Jazz United Podcast

Jazz United pays tribute to the irrepressible drummer, composer and educator Ralph Peterson, Jr., who died on March 1 at 58.

March is Women's History Month, and we take the time to honor the importance of women in our music and our organization. WBGO launched in 1979 with Dorthaan Kirk as a founder and Rhonda Hamilton as one of the first voices on air. Forty-two years later, the female voice rings clearly on WBGO: women are a critical factor that distinguishes us, just as they remain an essential force in the music.

Since her death more than 60 years ago, we've seen a series of depictions of Billie Holiday, most of them disappointing in one way or another. In this episode of Jazz United, we unpack our objections to Lee Daniels' The United States vs. Billie Holiday — and consider another, more fruitful recent film, the documentary Billie.

Jazz United profiles a few emerging masters on the saxophone — musicians whose dedication, proficiency and poise represent a vital new chapter. It so happens that all three are women, and their example (among others) upends some longstanding prejudices around the sax.

A bassist celebrated for the robustness of his sound, William Parker has been a stalwart in the realm of improvised music for more than 40 years. Here's our exploration of his sound world, with a focus on a new boxed set and a new biography.

In light of its two Academy Awards, for Best Animated Feature and Best Original Score, Soul warrants revisiting. Here's what we had to say.

So many of us are more than ready to put 2020 into the rearview. In this year-in-review episode of Jazz United, we do just that, trying our best to make sense of it all.

In this episode of Jazz United, we consider the calculus of Grammy nominations, and how we feel about the 2021 nominee pool.

Jazz United discusses harpist Brandee Younger and bassist Dezron Douglas, who made their soul-affirming album 'Force Majeure' as a series of pandemic livestreams.

Jazz United celebrates the underrated legacy of Herbie Hancock's groundbreaking band Mwandishi, on the occasion of its 50th anniversary.