Jazz

Day started singing and dancing when she was a teenager, and made her first film at 24. After nearly 40 movies, she walked away from that part of her life in 1968, and started rescuing and caring for animals. Here, she speaks to Terry Gross in a lengthy interview about her career in film and music.

From a new series, Kevin Whitehead reviews a pair of '60s LPs from the distinctive trumpeter.

South African trumpeter and band leader Hugh Masakela has released more than 30 albums since his American debut in 1961. The concept behind his latest album, Jabulani, is deceptively simple. It's a collection of South African wedding songs with Masakela remembers vividly from his youth.

In December, Columbia released a box set of the 19 studio albums Dave Brubeck's quarter recorded between 1955 and 1966. Besides familiar titles like Time Out and Dave Digs Disney, there were a host of all-but-forgotten albums. Jazz critic Kevin Whitehead says a few of them are well-worth tracking down.

The standards singer's new solo album, Strictly Romancin', explores the ups and downs of love. Russell sings several tracks from the record during this interview and performance.

Like a comedian, the drummer knows something about offhand dexterity and split-second timing.

Owens mostly dresses Thelonious Monk's tunes for uptown wear -- Monk the Harlem jam-session swinger.

The latest duo recording from the clarinetist and pianist is like a slow-motion sleepwalk.

Douglas' three very different quintet albums sound very good together, says critic Kevin Whitehead.

A new DVD set catches a rare solo Monk gig, plus sets by John Coltrane, Johnny Griffin and others.

A look back at Motian, who died last week at the age of 80, with highlights from a 2006 interview. Motian played with Bill Evans and Keith Jarrett before becoming a bandleader himself.

O'Neal's Whirling Mantis is named for a defensive move in karate. The martial-arts reference suggests one way to look at how O'Neal's music operates: The players react to each other's moves, deflecting one another in stylized interaction.

Colley's not from Kansas, but his music fits the wide-open flatlands, where you can see the weather coming on. Bill Frisell, Brian Blade and Ralph Alessi breathe life into the frameworks the bassist builds on Empire.

Kevin Whitehead says this Davis quintet was consistently amazing, not least on its last big tour.

Kevin Whitehead looks at genre-bending new albums by Pablo Aslan and Sao Paulo Underground.

The out-of-print and much-coveted album combines a dramatically spare sound with a heavy backbeat.

MacFarlane is best known for creating the animated TV shows Family Guy, American Dad! and The Cleveland Show. But he's also a singer whose new album features songs from the Great American Songbook.

Under Oblique — I's zigzag lines, Sorey's drums barrel along like a runaway tractor trailer.

Doin' the Gigi showcases Gigi Gryce as a swinging saxophonist and writer of quirky melodies.

The Chicago-based Deep Blue Organ Trio combines a Hammond organ with a guitar and drums. The group's fourth album Wonderful! pays tribute to the Stevie Wonder songbook. Critic Kevin Whitehead says more jazz musicians should cover Wonder, because his tunes are "jazz waiting to happen."