Jazz Jazz and blues music performances and features from NPR news, NPR cultural programs, and NPR Music stations.
Jazz
Love In Exile is (from left) Arooj Aftab, Vijay Iyer and Shahzad Ismaily. The trio just released its self-titled debut album. Ebru Yildiz/Courtesy of the artist hide caption
The Queen's Cartoonists perform at the Miller Symphony Hall in Allentown, PA on November 22, 2019. Lindsey Theong/The Queen's Cartoonist hide caption
The Queen's Cartoonists: Where jazz meets animation and hints of musical circus
Meshell Ndegeocello Charlie Gross/Courtesy of the artist hide caption
Den Tepfer. Josh Goleman/Courtesy of the artist hide caption
For pianist Dan Tepfer, improvisation is the mother of Bach's Inventions
Tianna Esperanza, whose debut album Terror was released Feb. 17. Shervin Lainez/Courtesy of the artist hide caption
Wayne Shorter, photographed during a live performance at the Town & Country Club in London in April 1987. Fin Costello/Redferns hide caption
Exploring the many orbits of jazz legend Wayne Shorter
WBGO and Jazz At Lincoln Center
Exploring the many orbits of jazz legend Wayne Shorter
Wayne Shorter, photographed while performing with pianist Herbie Hancock in Paris on Sept. 4, 2007. Patrick Kovarik/AFP via Getty Images hide caption
Natural Information Society Ike Day/Courtesy of the artist hide caption
Antonio Sánchez (right) performs a Tiny Desk concert with Bad Hombre band members BIGYUKI (from left), Lex Sadler and Thana Alexa Tuesday, Jan. 31, 2023, at NPRâs headquarters in Washington, D.C. Michael Zamora/NPR/Michael Zamora/NPR hide caption
Brandee Younger Erin O'Brien/Courtesy of the artist hide caption
Trombone Shorty leads a binational jam session with music students from New Orleans and Havana. Debbie Elliott/NPR hide caption
Musicians in New Orleans and Cuba explore their shared heritage and similar sounds
Theo Croker performs a Tiny Desk concert. Photo: Bob Boilen/NPR hide caption
Russian-born violinist Nataly Merezhuk's new album 'Jazz on Bones' explores the history of jazz in the former Soviet Union. 'Courtesy of Nataly Merezhuk hide caption
Violinist's album honors the underground effort to keep jazz alive after Stalin's ban
The multidisciplinary artist Samora Pinderhughes, whose Healing Project has won a $1 million grant from the Mellon Foundation. Ray Neutron/Courtesy of the artist hide caption
An artist's 'Healing Project,' focused on incarceration and violence, wins $1 million
A few years after winning a prestigious jazz vocal competition while still a college student, 23-year-old Samara Joy is now a multiple Grammy nominee for her album Linger Awhile. Meredith Truax/Courtesy of the artist hide caption
Host Lara Downes (left) talks with the young, Grammy-nominated jazz sensation Samara Joy. Nicholai Hammar/NPR hide caption
Lara Downes' season 3 of 'Amplify' launches with a theme of renaissance
Makaya McCraven Sulyiman/Courtesy of the artist hide caption
Makaya McCraven on World Cafe
Patrick Shiroishi — pictured here in Los Angeles — released 19 albums in 2022; at least three were standouts in their respective fields, in part because of the questions of identity they examine. Sean Hazen for NPR hide caption
Rickie Lee Jones Astor Morgan/Courtesy of the artist hide caption
Jazz saxophonist Joshua Redman plays in 2019. Swing is an essential component of nearly all kinds of jazz music. Physicists think that subtle nuances in the timing of soloists are key to creating that propulsive swing feel. Bernd Thissen/picture alliance via Getty Image hide caption