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On this 500th episode of SportsJam with Doug Doyle, WBGO's legendary jazz announcer Gary Walker talks about the connection between sports and music

She's among the last living beboppers, one of the first singers on Blue Note and a pioneer of voice and bass. The legendary Sheila Jordan joins Christian McBride for a career-spanning conversation.

SiriusXM host Mark Thompson plays John Coltrane's "Alabama" at the end of every broadcast of his radio program, Make It Plain. Coltrane wrote and composed…

Melanie Charles is a Brooklyn-born singer, songwriter, bandleader, producer, actress and flautist of Haitian descent, with a creative fluidity spanning jazz, soul, experimental and roots music. Charles was raised by a Haitian mother in Brooklyn where the sound waves in their home were filled with artists like Johnny Hodges, Frank Sinatra, Chaka Khan, Anita Baker, John Coltrane and Nat King Cole. As a teen, she attended the famed LaGuardia High School for the Performing Arts where she studied flute and vocals. Eventually, she landed at the School of Jazz and Contemporary Music at The New School where she met artists like singer, songwriter and record producer Jesse Boykins III and alto saxophonist Lakecia Benjamin.
Charles’ genre-bending style has been embraced by a wide range of artists including Wynton Marsalis, SZA, Mach-Hommy, Gorillaz and The Roots. Throughout her career she has remained committed to making music that pushes listeners to consider new possibilities, both socially and politically. “Make Jazz Trill Again,” a project that she launched in 2016, demonstrates her allegiance to everyday people, especially the youth and is focused on taking jazz from the museum to the streets. Earlier this year, Charles’ Tiny Desk (Home) Concert debuted on NPR Music, who proclaimed, “Melanie Charles takes us on a journey that embodies the soul of jazz: exploration.”

John Yao and His 17-piece Instrument (JY-17 for short) is the long-standing passion project of trombonist and composer John Yao featuring his original compositions and arrangements which explore the boundaries of harmony, color, texture and rhythm. The 17-piece ensemble is comprised of New York City’s finest jazz musicians including members of Grammy- award winning ensembles such as the Vanguard Jazz Orchestra and the Afro-Latin Jazz Orchestra, both of which Yao has been a regular substitute for many years. Yao’s compositions and arrangements are post-bop, experimental and aim to explore new sounds for big band. “At times angular and broken, other times linear and swinging, he offers a broad view of the possibilities of jazz composition,” says Jim McNeely of the Vanguard Jazz Orchestra. Downbeat says, "[Flip-Flop] showcased Yao's unpredictable compositions and inventive arrangements, which spring from tradition while pointing toward future portals." For this performance, the JY-17 will perform selections from the Beyond Suite and music from their album "Flip-Flop".

O'Day first became known in 1941 when she joined Gene Krupa's band. Later, she later sang with Stan Kenton, Benny Goodman and many other small groups. Originally broadcast in 1987.

On Friday, Nov. 2, BIGYUKI will appear on the latest installment of The Checkout's concert series at 151 Nublu in the East Village. Tickets are available…

Branford Marsalis has a skillset pulled from his life’s work as a touring jazz musician. He also has the luxury of a working band of 20 years, whose…

Ben Sidran observes life through a prism. As a musician and an interviewer, he's always looking to encourage dialogue. This week he stopped by Morning…

“Player for player, there’s no better working band in jazz than The Cookers” (The Boston Globe). A true all-star group, Billy Harper, Donald Harrison, Eddie Henderson, George Cables, Cecil McBee, Billy Hart, and David Weiss give a master class in hard-driving post-bop. With more than a quarter-century of combined experience in jazz, these seven musicians have been part of more than 1,000 recordings. Hard-earned confidence and expertise are evident in every aspect of their art, from their powerful compositions and richly layered ensemble work to the scorching, extended improvisation of each band member.