Macy Gray Has An Honest Optimism
Ruby, Macy Gray's latest album, brings many similarities to her last, The Id. It's funny and funky, never saccharine, always uplifting.
Music & Culture
'Newest Sound You Never Heard' Revisits The Music Of Jeanne Lee And Ran Blake
Lee, one of the premier singers of new jazz, mixes it up with pianist Blake on a newly reissued two-CD set featuring standards and straight-up jazz tunes the two recorded in Belgium in 1966 and '67.
Scott Mulvahill: Tiny Desk Concert
Scott Mulvahill has been trying to win the Tiny Desk Contest for each of its four years. And while he's never won, we all loved him so much we had to invite him to play.
An Italian Town Fell Silent So The Sounds Of A Stradivarius Could Be Preserved
The mayor of Cremona, Italy, blocked traffic during five weeks of recording and asked residents to please keep quiet so master musicians could play four instruments — note by note — for posterity.
Jazz Musician And Subject Of Iconic Photo Revisits 'A Great Day In Harlem'
Sixty years ago, Esquire magazine published a now-iconic photo of jazz luminaries, titled "A Great Day In Harlem." NPR talks with saxophonist Sonny Rollins, one of only two surviving artists in the photo.
Piroshka Wields Political Discourse And Dreamy Guitars
All veterans of the 1990s U.K. indie-pop scene, the rock quartet uses a textured, melodic sound to take on some very contemporary concerns.
Alt.Latino: The Many Shades of Latinx Culture
Through four wide-ranging conversations — with a punk singer, a reporter, a group of Latin American expats and singer Rita Moreno — Alt.Latino took a wide-lens survey of the cultural landscape.
Oscar-Nominated Terence Blanchard On 30 Years Of Jazz And Film Scoring For Spike Lee
Trumpeter Terence Blanchard has career spanning three decades in both jazz and film scoring. We dive into his work with Spike Lee, his E-Collective band and a new commission.
Adia Victoria Captures The Spirits Of The Blues In A Simple Phrase: Black Genius
Her songs are poetic and political, steeped in both punk and cabaret, and sung in a voice that blends Eartha Kitt's cool with Nina Simone's fury.
Watch: Mal Blum Returns With 'Things Still Left To Say'
The singer's newest song, "Things Still Left To Say," confronts an estranged relationship, with honest lyrics and a vibrant, karaoke-style video.