Concerts

I have a self-imposed rule for Tiny Desk Concerts: No artist can visit twice unless there's something wholly different about what they're doing. alt-J was happy to oblige.

Hear how the artists honored by the NEA this year — Dee Dee Bridgewater, Dr. Lonnie Smith, Dave Holland, Dick Hyman and Ira Gitler — earned their stripes and paid their jazz dues.

Chicano Batman comes with a sound that perfectly captures dark lounges, quinceñera dances, car shows and backyard parties.

Composer, arranger and viola player Ljova lead his Kontraband to the Tiny Desk for an eclectic swirl of Western classical, jazz, tango and Eastern European and Balkan folk music.

You can hear a great New York jazz band in the rhythms of Sinkane, but you can also hear the influence of Bob Marley and the hypnotic repetition of Sudanese desert sounds.

It's astonishing to watch Sultana's fluidity on her instrument, like a natural extension of her body. She also plays bass, saxophone, trumpet, flute and more, but kept it "simple" for the Tiny Desk.

Monday night's presentation of the 2017 NEA Jazz Masters fellowships, coming under the shadow of a proposed presidential budget that would eliminate the NEA outright, mixed politics with grace.

Dee Dee Bridgewater, Dr. Lonnie Smith, Dave Holland, Dick Hyman and Ira Gitler are recipients of the Jazz Masters award — the highest honor the U.S gives to a jazz musician or advocate.

The power of language to penetrate a difficult subject, and the power of performance to share that language, are the gifts Noname brought to the Tiny Desk.

Hana Elion and JJ Mitchell's vibrant vocal harmonies are set against an electronic backdrop that feels spacious and refreshing.