independence Day edition of New Music Friday. Featured albums: • Kesha, '.' • Kae Tempest, 'Self Titled' • Nilüfer Yanya, 'Dancing Shoes' EP If you enjoyed this week's show, we...
Pianist Matthew Shipp has a mathematical side: The Multiplication Table (hatOLOGY, 1998) and The Piano Equation (Tao Forms, 2020) hint at this. He has a metabolic side: DNA (Thirsty Ear, 1999) and Right Hemisphere (Rogueart, 2008). And...
In an era teeming with standard horn sections and predictable lineups, BARI-ed Alive's Put It There stands out as a bold and sonorous declaration of individuality. The sextet's audacious choice to feature three baritone...
Tuba maestro Jim Self , who always has a creative trick or two up his ample sleeve, has subtitled the third volume of My America, his recorded tribute to the land of the free and the home of the brave, My Country, to which he could have...
Pianist Jim Watson 's wide-ranging career has seen him collaborate with an amazing array of artists across the jazz and pop genres, including Manu Katche , Kurt Elling , Sting , Richard Bona , Chrissie Hynde and Meshell Ndegeocello , to...
Not one to stand still for long, flautist/vocalist Naïssam Jalal moves between at least eight different bands, four of which she leads. Born in France to Syrian parents, Jalal's music draws on a wide range of roots and traditions--from...
It is always a pleasure to hear a straight-ahead contemporary jazz quintet whose front line consists of baritone sax and trumpet, especially when it is as well-drawn as Florida-bred baritone Saul Dautch 's debut recording, Music for the...
Although he was born and raised in Turkey, pianist, composer and educator Mehmet Ali Sanlikol says he was not a student of Turkish musical traditions until after he arrived in the United States more than thirty years ago... [ read more ]
Formed in 2011, the band-- Tom Hasslan (guitar, bass), Jørgen Mathisen (saxophone, synthesizers), Axel Skalstad (drums, percussion)--fuses jazz-rock with progressive elements in a style as quirky as their name suggests... [ read...
When Polar Bear released Dim Lit in 2004, shortly after being nominated for Best Band at the BBC Jazz Awards, it was clear that the British quartet led by drummer Sebastian Rochford were going to make some waves... [ read more ]