WBGO

Christian McBride reflects on the Montclair Jazz Festival’s accidental beginnings, Montclair’s deep jazz history, the mentors who taught him to pay it forward, and the joy of introducing new listeners to the music he loves.

Mexican-born, Miami-raised singer-songwriter Andrea Bejar is part of a new generation of artists who built an audience online before taking the stage. Speaking with WBGO's Leo Sidran before her New York solo debut, Bejar reflects on growing up between cultures, finding meaning in lyrics, and how living between two languages has filled her songs with a sense of nostalgia and longing.

Ruido Tovar brings together two of Latin America's most inventive musical voices for a joyful exploration of cumbia's past, present, and future. Leo Sidran speaks with Camilo Lara and Eblis Álvarez about collaboration, cultural identity, and the enduring power of tradition to reinvent itself.

Flea recalls being a young kid and going with his mother to see Dizzy Gillespie perform, where an unforgettable chance face-to-face encounter with his hero was had.

WBGO's Doug Doyle chats with powerhouse drummer Cindy Blackman Santana about her new album "Coherence" and how working with jazz greats has changed her life

Leo Sidran and WBGO celebrate Janis Siegel on her birthday

Drummer Cindy Blackman Santana chats with WBGO's Doug Doyle about her upcoming "Jazz at the Bandshell" concert and her new album "Coherence"

Ben Wikler, author of This Is the Plan, talks to Leo Sidran about humor, organizing, civic life, and the Wisconsin values that shaped his approach to democracy. A thoughtful discussion of community, political communication, and why, as Wikler says, "democracy is exhausting until you discover solidarity."

Willard Jenkins talks with Herb Scott of Capitol Hill Jazz Foundation about thinking outside the box, to foster continued live entertainment in his home city of Washington D.C.

As New York Voices prepares to retire after nearly forty years together, Darmon Meader looks back with Janis Siegel on the unlikely origins of one of jazz's defining vocal groups - and the role WBGO played from the very beginning.