The ever-evolving Pat Metheny constantly experiments with new technology, honing his improvisational skills and refining his unique style. On this episode of Piano Jazz, Pat Metheny performs with bassist Christian McBride and drummer Antonio Sanche.

Bremen may be best known for its love of soccer and Beck’s beer. But in April, more than 20,000 jazz fans and industry professionals descend upon the German port city for a festival designed specifically to showcase new acts from across Europe.

In 1982, Jaki Byard and Tommy Flanagan played a duet date in San Francisco. Both pianists were of equal stature, among the best-respected in jazz history. But a newly released recording of that event illustrates why their differences are plenty interesting, too.

Velvet-voiced singer, guitarist and composer Allan Harris joins host Jon Weber for a set of standards and a few tunes from the Harris-penned musical, Cross That River.

Fresu’s work on trumpet and flugelhorn provides a perfect foil for Sosa’s introspective intersection of jazz, Afro-Cuban sounds and a chamber-music mentality. In this concert at NPR Music’s offices, the duo’s quietly energetic performance hangs over the crowd like a soft mist.

The saxophonist infuses his solo records with an unsettling rumble, while still making room for alternately grandiose and guttural moments that awe and unnerve. His new album features vocal contributions from Bon Iver’s Justin Vernon.

The composer’s second album accompanies an animated work: the tale of a future metropolis where professional aims and neighborhood loyalty square off. It looks like both early-20th-century New York and a bordering-on-dystopian future. Perfect for a ultramodern big band like this one.

From 1948 until 1966, the Palladium Ballroom, at the corner of 53rd and Broadway, was the city’s Mecca for Afro-Caribbean dance music. And for a lot of that time, Puente was one of the main attractions. A new box set compiles the Latin music legend’s RCA recordings of this crucial period.

Bassist and singer Esperanza Spalding has taken the jazz world by storm with her grooving bass lines and her neo-soul vocals. Here, she shows off her talent on Lionel Hampton’s “Midnight Sun” and sings a song that seems to sum up her approach: “Jazz Ain’t Nothing but Soul.”

From Louis Jordan to Hawaiian music to Destiny’s Child, the Divine Miss M opens up her record collection.

JazzSet is in Boston for Money Jungle: Provocative in Blue, a release concert for the album created by Carrington, professor of percussion at Berklee College of Music. It’s a trio album with ensemble touches, and in this concert from Berklee Performance Center, Carrington’s students are in the mix.

South African trumpeter Hugh Masekela is one of the giants of African music. Over his long career, he pioneered jazz fusion, and even managed to bump the Rolling Stones from the U.S. charts. Host Michel Martin sits down with Masekela to discuss his life and work.

As NPR’s employees file their federal returns and take up shop in a new building, we look back at an interesting historical moment in the 1940s. A cabaret tax led to more jazz being performed in smaller venues that couldn’t accommodate dancing. Of course, that’s not the only reason why bebop sounds the way it does.

Kurt Elling’s pianist and arranger joins host Jon Weber for Dave Brubeck’s “In Your Own Sweet Way.”

The pianist plays raucous original tunes with an Afro-Caribbean flavor with host Marian McPartland.

For centuries, the country turned its back on black musicians — including the jazz artists whose creations embodied freedom and empowerment. Today, the Cape Town International Jazz Festival is one of Africa’s largest musical gatherings. Here are five musicians who played the festival this year.

Onstage in Orvieto, Italy, the trombonist, composer and fabulist Mauro Ottolini and his Sousaphonix play music for his science-fiction tale Bix Factor. Then, in Perugia, J.P. Jofre plays the tango with a string orchestra in an opera house from the 1700s. Hear them on JazzSet.

Mosaic Records has released Classic Earl Hines Sessions 1928-1945, a seven-disc showcase for the jazz pianist and bandleader. Hines’ right hand played lines in bright, clear octaves — and his left hand had a mind of its own.

The Smithsonian Museum of American History kickstarted its annual campaign with a day of performances and discussions. In a morning ceremony, drummer Horacio “El Negro” Hernandez and pianist Randy Weston officially donated artifacts from their personal collections.