Jazz

Jazz critic Kevin Whitehead reviews a new seven-disc set that chronicles the trumpeter's big band performances. Mosaic restored and remastered each of the 166 tracks from Decca Records' original recordings.

Tenor saxophonist Lester Young was born one hundred years ago on Aug. 27, 1909. Jazz critic Kevin Whitehead makes the centennial.

The man who gave us the electric guitar was more than just an insatiably curious tinkerer: He was a virtuoso guitarist and at one time a bona fide pop star, and he helped shape the sound of rock 'n' roll. Fresh Air remembers him with an archived interview from 1992.

Milo Miles highlights the 30th Montreal International Jazz Festival, the largest event of its kind in the world.

Jazz critic Kevin Whitehead reviews a new album from the prolific composer and pianist Fred Hersch. It's called Fred Hersch Pocket Orchestra, Live at the Jazz Standard.

Jazz critic Kevin Whitehead reviews The Complete Tony Bennett/Bill Evans Recordings, a two-CD set from Concord Music Group.

Jazz critic Kevin Whitehead reviews Lucky Thompson: New York City, 1964-65 featuring rare live recordings of saxophonist Lucky Thompson.

Jazz critic Kevin Whitehead reviews Emperor March — Live at the Blue Note, the new album from the Charles Tolliver Big Band.

Music critic Milo Miles reviews two new albums: Booker T. Jones's Potato Hole, and Allen Toussaint's The Bright Mississippi.

The grainy, blurry portrait of Ran Blake on the cover of his album, Driftwoods, looks like spirit photography: the pianist as ghostly presence. His playing can be spooky, too. The CD radically transforms popular vocal standards from Billie Holiday, Hank Williams, Quincy Jones and more.

On the new album Trombone Tribe, trombonist Roswell Rudd plays with a number of groups including his own sextet. Music critic Kevin Whitehead has a review.

Rudresh Mahanthappa's Kinsmen blends South Asian music with American jazz. The jazz saxophonist says his inspiration to explore Indian music on the saxophone came from a CD his brother gave him as a joke called Saxophone Indian Style.

Jeff "Tain" Watts, an original member of the Wynton Marsalis quintet, has released an album titled Watts. But it's no ego trip; the disc is inspired, at least in part, by L.A.'s Watts neighborhood.

Jazz critic Kevin Whitehead reviews For All I Care, the new album from The Bad Plus joined by Wendy Lewis.

Jazz singer and pianist Blossom Dearie was a great singer with the tiniest of voices. Dearie died Feb 7. She was 82. Fresh Air remembers her with an interview from 1998.

Music critic Milo Miles reviews Last Night The Moon Came Dropping Its Clothes in the Street, the new CD by trumpeter and composer Jon Hassell.

Mosaic Records has re-released the work of jazz musician Anthony Braxton in an eight-CD set. The Complete Arista Recordings of Anthony Braxton features recordings from the 1970s that previously existed only on vinyl. Jazz critic Kevin Whitehead has a review.

Saxophonist Hank Crawford died Jan. 29 at the age of 74. The Memphis-born musician backed B.B. King and Ray Charles before going solo. He later became the musical director for Charles' band. Fresh Air remembers Crawford with a 1998 interview.

On their first recording together in more than 50 years, saxophonist James Moody and pianist Hank Jones show that the elder statesmen of jazz can still play beautifully. Our Delight displays the golden virtues of jazz with warmth and grace.

Dave McKenna, the hard-swinging jazz keyboardist who died in October, was a particular favorite of Fresh Air dating back to the show's early local broadcasts. Our Thanksgiving Day broadcast is devoted to his memory — with excerpts from an interview and in-studio performance from 1988, plus remembrances from his sister, singer Jean McKenna O'Donnell.