"Almost Grown" Makes Viewers Almost Groan

Journalist Sylvester Monroe grew up in the Robert Taylor Homes public housing project on Chicago's South Side; he was later accepted into a private prep school and, eventually, Harvard. Drawing on these experiences, Monroe wrote for Newsweek about the underreported experience of poor black men in the United States. He has expanded that work into a book, called Brothers.

Jazz critic Kevin Whitehead says that jazz evolved in hubs throughout the United States -- not just in New Orleans, Chicago, and New York. The new big band Dreamland Syncopators resurrects some lesser known compositions from the 1920s that came from other parts of the country. Whitehead says their album Territory Jazz is a good history lesson.

The critically-acclaimed jazz artist is known for her use of electronics in her performances. She joins Fresh Air to discuss musical development and her experience as a woman in a male-dominated scene.