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Despite facing discrimination in the jazz world for being a woman and Japanese, Toshiko Akiyoshi pressed on — becoming a composer-arranger for big bands, working with Charles Mingus and receiving critical acclaim.

Jimmy Greene's new album is dedicated to his daughter, one of the 20 children killed in the elementary school shooting. "She showed love," he says, "to everybody she came in contact with."

Jazz is strange enough for some listeners. Dig a little deeper and it gets ever so bizarre. Some musicians take instruments from other traditions and make it their own. Some go for the big and bold. Others just invent. Hear the strange worlds of Cloud Chamber Bowls, the daxophone, mollusks and more.

The New York music marathon turns 10 this year and expands far beyond its modest origins, but it remains a place to discover new views of improvisation. Hear tunes from groups like the Jeff Ballard Trio, Tillery and Aruán Ortiz's Orbiting Quartet.

For the past month, NPR Music producer Lars Gotrich laid out multiple strips of paper on his desk, with names like Uncle Owen Aunt Beru, Extra Life and Erykah Badu printed on them.

Who were the three women in the iconic 1958 photo known as "A Great Day in Harlem"? All three left their mark on the music in more ways than one.

What do New Jazz Underground, Black Sabbath and Remi Wolf have in common? According to NPR Music producer Lars Gotrich, they put out the best tracks of the week.

With many hundreds of new recordings each year, jazz maintains a lot of biodiversity in its tiny ecosystem. Chances are, it's got something for everyone, but finding the right fit is like searching for an ant in the jungle; it's never an easy quest, but when it happens, you'll likely find an entire colony. Here are the 10 finest jazz records of 2009, as chosen by WBGO's Josh Jackson.

The shoegaze scene never made another record like Starflyer 59’s surfy bummer Gold… until now. A new album inspires this playlist of artists returning to old bands, former sounds and beloved songs.

The Goodbye Look curates genre-bending and listening-focused jazz events at intimate Seattle venues that welcome fresh listeners into the fold.