Trombonist Jonas Gwangwa performs in Sandton, South Africa in 2017. Veli Nhlapo \ Sowetan/Getty Images hide caption
Jazz
Maria Schneider (center) whose album Data Lords was one of 2020's most acclaimed jazz albums, performs with her orchestra at the New York City club Jazz Standard, where the group had an 16-year annual Thanksgiving week performance that was interrupted by the Covid-19 pandemic. Gulnara Khamatova/Courtesy of the artist hide caption
Pedal steel player Susan Alcorn, whose album with her quintet, Pedernal, was the pick for the best album of the year by Francis Davis, who runs the annual NPR Music Jazz Critics Poll. David Lobato/Courtesy of the artist hide caption
A shot of jazz pianist Claude Bolling and friends, taken on a beach in Cannes, France in 1969. AFP via Getty Images hide caption
Jon Batiste performs an intimate set in New York City. Becky Harlan/WBGO hide caption
The Evolution Of Jon Batiste, Music Consultant Of Pixar's 'Soul'
WBGO and Jazz At Lincoln Center
The Evolution Of Jon Batiste, Music Consultant Of Pixar's 'Soul'
The Jazz Gallery All-Stars perform live from the Kennedy Center in Washington, D.C.. Jati Lindsay hide caption
Celebrate New Year's Eve With The Jazz Gallery All-Stars, KOKOROKO
WBGO and Jazz At Lincoln Center
The Catherine Russell Trio
In Soul, a middle-school band teacher makes one small misstep and ends up in The Great Before, a fantastical place where new souls get their personalities, quirks and interests before they go to Earth. Pixar hide caption
In 'Soul,' Jon Batiste's Music Helps Bring Pixar's First Black Lead To Life
Jazz Night In America's 2020 In Memoriam program includes Jimmy Heath, Lee Konitz, CÃ ndido Camero, Tony Allen, Annie Ross, Freddy Cole, Gary Peacock, Henry Grimes, Wallace Roney and McCoy Tyner. Bernard Benant, Jonathan Chimene/WBGO, David Kaufman, Tom Pich hide caption
In Memoriam: Jazz Night Radio Remembers 10 Musicians Who Altered The Shape Of Jazz
Grammy-winning trumpetist Keyon Harrold performs "Ethereal Souls" at Fontaine Capel in Socrates Sculpture Garden of Queens, N.Y.. Nikki Birch/NPR hide caption
Watch Jazz Night's Tribute To Musicians We Lost In 2020
WBGO and Jazz At Lincoln Center
Students rehearse outdoors at The Roots of Music. The education nonprofit has kept its marching band going throughout the pandemic and resumed in-person rehearsal over the summer. Phoebe Jones hide caption
In New Orleans, Music Education Programs Cautiously Fall Back In Step
WWNO - New Orleans Public Radio
In New Orleans, Music Education Programs Cautiously Fall Back In Step
Saxophonist Sherman Irby preforms winter classics like "Let It Snow" and "Santa Claus Is Coming To Town" for the Jazz Night In America holiday special. Frank Stewart/Jazz at Lincoln Center hide caption
Ring In The Holiday Season With Sherman Irby
WBGO and Jazz At Lincoln Center
Ring In The Holiday Season With Sherman Irby
Pianist Kenny Barron performs as the audience looks out at the Opera House at the Kennedy Center in Washington D.C.. Felix Contreras hide caption
A Jazz Piano Christmas: 2020
Billie Holiday performs in New York City in 1947. Michael Ochs Archives/Getty Images hide caption
New Documentary 'Billie' Explores Mysteries Of Billie Holiday And Her Biographer
The quartet James Farm (pianist Aaron Parks, saxophonist Joshua Redman, bassist Matt Penman and drummer Eric Harland), playing at New York City's Jazz Standard in 2011. Jack Vartoogian/Getty Images hide caption