Take Five: A Weekly Jazz Sampler

It's early November, and for many in America, that means that when we go outside, we're likely to get wet. Whether we're dodging sprinkles, showers or downpours, November is part of a rainy season. Hear five songs from vocalists inspired by rain, including Gene Kelly, Patricia Barber and Mahalia Jackson.

Throughout the '80s and early '90s, John Zorn and Bill Laswell were at the epicenter of extreme music. Bands like Painkiller and Last Exit took the ferocity of '60s free-jazz improvisation and matched the intensity — and blast beats — of death metal. The result is like being bludgeoned by a swarm of killer bees.

There are thousands of apple varieties — even a new breed called "Jazz." Much like the music that lends its name to this autumn delight, Jazz is a hybrid. The time is ripe for planning that apple-picking day trip, so get the caramel ready for five crisp, fleshy jazz tunes related to a certain favorite fall fruit.

Ninety years ago, one of the greatest bandleaders and drummers in jazz was born in Pittsburgh, Penn. That man was Art Blakey. For more than 30 years, he led The Jazz Messengers, a band which became a sort of graduate school and springboard for some of the greatest jazz players of all time.

Does music you hear in the morning set the tone for your day? Would you rather have music create a mood for you, or just match the mood you're already in? Hear five jazz songs to get you into a morning groove, even if that groove reflects a relationship hangover.

How would you introduce someone to the jazz of today? We asked young jazz fans — none older than 24 — who run promising jazz Web sites to write about their five-album introductions to modern jazz. Here are highlights from our guest contributors.

The new economy of jazz has forced many musicians to adopt a "go lean" approach; more than ever, three is a magic number. Trio recordings in jazz are not uncommon, but the trinity's proliferation this year makes the case that less is more. Sample five upcoming trio discs.

Blue Note Records is a record label for which the visuals carry almost as much artistic cachet as the music. The label's covers tend to employ generous amounts of white space, splashes of color, prominent shading and themes evoking introspection and celebration. All of that frequently translates to the music inside.

As the British Invasion changed the landscape of the music industry, jazz musicians had to adapt to popular music written by the bands themselves instead of hired songwriters. But as we hear in these five Beatles covers, jazz musicians were finding their own voices in the Fab Four's tunes.

Americans have been observing Labor Day since 1894, through cycles of economic good times and bad times. Here are five songs by great blues and soul artists on the subject of work — and, whenever possible, the avoidance thereof.

This coming weekend, more than 100 jazz acts will descend upon the Detroit International Jazz Festival. The event will celebrate three brothers from a special Detroit-rooted jazz family: pianist Hank Jones and his two late brothers, drummer Elvin and trumpeter Thad.

This week's Take Five skips from the provinces of Quebec and Ottawa over to British Columbia, featuring a jazz legend, a world-famous vocalist/pianist and a few Canadian musicians who are gaining wider recognition outside their home country. Listen to five songs below.

Last weekend's festival packed in a dizzying array of talent, all performing in the span of 32 hours. We listened closely to as much of it as we could and picked five of the best songs — though certainly only a tiny sampling of the greatest moments — from our recordings.

Some people are said to "follow a path" in their creative life, but a path is not enough for bassist Charlie Haden. For more than 50 years, he's been building his own musical freeway. To follow him down that freeway is one of the richest experiences in American music. It's Haden's birthday this week, so here's a chance to celebrate with five of his best songs.

Much of today's best Latin jazz embraces old traditions to create something new. NPR Producer Felix Contreras spotlights five female singers whose sounds borrow equally from Latin music and jazz.

Jazz being the esoteric art that it is, many of its major artists were similarly obsessed with other forms of divining — numerology, tarot readings, enneagrams and especially astrology. Here are five jazz songs that might inspire you to ask your fellow jazz fan, "What's your sign?"

Influencing everyone from The Rolling Stones to Cassandra Wilson, the blues recordings that came out of the Mississippi Delta from the late 1920s through the late '30s have had an enormous impact on American music. Hear songs from Charley Patton, Robert Johnson, Son House and more.

Jazz music was born in America in the early 20th century, evolving out of a meeting of African and European music traditions. Once the style began to develop around the world, jazz found its way back to Africa. Hear five of Africa's best jazz musicians, including Mulatu Astatke.

Jazz is strange enough for some listeners. Dig a little deeper and it gets ever so bizarre. Some musicians take instruments from other traditions and make it their own. Some go for the big and bold. Others just invent. Hear the strange worlds of Cloud Chamber Bowls, the daxophone, mollusks and more.

In the hands of many singers, "Strange Fruit" feels like a period piece, more of a memorial than a protest song. No matter what the genre, however, rare are the performers who have invested "Strange Fruit" with new meaning, fraught as it is with the legacy of America's troubled past.

On porches everywhere this summer, people are soaking up the sticky heat with beer in hand and music in the background. Jazz and beer are natural companions, so we asked the Washington City Paper's "Beerspotter" to pair bottles with records by Charles Mingus, Sun Ra and more.

Everybody loves Cole Porter. But most jazz musicians really love Cole Porter. Singers love his lyrics, which showcase great wit, amazing rhymes and beautiful imagery. Instrumentalists love his elegant melodies and sophisticated song structures. Celebrate Porter's birthday with Aretha Franklin, Ella Fitzgerald, Nellie McKay and more.

What do chocolate pudding, smiles, gingerbread, fishing and dairy products have to do with each other? They all have lesser-known holidays dedicated to them in the month of June. Celebrate these delightfully obscure days with Jimmy Heath, Louis Armstrong and more.

Want a great conversation-starter with a fan of Latin jazz? Ask, "What's your favorite pairing of conga and timbales?" Many long-standing percussion duos display seemingly telepathic interplay — the intensity of a runaway train mixed with the kind of swing that makes hips move by themselves. Picking five was a chore, but here they are.