Music Interviews

Georgia Anne Muldrow was Robin Dann's choice on the last episode of Play It Forward. Muldrow moves the chain of gratitude along to saxophonist Lakecia Benjamin.

Music & Culture

Play It Forward: Georgia Anne Muldrow On Building Worlds Through Music

8:21pm May 07, 2020

In the fourth episode of Play It Forward, Ari Shapiro speaks with R&B polymath Georgia Anne Muldrow about how music has served her during the pandemic and the sprawling soul-jazz of Lakecia Benjamin.

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A moment from the animated video for "Pizza Feet," a song from Go Banana Go!'s debut children's album, Hi-YA!

Music & Culture

Go Banana Go!: Music For Stir-Crazy Kids (And Parents) In Quarantine

6:30am May 07, 2020

by Mandalit del Barco

The duo of a veteran producer and a former physics professor, the children's band was inspired to make its debut album by the nonsense songs sung in the members' own households.

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Once part of Digable Planets, Ishmael Butler continues to be a hip-hop innovator with Shabazz Palaces. He stays connected to new music through his son Jazz, who records as Lil Tracy.

Music & Culture

For Shabazz Palaces' Ishmael Butler, Musical Innovation Is A Family Legacy

5:32am May 05, 2020

by Frannie Kelley

Once part of Digable Planets, Butler continues to be a hip-hop innovator. He stays connected to new music through his son Jazz, who records as Lil Tracy.

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After a drawn out fight with her record label, Good To Know is JoJo's first new album since 2016. "I found my power. And that feels so exhilarating and intoxicating," she says.

Music & Culture

'Good To Know': JoJo On Coming Out Of Hardship With First New Album Since 2016

5:55pm May 03, 2020

by Janaya Williams

After a drawn out fight with her record label, Good To Know is JoJo's first new album since 2016. "I found my power. And that feels so exhilarating and intoxicating," she says.

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The indie pop duo Buscabulla moved back to Puerto Rico from New York after the island was devastated by hurricanes in 2017. The experience inspired a new album and documentary, both called Regresa.

Music & Culture

Buscabulla On 'Regresa,' A Debut Album About Returning To A Devastated Home

8:31am May 03, 2020

NPR's Lulu Garcia-Navarro speaks to Raquel Berrios and Luis Alfredo Del Valle, a husband and wife indie-pop duo who moved home to Puerto Rico in the aftermath of Hurricanes Irma and Maria in 2017.

Unlike most super producers, Salaam Remi doesn't have an identifiable sound he loans out to various acts. He's better known for mining a sound from each act he works with that, in turn, becomes their signature sound.

Music & Culture

Salaam Remi On Sampling For Nas and Amy Winehouse

8:41am May 02, 2020

Unlike most super producers, Salaam Remi doesn't have an identifiable sound of his own. He's better known for mining a sound from each act he works with that, in turn, becomes their signature sound.

John Boutte's famous performance at the 2006 New Orleans Jazz and Heritage Festival is just one of the beloved performances included in WWOZ's Jazz Festing in Place series.

Music & Culture

From Ella Fitzgerald To John Boutté: Jazz Festing In Place Presents Archival Audio

8:04am May 02, 2020

The New Orleans Jazz and Heritage Foundation and WWOZ will stream of some of the greatest performances in Jazz Fest history this weekend.

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Music & Culture

'Fresh Air' Remembers Jazz Archivist And Historian Michael Cogswell

1:51pm May 01, 2020

by Terry Gross

Cogswell, who died April 20, was executive director of the Louis Armstrong House Museum, which houses journals, trumpets, tapes, photographs and other artifacts. Originally broadcast in 2001.

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Steve Earle and the Dukes, Electric Lady Studios.

Music & Culture

Steve Earle Tells The Story Of A West Virginian Mining Disaster Through Song

12:00pm May 01, 2020

Earle knows the value of storytelling as a way to find our shared humanity. He used that talent to write the music for a play called Coal Country and make his latest album, Ghosts of West Virginia.

Music & Culture

Guitarist Stephane Wrembel Plays Music Inspired By Jazz Great Django Reinhardt

1:26pm April 30, 2020

by Sam Briger

Before the coronavirus outbreak, Wrembel visited the Fresh Air studio to talk about his musical influences and to play, with his trio, songs from his new album, Django L'Impressionniste.

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