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Miguel Zenon

Miguel Zenón

New Music Friday: The best releases out on Aug. 25

Burna Boy's I Told Them... tops our shortlist for the best new albums out on Aug. 25. Michael Loccisano/Getty Images for Coachella hide caption

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Michael Loccisano/Getty Images for Coachella

All Songs Considered

New Music Friday: The best releases out on Aug. 25

NPR Music's picks for the best albums out this week include global sensation Burna Boy, rising R&B star Victoria Monét and more.

New Music Friday: The best releases out on Aug. 25

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New Music Friday: The best releases out on Aug. 26

J.I.D's new album is titled The Forever Story. David KA/Courtesy of the artist hide caption

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David KA/Courtesy of the artist

All Songs Considered

New Music Friday: The best releases out on Aug. 26

NPR Music's picks for the best albums out this week, including the highly anticipated third album by Atlanta rapper J.I.D. and a massive Blondie box set.

New Music Friday: The best releases out on Aug. 26

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Celebrate New Year's Eve With The Jazz Gallery All-Stars, KOKOROKO

The Jazz Gallery All-Stars perform live from the Kennedy Center in Washington, D.C.. Jati Lindsay hide caption

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Jati Lindsay

Toast Of The Nation

Celebrate New Year's Eve With The Jazz Gallery All-Stars, KOKOROKO

Jazz at Lincoln Center

Say goodbye to 2020 and hello to 2021 with live music from some of the best jazz groups performing today, featuring the Catherine Russell Trio, Pink Martini, KOKOROKO and The Jazz Gallery All-Stars.

The Catherine Russell Trio

The 50 Best Albums Of 2017

NPR Music's top five albums of the year. (Clockwise from upper left) Process by Sampha, DAMN. by Kendrick Lamar, Melodrama by Lorde, Crtl by SZA and Capacity by Big Thief. Courtesy of the artists hide caption

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Courtesy of the artists

Best Music Of 2017

The 50 Best Albums Of 2017

Consensus wasn't easy to come by in 2017, but the best albums of the year were bolts of clarity, sonic companions for joy, grief and redemption, for battles hard won and for reckonings still to come.

From The Critic's Desk: A Preview Of 2017 In Jazz

Miguel Zenón's Típico is on Nate Chinen's list of albums to look forward to in 2017. Jimmy Katz/Courtesy of the artist hide caption

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Jimmy Katz/Courtesy of the artist

Jazz Night In America

From The Critic's Desk: A Preview Of 2017 In Jazz

Jazz critic Nate Chinen and Jazz Night In America's Christian McBride discuss a few of this year's hotly anticipated albums, including new work by Miguel Zenón and Kevin Eubanks.

From The Critic's Desk: A Preview Of 2017 In Jazz

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Reconnecting The Circuit Of Puerto Rican Identity Through Music

Miguel Zenón's new album is titled Identities Are Changeable. Jimmy Katz/Courtesy of the artist hide caption

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Jimmy Katz/Courtesy of the artist

Jazz Night In America

Reconnecting The Circuit Of Puerto Rican Identity Through Music

To understand what it means to be Puerto Rican in the U.S., saxophonist Miguel Zenón spoke with friends and fellow musicians who share his split identity — and put their stories into his music.

Reconnecting The Circuit Of Puerto Rican Identity Through Music

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Miguel Zenón's 'Identities Are Changeable'

Miguel Zenón. Adam Kissick for NPR hide caption

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Adam Kissick for NPR

Jazz Night In America: Video Episodes And Shorts

Miguel Zenón's 'Identities Are Changeable'

Jazz at Lincoln Center

The Puerto Rican alto saxophonist and composer's new album explores national identity through spoken word and music. He brings that music to life at the Newport Jazz Festival, joined by his big band.

Miguel Zenón's 'Identities Are Changeable' In Concert

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JazzSet Signs Off

"It was part of a beautiful, long story," Dee Dee Bridgewater says of hosting JazzSet. "It has been a highlight of my career." Courtesy of the artist hide caption

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JazzSet with Dee Dee Bridgewater

JazzSet Signs Off

From outdoor festivals to concert halls in major cities, JazzSet was there. Hear an intimate, bittersweet farewell, with highlights that span the NPR jazz program's 23-year run.

The JazzSet Finale

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Miguel Zenón And Dafnis Prieto On JazzSet

Saxophonist Miguel Zenón performs with pianist Laurent Coq at the 2012 Newport Jazz Festival. Erik Jacobs for NPR hide caption

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Erik Jacobs for NPR

JazzSet with Dee Dee Bridgewater

Miguel Zenón And Dafnis Prieto On JazzSet

WBGO

Saxophonist Miguel Zenón (from Puerto Rico) and drummer Dafnis Prieto (from Cuba) have both resettled in the U.S., and are reworking the music of their islands in studios and on bandstands worldwide.

Miguel Zenón And Dafnis Prieto On JazzSet

A Latin Grammy Preview From 'Global Village'

Mexican singer-songwriter Carla Morrison is up for Album of the Year at next week's Latin Grammy Awards. Courtesy of the artist hide caption

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Music

A Latin Grammy Preview From 'Global Village'

World music DJ Betto Arcos shares some of his favorite nominees from this year's Latin Grammy Awards.

A Latin Grammy Preview From 'Global Village'

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Digging Through The Latin Grammys: Nominees You Should Hear

Brazilian singer Mart'nália is nominated for a Latin Grammy in the category of Best Brazilian Contemporary Pop Album. courtesy of the artist hide caption

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Alt.Latino

Digging Through The Latin Grammys: Nominees You Should Hear

We're not huge fans of the Latin Grammy Awards, but every year they call attention to a handful of gems. Here, we sift through the nominations and play you the music that most excites us, from a legendary mambo group to an up-and-coming Mexican crooner.

Digging Through The Latin Grammys: Nominees You Should Hear

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Miguel Zenon And Laurent Coq Play 'Hopscotch'

Miguel Zenon. Courtesy of the artist hide caption

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Review

Music Reviews

Miguel Zenon And Laurent Coq Play 'Hopscotch'

Fresh Air

Julio Cortázar's book Rayuela is expansive, smart, breezy, romantic and occasionally reminiscent of a disturbing dream. Jazz critic Kevin Whitehead says that Miguel Zenon and Laurent Coq's Rayuela-inspired album lands on all those squares.

Miguel Zenon And Laurent Coq Play 'Hopscotch'

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Miguel Zenón's Rayuela Quartet, Live In Concert: Newport Jazz 2012

Saxophonist Miguel Zenón performs with pianist Laurent Coq at the 2012 Newport Jazz Festival. Erik Jacobs for NPR hide caption

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Erik Jacobs for NPR

Newport Jazz Festival

Miguel Zenón's Rayuela Quartet, Live In Concert: Newport Jazz 2012

GBH News

Zenon teamed up with pianist Laurent Coq to write music based on the high-modernist Julio Cortázar novel Hopscotch — or Rayuela, in the original Spanish. They let their imaginations run wild.

Miguel Zenón's Rayuela Quartet, Live In Concert: Newport Jazz 2012

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NPR Music's 50 Favorite Albums Of 2011

50 Favorites Of 2011: K-R

2011 was a fertile year for collaborations, both long-awaited (Jay-Z and Kanye West's Watch the Throne) and out-of-the-blue (King Creosote and Jon Hopkins' Diamond Mine). What else? Oh, just a definitive version of a century-old masterwork (Gustav Mahler's Symphony No. 2) by a storied institution (the London Philharmonic Orchestra) and a couple of debut albums (Kendrick Lamar's Section.80 and La Vida Boheme's Nuestra) that made our heads spin. The list of our 50 favorite albums of 2011 continues here, with albums from Radiohead, PJ Harvey and more artists from K to R.

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