Jazz
Rachael & Vilray Share A Mic — And A Love Of Old Swing Standards
Rachael & Vilray first met in 2003 when they were students at the New England Conservatory of Music in Boston, but didn't begin performing together until 2015. Now they are the duo Rachael & Vilray and they play original songs inspired by the music of the 1930s and 40s. They'll talk and sing in the studio.
'Fresh Air' Favorites: Catherine Russell
This week, we're listening back to some favorite Fresh Air interviews from the past decade. Russell sang tracks from her solo album, Strictly Romancin', during this 2012 interview and performance.
'Fresh Air' Favorites: Bandleader Jon Batiste
This week, we're listening back to some favorite Fresh Air interviews from the past decade. The bandleader for The Late Show with Stephen Colbert let loose at the piano during this 2018 interview.
Spike Lee On Gentrification, Jazz And How He Got His Start In Film.
The director, who has been nominated for an Academy Award for his film BlacKkKlansman, spoke to Fresh Air in December 2017 about his Netflix series, She's Gotta Have It.
Jazz Singer Cécile McLorin Salvant Doesn't Want To Sound 'Clean And Pretty'
McLorin Salvant first studied classical voice, but turned to jazz because it offered her more range. "In jazz, I felt I could sing these deep, husky lows," she told Terry Gross in this 2015 interview.
Writer John Szwed
Writer John Szwed is the author of the new biography, So What: The Life of Miles Davis about the influential jazz trumpeter. Szwed is the John M. Musser Professor of Anthropology, African American Studies, Music and American Studies at Yale University. He is also the author of the biography Space is the Place: The Lives and Times of Sun Ra, about another innovative musician.
31 Years Later, Spike Lee Puts A New Spin On 'She's Gotta Have It'
Spike Lee talks about updating his 1986 film 'She's Gotta Have It' for a Netflix series, growing up in Brooklyn, and his father who is a jazz musician.