Music & Culture

Marian McPartland's Piano Jazz featured performances and conversation with a variety of pianists, including Ray Charles and Dave Brubeck.

Music & Culture

Fresh Air Remembers 'Piano Jazz' Host Marian McPartland

1:36pm August 23, 2013

For more than 30 years, the jazz pianist hosted one of public radio's most beloved shows. She died of natural causes on Tuesday at the age of 95. McPartland spoke with Fresh Air's Terry Gross in 1987.

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Robin Thicke on the cover of Blurred Lines.

Music & Culture

Robin Thicke: Smirky But Sincere On 'Blurred Lines'

1:57pm August 22, 2013

by Ken Tucker

Listen and look past his roué image, and the chart-topper is revealed as an earnest nostalgist.

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Sly & The Family Stone in Croton-on-Hudson, N.Y., in 1968. Left to right: Sly Stone, Cynthia Robinson, Freddie Stone, Rose Stone, Jerry Martini, Larry Graham.

Music & Culture

'You're What I Wanted': Assembling The Family Stone

12:43pm August 22, 2013

by NPR Staff

Members Cynthia Robinson and Jerry Martini say that, when crafting the lineup of his pioneering funk and soul band, Sly Stone was a man on a mission.

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The episode of Piano Jazz with Bill Evans was later issued as a commercial album.

Music & Culture

Marian McPartland, 'Piano Jazz' Host, Has Died

4:23pm August 21, 2013

by Felix Contreras

As the host of a weekly public radio program pairing conversation and duet performances, McPartland brought many jazz greats to an audience of millions. For more than 40 years, she offered an intimate perspective on the elusive topic of improvisation.

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Music & Culture

'Beauty' On Orrin Evans' Block

12:10pm August 21, 2013

by Kevin Whitehead

Evans can be a heavy hitter at the keyboard, but on his new album, he reins himself in a bit.

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John Surman, Mike Osborne and Alan Skidmore were all saxophonists and teamed up in 1973 to form the short-lived trio S.O.S.

Music & Culture

'Looking For The Next One' Reveals An Underappreciated Sax Trio

8:46pm August 20, 2013

by Kevin Whitehead

A new double set of unreleased S.O.S. tunes, Looking for the Next One on the Cuneiform label, was recorded in concert and in the studio in the mid-1970s. John Surman, Mike Osborne and Alan Skidmore could sound timeless, of and ahead of their time.

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Tupac Shakur on the set of Poetic Justice.

Music & Culture

20 Years Ago, Tupac Broke Through

7:37pm August 20, 2013

by Sami Yenigun

In January of 1993, Tupac Shakur was 21 years old. He was about to drop his contradictory second album, which would launch him to superstardom.

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If someone like Lang Lang were starting out now, the energetic concert pianist could nail every piano competition without the judges ever hearing a note, according to a new study.

How To Win That Music Competition? Send A Video

5:13am August 20, 2013

by Shankar Vedantam

A new study shows that judges base musical performances more on sight than on sound.

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Vince Gill and Paul Franklin, two country legends, pay tribute to Merle Haggard and Buck Owens on a new album.

Music & Culture

Vince Gill And Paul Franklin Break Down The Bakersfield Sound

5:23pm August 18, 2013

by NPR Staff

Last year, country superstar Vince Gill left his record label, MCA, after more than 20 years. But he's leaving with one last album — a love letter, really — dedicated to the classic country songs of his youth. Titled Bakersfield, it finds Gill working with pedal-steel master Paul Franklin.

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Music & Culture

A Year After Its Debut, The Song 'Cups' Becomes A Hit

5:23pm August 18, 2013

Anna Kendrick's version of the song "Cups" is the number six song in the country right now, even though the movie the song was originally featured in came out last year. So just how did the song become such a phenomenon? Weekends on All Things Considered guest host Don Gonyea and Vulture's Amanda Dobbins help explain the evolution of the song.

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