NPR Jazz

In a fraught moment for two institutions behind the awards, this year's NEA Jazz Masters ceremony celebrated musicians who have upheld the genre's legacy while looking anxiously toward an uncertain future.

His wife, Fresh Air host Terry Gross, said the longtime contributor to The Village Voice and NPR had been living with emphysema and Parkinson's disease.

While in Tokyo, we happened across this energetic band featuring the unique vocals of Yu Sakai, so we had to bring them to Tiny Desk.

Nubya Garcia's powerful, delicate compositions take us on a tranquil journey.

Through her music, Elida Almeida carries the heart — and irresistible rhythms — of Cabo Verde to the world.

A go-to drummer who has lit the scene ablaze, Tyson shares his top five drum heroes. Plus, the seasoned sideman shares tracks from his trippy debut as a band leader, the paper doors.

On their new album, two of the most celebrated composers and players in the jazz world pay homage to the pursuit of purpose and joy found in the struggle for liberation.

The vibraphonist, composer and jazz-funk pioneer helped inspire the neo-soul movement, and his best-known song was sampled over 100 times.

The iconic voices of female jazz & blues legends Billie Holiday, Phyllis Hyman, Nancy Wilson and Bessie Smith were honored at Aretha's Jazz Café in Detroit for Black History Month

Johan Grimonprez's film charts both the hopes and the tragedies of Africa's freedom movements in the shadow of the Cold War, as the Soviet Union and the U.S. jockey for influence in the "new world."