Before she died last year, the trumpeter’s mother gave him a list of hymns to play at her memorial service, down to the specific verses. With a new band, aided by folksinger Aoife O’Donovan, Douglas presents a very personal project.

In an archival show from 1990, Piano Jazz celebrates the centennial of Stephane Grappelli, one of the jazz world’s greatest violinists. Grappelli first found fame in France with Django Reinhart’s Quintette du Hot Club. He went on to an illustrious career playing with everyone from Oscar Peterson to Paul Simon to Yo-Yo Ma.

The jazz singer runs through an infectious medley of “I Want to Be Happy” and “What a Little Moonlight Can Do” during a visit to the KPLU studios in Seattle.

Hear the first host of JazzSet bring his long-running quartet to the Napa Valley Opera House.

One of Billie Holiday’s most iconic songs is “Strange Fruit,” a haunting protest against the inhumanity of racism. Many people know that the man who wrote the song was inspired by a photograph of a lynching. But they might not realize that he’s also tied to an iconic event in America’s history.

Wilson’s Arts and Crafts band has adapted to its leader’s “slightly warped wavelength.”

The Afro-Cuban-inspired world-jazz ensemble is back with its first album in nearly five years.

Julio Cortázar’s book Rayuela is expansive, smart, breezy, romantic and occasionally reminiscent of a disturbing dream. Jazz critic Kevin Whitehead says that Miguel Zenon and Laurent Coq’s Rayuela-inspired album lands on all those squares.

A Nat Adderley melody, its economical brilliance and what it means to have the blues.

The Brazilian singer’s two new albums of cover songs explore her love of both jazz and bossa nova.

The jazz singer plays songs from her new album, Another Country, which explores Latin music.

Drummer Jimmy Cobb questioned, a poetic Jazz Passenger and goodbye to bassist Charles Flores.

Marian McPartland asked her friend Elvis Costello to sit in as guest host for this episode of Piano Jazz. The session features New Orleans legend Allen Toussaint, who sings and plays his hit tune “Southern Nights” and performs a duet with Costello on the pair’s recent collaboration “Ascension Day.”

Listener Melanie Cowart says things were rarely easy for her parents — one of whom was black and one white — in Depression-era Missouri. Porter’s “Begin the Beguine,” one of their favorite songs, became a fitting symbol of their relationship.

From a traditional blessing to a children’s dance, the program returns to the main Fort Adams stage of the 2011 Newport Jazz Festival. Hear a violin address the African diaspora — and a trumpet tell a bedtime story.

A big profile of trumpeter Marcus Belgrave emphasizes how he nurtured Detroit’s jazz stars.

The recent announcement of the semifinalists for jazz’s most prestigious contest left several musicians at unease. Thus, a debate was launched on the nature of music contests, and with it, perhaps a vision of a future beyond them.

The young Berklee-trained violinist dedicates his new album to the late legend Stephane Grappelli.

The renowned double bassist from France demonstrates his love of classical, jazz and flamenco while performing solo behind the Tiny Desk. Watch Garcia-Fons thump, strum and loop his way through three mesmerizing songs.

The Thelonious Monk Competition, disco jazz and a legendarily wild record label, assessed.

Saxophonist and bandleader Paul Winter has created his own unique style of environmentally conscious music. The natural world is not only an inspiration, but it has also been a collaborator in his music. Winter talks about playing with humpback whales, as well as his legendary recording expeditions to the Grand Canyon.

After two decades as a TV sidekick on The Tonight Show, the guitarist doesn’t have to edit himself.

With one album out and another in the works, the Israeli musician Shimrit Shoshan had reason to be optimistic about the progress she was making in New York City’s jazz scene. Then, at 29, she died suddenly.

The jazz vocalist says that once an idea has been caught on tape, “it’s never going to be quite as strong” as in that first moment. Her new, all-improvised album is called Spontaneous.

Diana Krall’s new album cover, more on the late Von Freeman and Coltrane on Coltrane action.

Walker is an exciting presence on the jazz scene, singing with impeccable phrasing, a soulful swing and a warmly sensuous tone. She and host Marian McPartland spend a delightful hour talking about the jazz life and performing together on “The More I See You,” “It Could Happen to You” and Walker’s own tune, “Love Is.”

Formell performs epic music and poetry, magical and real, about the Afro-Caribbean experience.

The drummer is always a colorful player — a timekeeper who exploits all the timbres a snare drum can give him — and a colorful personality, a bandleader who wears his goofy joy on his sleeve. He brings one of his long-running bands to the famed New York basement.

Albert “Tootie” Heath was on John Coltrane’s first album and would go on to play with every other major name in hard bop. He reunites with the pianist of The Bad Plus and a bassist everyone wants to hire to cook up comfort food from the extended songbook of jazz standards.

Garbarek helped the ECM label find its emerging voice 40 years ago. A new box set of early albums captures the saxophonist’s forming sound — austere and astringent.

The tenor saxophonist was iconic in his hometown’s jazz community and among aficionados worldwide.

The saxophonist also outlined the failings of modern jazz and his hopes for the next generation.

The jazz pianist and longtime host of NPR’s Piano Jazz tells her story in a new documentary full of archival footage, family photos and interviews.

Pianist Hod O’Brien is a stalwart bebop acolyte. Since emerging on the scene in the late 1950s playing with Oscar Pettiford and Stan Getz, O’Brien has earned critical acclaim and accolades from his peers. He joins host Marian McPartland and performs an original tune written for the occasion, “Clarion for Marian.”

Listen to an in-studio concert and conversation with the Canadian singer and her longtime guitarist, Jordan Officer.

A long-running piano trio sui generis meets one of its heroes, a guitarist seemingly down for anything involving good musicians. Here at Newport, the group pays tribute to one of its colleagues, the late drummer and composer Paul Motian.

The Pulitzer Prize-winning columnist and author says he’ll never forget his mother’s renditions of Nat King Cole songs.

A classic male singer, Elling has an old-school vibe to everything from his mannered stage banter to his declamatory, full-chested delivery. He can do a lot with his voice, and he does it in front of a band featuring long-time collaborator Laurence Hobgood.

View a gallery featuring Jack DeJohnette, Jenny Scheinman, Kurt Elling and Bill Frisell.

Boston’s esteemed Berklee College of Music, just up the road from Newport, has produced top jazz musicians for decades. It sends top students from its international initiative to Newport for a concert with the sparkling drummer Adam Cruz.

The alto saxophonist teamed up with pianist Laurent Coq to write music based on the high-modernist Julio Cortázar novel Hopscotch — or Rayuela, in the original Spanish. With an unusual band, they let their literary and musical imaginations run wild.

What if there were lost big-band masterpieces by the great composer/arranger Gil Evans which never made it to record? One man has found a whole stash of charts, and, backed by a gigantic ensemble, has brought their rich hues to light.

Yuval, Anat and Avishai Cohen are top-tier jazz musicians. They’re also siblings, and they occasionally record and perform together as a band, supported by a top New York rhythm section. It’s a family reunion you won’t secretly dread.

The two long-time bandmates have both developed reputations for flexibility — for being able to collaborate with anyone. Their violin-and-guitar duo performance finds them alone together on stage, thinking on their feet.

Some years ago, the alto saxophonist made an album which integrated his love of South Asian music and funk and hip-hop and electronic music and kitchen sinks. He’s finally getting to tour that music now, and it’s electric — literally and otherwise.

The drummer is certainly no stranger to prestigious festival stages, but is usually as a member of the supporting cast. An innovator within jazz traditions, Nash gets a share of the spotlight when he leads this classic quintet lineup.

Nearing 70, the master drummer is as dynamic as ever. For his second gig at Newport, he opens his Rolodex to welcome leading lights like guitarist Lionel Loueke and bassist Christian McBride, and even duets on piano with Jason Moran.

Eight more hours of video await, including Tedeschi Trucks Band, Kurt Elling and Jenny Scheinman.

Since he came over from Cuba, the phenomenally talented percussionist has found a place in scores of bands. But here, he’s the star. Behind the congas and microphone, he leads a quartet which goes way beyond what you’d think of Afro-Cuban music or jazz.

After years of singing other people’s songs, bandleader and co-founder Ginny Carr has crafted a tightly harmonized album of originals.

This weekend, NPR Music and our partners WBGO and WGBH are presenting 16 hours of live video webcasting from the 2012 Newport Jazz Festival. For your convenience, here’s a breakdown of what you’ll see online and hear on WBGO.

Grady Tate began his jazz career as a much-celebrated drummer, backing such icons as Wes Montgomery, Ella Fitzgerald, and Quincy Jones. Tate has since traded in his skins for a microphone at center stage, where he delivers smooth and soulful baritone vocals. With pianist John di Martino, Tate sings “Everybody Loves My Baby” and “Where Do You Start.”

Another round of Newport previews, drummer Michael Carvin and much ado about jazz standards.

Festival organizers also know that they present a music whose creators get better and wiser with age. Surely enough, this year’s lineup recognizes the continuing creativity of bandleaders like Jack DeJohnette, Dianne Reeves and Pat Metheny.

Hear the pianist and reed player in sets from the Kennedy Center’s Women in Jazz Festival.

Scholar and fan Ryan Truesdell has turned unheard Evans scores into richly textured works.

We took recordings from all the bandleaders on the bill this year and put them into a online stream.

Get ready for the festival with this mix of the festival’s artists, from living legends to young phenoms. Find NPR Music’s coverage from Newport, Aug. 4-5, at npr.org/newportjazz.

A boogie-woogie pianist gets his due, Charlie Haden on his late drummer and Portland dispatches.

The singer, songwriter and pianist is back with a new album of classic Duke Ellington tunes.

A true legend of public radio and a longtime friend of host Marian McPartland, Studs Terkel appeared on Piano Jazz in 1992 for a special fundraising edition. The two quizzed each other about radio, shared memories of jazz personalities and improvised music and conversation.

Here are five bands, all debuting at Newport, who represent new generations of jazz expression.

Lloyd, Zakir Hussain and Eric Harland created a confluence of East and West sounds at Newport.

Fans of the trumpeter and bandleader may know that he has appeared in a few movies. But when it comes to the HBO program about his hometown, the lines between real life and acting begin to blur — especially when it comes to his new album.

A New York Times article explains how apprentice musicians still find masters — just in new ways.

The trumpeter and composer has created a double album that extends his jazz inheritance as it acknowledges the past — from Africa through New Orleans and New York — that has made him who he is today.

Ravi Coltrane says the house he grew up in on Long Island is a monument to the life-changing power of his father’s creativity.

The NEA Jazz Masters are announced, a sideman in the spotlight and some pianists speak their minds.

For years Marian McPartland has been trying to line up Keith Jarrett for a Piano Jazz session. Following his stellar performance at Carnegie Hall in 2005, Marian confronted the elusive performer and convinced him to put in an appearance on her show. Hear an interview and performance.

Davis’ bluesy alto sax rasp is straight out of Charlie Parker’s playbook, but makes it his own in a new live recording from the Smalls Jazz Club.

Individually, they’ve been at the core of the post-bop jazz scene for decades. So it’s no surprise that as a band, they’re colossal. Hear drummer Billy Hart and the rest of this colossal jazz collective play their original pieces in this Jazz24 session.

Saxophonist and composer Ravi Coltrane — son of John and Alice — says his mother’s love of symphonic music provided a childhood soundtrack for him and his siblings.

From the stage, Figarova is surveying an iconic jazz scene — people on the lawn, Narragansett Bay in the background, boats floating in the harbor. Hear the pianist and her European sextet in a concert from the Newport Jazz Festival.

The jazz musician didn’t make his burden any lighter by choosing to play tenor and soprano saxophones — the same instruments his father, John Coltrane, indelibly stamped. But critic Kevin Whitehead says he speaks in his own voice on the album Spirit Fiction.

When Billie Holiday died on July 17, 1959, thousands of mourners attended her funeral at St. Paul the Apostle Roman Catholic Church in New York City. But Holiday isn’t buried in New York’s Woodlawn Cemetery, near Duke Ellington and Miles Davis. Instead, she’s “way, way, way out” in the Bronx.

Mingus wrote, Miles talked, Sonny picked, Bean assessed, Trane spoke — and that’s just the start.

Here, Piano Jazz showcases vibraphone virtuoso Dave Samuels along with pianist Alain Mallet. Samuels’ gift for evocative melody and his rhythmic versatility make him one of the leading mallet players of his generation.

The pianist Oliver Jones, 77, was in his mid-40s when he moved back to Montreal, the city where he grew up in the shadow of Oscar Peterson. Decades later, he’s a national treasure unto himself.

We’re in a guitar world, from Pakistan to Brazil and from steel strings to nylon, as the Rez Abbasi Acoustic Quartet and Trio da Paz play in turn at the Newport Jazz Festival.

The bass drummer, singer and a public face of the Treme Brass Band died last weekend.

Watch a live video webcast from coastal New England during the weekend of Aug. 4-5.

The bassist and bandleader was born in Malaysia to Chinese parents, but as a toddler she moved with her family to Australia. Oh has since traveled back to Shanghai, where her grandmother is from, and taken up Mandarin classes. Her album weaves in her family’s stories — and even their languages.

Piano Jazz celebrates its 30th anniversary with a return visit from pianist, composer and arranger Dick Hyman, who appeared on the show during its first season in 1979. Always the fleet-fingered pianist and versatile musician, Hyman performs Gershwin, Jobim and a James P. Johnson rag before winding up the hour playing an improvised blues tune with host Marian McPartland.

From two stages at the Newport Jazz Festival, hear a gifted young singer and the Latin side of Herbie Hancock.

Bassist Linda Oh’s story is so compelling, everyone who writes about her mentions it: how she was born in Java to Chinese parents, who emigrated to western Australia when she was three. Oh’s second album is out. Jazz critic Kevin Whitehead says her music also covers a lot of ground.

Gary Walker, music director of WBGO in Newark, highlights the pianist’s take on a Miles Davis classic.

The New York percussionist gathered musicians featured on his new album, Bamako By Bus, for a studio session with WBGO’s The Checkout. Listen to the entire set and watch a slideshow of photos from the session.

Matt Fleeger of KMHD in Portland, Ore., highlights the British trombone player’s new album.

Gary G. Vercelli of California’s Capital Public Radio finds the jazz guitarist covering a Coltrane classic.

Salamishah Tillet explains why Simone’s pursuit of a life without fear still gives us all — musicians and fans alike — something to learn from.