Fresh Air Remembers Jazz Pianist Jimmy Amadie
With a career derailed due to severe hand problems, Amadie found a way to play the music he loved.
Music
A Former Girl-Group Singer Goes 'All Or Nothing'
With new songs and covers, La La Brooks' All or Nothing isn't just an attempted career comeback.
Holiday Music To Bring Folks Together
This Thanksgiving there were a lot of articles online about arming yourself with good information before arguing politics at seasonal dinners. With so much contention in the air, maybe music can help bring folks with opposing views together.
Nine Months In Nigeria, One Brilliant, Difficult Funk Musician
Nigerian funk musician William Onyeabor has been a mystery for years. Since recording in the 1970s and '80s, he has completely dropped off the music map. When Luaka Bop Records wanted to assemble some of his work, the road to securing a signed contract took on its own twists.
Fresh Air Remembers Jazz Guitarist Jim Hall
The guitarist, composer and arranger died in his sleep Tuesday at 83. Hall was known for a subtle, lyrical playing style, a gift for innovation and collaborations with a host of talented musicians in a career that stretched more than seven decades. Hear an interview from 1989.
'Singing Just To Me': Gregory Porter On Musical Inheritance
The jazz artist, who turned to singing when an injury ended his football career, claims three people as his main influences: his minister mother, his absentee father, and Nat King Cole. He discusses his musical life and the new album Liquid Spirit with NPR's Audie Cornish.
Yes, Yeezus Dominated 2013 Hip Hop, But Many More Gems Were Made
This week we're looking back at the year in music through the lens of NPR Music's 50 Favorite Albums of 2013. It's the annual list assembled by our in-house experts, including NPR music editor Frannie Kelley and Ali Shaheed Muhammad, producer and founding member of the rap group A Tribe Called Quest. The pair host NPR's Microphone Check.
Ella Fitzgerald's Early Years Collected In A Chick Webb Box Set
"This is it," Webb said of Fitzgerald. "I have a real singer now. That's what the public wants."
Indie-Pop Albums That Make The Cut Are More Than Mere Collections
This week we're looking back at the year in music with a peek at NPR Music's 50 Favorite Albums of 2013. It's the annual list assembled by our in-house experts, including NPR music writer and editor Stephen Thompson. He tells Audie Cornish about his picks in the world of indie pop.
Remembering Jim Hall, A Different Sort Of Guitar God
The guitarist said he didn't "really have all that much technique anyway," but it was clearly enough to influence half a century of jazz musicians. Peers and proteges like Sonny Rollins, Julian Lage and John Scofield reflect on one of the finest ever on his instrument.