jazz

Dangerous Rhythms: Jazz and the Criminal Underworld

by James Thornton Harris

T.J. English examines the relationship between jazz and organized crime in Prohibition America, and how the music moved on from the mob. 

Phil Schaap, Grammy-Winning Jazz D.J. and Historian, Dies at 70

“They say I’m a history teacher,” he said in a video interview for the National Endowment for the Arts, which this year named him a Jazz Master, the country’s highest official honor for a living jazz figure, but he viewed his role differently. “I teach listening.” 

Charlie Watts Put Some Jazz in Rock and Roll

by Victor Coelho

"In an era when rock drummers were larger-than-life showmen with big kits and egos to match, Charlie Watts remained the quiet man behind a modest drum set. But Watts wasn’t your typical rock drummer."

Reverberations of the Photography of Jazz

by Jeffrey Mifflin

The photographs of William Gottlieb and other observers of jazz's golden age deserve more attention for capturing and creating the aesthetics of the music. 

How Malcolm X Inspired John Coltrane to Embrace Islamic Spirituality

by Richard Brent Turner

John Coltrane's embrace of influences from religious music from Africa, Asia and the Middle East, profoundly influential to the Black Arts movement and African American spirituality, was influenced by Malcolm X. 

Behind ‘Strange Fruit,’ Billie Holiday’s Anti-Lynching Anthem

In 2021, as the nation continues to reckon with a series of killings of unarmed Black people by the police, “Strange Fruit” has maintained its place in the national conversation about racism.

The Radical Politics of Nina Simone

by Chardine Taylor-Stone

"On the anniversary of her death, we can look at how the story of Simone’s political life is told, and who is telling it; at what they choose to include, and what they do in fact ‘erase’."

‘Billie’ Review: A Legend, in a Different Light

A new documentary examines the lives of both the great singer and the filmmaker who died suddenly while working on a documentary of Billie Holliday's life. 

Throughline: The United States vs. Billie Holiday (audio)

Billie Holliday's legal problems over drugs were made more difficult by her refusal to stop performing the anti-lynching song "Strange Fruit." 

52 Years Ago, Thelonious Monk Played a High School. Now Everyone Can Hear It.

Digitally restored and widely available for the first time on Friday, “Palo Alto” captures a band hitting a high note, even as Monk battled personal and professional turmoil. Historian and Monk biographer Robin D.G. Kelley puts the gig in context.  

Stanley Crouch, Towering Jazz Critic, Dead at 74

Crouch's criticism pulled no punches, and tackled big questions about the relationship between race and art in American music. He became an influential and controversial figure in the popular history of jazz as a consultant to Ken Burns's documentary.

The Teen Promoter, the Janitor, and a Stunning Rediscovered Thelonious Monk Gig

“As soon as T.S. Monk listened to the recording, he knew right away that his father was feeling really good that day and wasn’t just going through the motions,” Danny Scher said.

We Insist: A Century Of Black Music Against State Violence

Like music itself, this spirit of resistance takes many shapes, but has never been silenced.

Up From The Streets, a Vibrant Documentary on the History of New Orleans Music, Is Essential Viewing

Because of its profound, often tangled and diverse roots, there have been plenty of quality documentaries on the music of New Orleans. This is arguably the best. 

'Fresh Air' Remembers Jazz Archivist And Historian Michael Cogswell

Michael Cogswell was a musician and historian who managed the Louis Armstrong House Museum in Corona, Queens. He was interviewed by Fresh Air in 2001.

McCoy Tyner, Groundbreaking Pianist Of 20th Century Jazz, Dies At 81

McCoy Tyner was the last surviving member of the John Coltrane Quartet, among the most momentous groups in jazz history. Few musicians have ever exerted as much influence as a sideman.

The Turkish Embassy’s Surprising Role In Desegregating D.C. Jazz

What was a completely segregated art slowly — and somewhat secretly — began to integrate in the halls of the Turkish Embassy.

The American Tourist in Paris: A Retrospective

by Lauren Jannette

Although no longer breaking furniture, running out on checks, and throwing racist fits about the evening’s entertainment, Americans remain an integral part of Paris’s continued debates over the benefits and detriments of being one of the world’s largest tourists destinations. 

Review: Showtime at the Apollo: The Epic Tale of Harlem’s Legendary Theater

by Bruce Chadwick

Fox takes the reader all the way back to 1914 and discusses entertainment in Harlem, and New York City, in that bustling era when vaudeville was sill king to set the stage for the debut of the Apollo in 1934.

Coltrane's Sax Joins Smithsonian Jazz Collection

The artifact will go on display at the National Museum of American History.