Jazz

Jazz pianist Dave McKenna is known both for his large repertoire of songs and his improvisatory skill. He joins Fresh Air to offer a musical meditation on the change of seasons.

Jazz critic Kevin Whitehead reviews a new reissue of recordings by Artie Shaw's quintet, the Grammercy Five, which went through a lineup changes over the years. He says it reveals the seriousness of Shaw's search for greatness.

Pianist Kenny Barron says that the late jazz musician's style was jagged, percussive and dissonant. Barron performs some of Monk's compositions to demonstrate this innovative approach.

Critic and composer Gunther Schuller's new book, The Swing Era, examines the history of big band music. Though he is already a jazz enthusiast, Schuller says he researched his book as if he had no prior knowledge of the genre, hoping to craft a more comprehensive and objective account of that its development.

Jazz critic Kevin Whitehead says a new album by Connie Crothers and the Lennie Popkin Quartet features predictable, snaking melodies, but, like their mentor Lennie Tristano, they keep up the intensity beneath their cool exterior.

Jazz pianist Kenny Barron joins Fresh Air to perform some of Abdullah Ibrahim's music, as well as Barron's own composition inspired by Ibrahim.

Jazz critic Kevin Whitehead says critical darling's piano music is often considered dark and heavy. But Blake's new album, Painted Rhythms Volume II, also has a sharp wit.

Barron was part of the Sphere jazz ensemble and records for the ECM label. He joins Fresh Air to perform some of the songs that influenced his playing.

Buell Neidlinger is a session musician who has recorded with several pop, folk and jazz musicians. He leads a string band on his new album, performing the music of Duke Ellington and Thelonious Monk. Jazz critic Kevin Whitehead says it breaks down the barrier between serious art and raucous fun.

Jazz critic has this profile of Roy Eldridge, an early pioneer of the jazz trumpet, whose style departed from greats like Louis Armstrong in several important ways.