Music Interviews

Music & Culture

From bebop to hip-hop: Gary Bartz's sax sound shapes many eras

2:58pm June 23, 2022

by Sarah Geledi

Gary Bartz shares stories from his sixty-plus-year career, covering everything from bebop to hip-hop. Hear a heartfelt conversation between the legendary saxophonist and host Christian McBride.

The rapper Logic, whose latest album, Vinyl Days, was released June 17.

Logic is ready to do things his way

5:04am June 22, 2022

In an interview with Morning Edition, rapper Logic explains the central message of his new album, Vinyl Days: "I rap good! Let's just be honest here."

"With the pandemic, with the climate crisis, the world is becoming more and more inhospitable for more and more people," Zola Jesus tells NPR. "Arkhon is about all of that."

Music & Culture

Zola Jesus finds purpose in the process

5:00am June 21, 2022

by Liz Pelly

Zola Jesus has spent years contemplating the spiritual quandaries of what it means to be an artist. On her album Arkhon, she grapples with political and economic structures of power and disconnection.

Music & Culture

Rhiannon Giddens sings slave narratives

1:25pm June 20, 2022

by Terry Gross

Giddens' Freedom Highway is an exploration of African American experiences, accompanied by an instrument with its own uniquely African American story: the banjo. Originally broadcast May 11, 2017.

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Music & Culture

Apple Music celebrates Juneteenth with 'Freedom Songs'

4:59pm June 19, 2022

NPR's Adrian Florido speaks with Apple Music's Ebro Darden about the music service's new Juneteenth celebration album, Freedom Songs.

Music & Culture

Los llanos are known as home to cowboys. Cimarrón's music stories the diverse reality

8:18am June 18, 2022

by Isabella Gomez Sarmiento

The South American music Joropo often deals with horses and cowboys. The Colombian band Cimarrón has made the genre more inclusive by adding Indigenous and Afro-Colombian themes and sounds.

Music & Culture

Joan Jett reinterprets her past on an acoustic guitar in 'Changeup'

1:34pm June 17, 2022

Throughout her trailblazing career, Joan Jett defied peoples' expectations of what a woman could do in music — both as an artist and as a businessperson.

Music & Culture

Jacob Collier: The whimsical process of creating art

10:41am June 17, 2022

Musician Jacob Collier is known for his electrifying performances and thoughtful views on art and humanity. This hour, Jacob joins us for a conversation on the sparks that fuel his creative process.

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Bartees Strange explores his journey from 'Farm to Table'

8:49am June 17, 2022

In an interview with Morning Edition's Leila Fadel, the fast-rising artist talks about a life path as winding and varied as his music.

For pianist Vadim Neselovskyi, Ukraine war adds urgency to his most personal work

6:21am June 15, 2022

by Nate Chinen

On a new album, Odesa, written in tribute to his father, the pianist, former child prodigy and composer also paints a portrait of the album's namesake, currently in the midst of a Russian invasion.

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