NPR's 'Jazz Profiles'This documentary series profiles the legends and legacy of jazz. Hosted by singer Nancy Wilson, the program brings to life the vibrant history of the genre through music, interviews, and commentary. The fascinating stories reflected in this series are very human tales that any news junkie or jazz aficionado can relate to.
Special Series
NPR's 'Jazz Profiles'
This documentary series profiles the legends and legacy of jazz. Hosted by singer Nancy Wilson.
In the late '80s, Betty Carter achieved sustained recognition upon signing to a major label, which also reissued much of her back catalog.
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An electric performer, Carter was an irrepressible and incomparable practitioner of the jazz vocal tradition. For nearly 50 years, the intense vocalist blazed her own trail in jazz, powered by her passionate, intense singing.
Evans' introspective lyricism and subtle, Western classical flourishes have echoes in a legion of fellow keyboard players. As a leader and composer, he introduced an influential, highly interactive approach to trio and small-group performances.
Through hit recordings and a busy nationwide touring schedule, the singer gave the blues a raw, regal poignancy — and marketability. Her feverish growls and impassioned delivery informed nearly all African American music.
Nat King Cole emerged in the late 1930s as an elegant piano stylist and leader of his influential working trio. But his greatest fame began when he took up a microphone to sing, and soon became a consummate and world-renowned entertainer.
Hoagy Carmichael's early music, including the 1927 melody to "Stardust," was heavily influenced by jazz, including the work of his friend and collaborator Bix Beiderbecke.
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With a laid-back, familiar style, the composer, pianist and singer created popular hits for decades — and logged numerous entries into the great American songbook. When asked about his tuneful gift, he credited his early roots in jazz.
Sarah Vaughan was affectionately known as both "Sassy" and "The Divine One," nicknames that reflect the extraordinarily wide range of expression she achieved in her singing.
Unlike the vast majority of jazz musicians, the pianist and composer was blessed with both talent and commercial success. His blend of experimental and lyrical approaches made him one of the biggest draws of his day — and ever since.
During a career more than five decades long, "Spoon" brought a strong dose of blues to many of the jazz world's finest bands. With his full, powerful baritone delivery, he was one of the best of the "blues shouters."
Willie "The Lion" Smith was a major influence on Duke Ellington, who wrote several compositions dedicated to him.
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toggle captionWilliam P. Gottlieb/Library of Congress via flickr.com
The pianist was well-known for his flamboyant behavior, ever-present cigar, and trademark derby hat. But in front of the keys, he was also a leading purveyor of the ragtime-based style called Harlem Stride.
Duke Ellington composed some of the most enduring music of the 20th century, producing more than one thousand lasting works. With groundbreaking hits such as "Sophisticated Lady" and "Mood Indigo," Ellington vividly communicated universal ideas, while inventing musical concepts that helped elevate jazz to a sophisticated art form.
The scope and breadth of Duke Ellington's compositions were far-reaching, drawing many influences together to create a cohesive and diverse sound. Composing consumed Ellington around the clock, and his musical legacy is a timeless contribution to American music.
Bud Powell was the first, and arguably the greatest pianist to create a bebop-based improvisational style for the piano.
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Admired by his peers as an adventurous original who forged a style of unrivaled virtuosity, Powell is still remembered for redrawing the course of modern jazz piano by pioneering bebop improvisation at the keyboard.
Few singers have the emotional depth and versatility of Lincoln, who died Saturday at the age of 80. With a voice capable of evoking the joys and pains of life, she carved out a niche as a singer, songwriter and storyteller for more than 40 years.
During multiple stints with Miles Davis' groups of the 1950s and early '60s, John Coltrane began to develop his signature sound.
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The most influential jazz musician after bebop, the tenor saxophonist nurtured a career marked by rapid growth in improvisational technique and ideas. By the late 1950s, he had already produced his first masterpieces.
John Coltrane's rapid stylistic evolution was not always admired as it is today: One critic called a 1961 performance "anti-jazz," and the label stuck with his detractors.
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toggle captionJan Persson/Courtesy of Concord Music Group
After years of playing with Dizzy Gillespie, Miles Davis and Thelonious Monk, the saxophonist emerged as a jazz virtuoso by the end of the 1950s. But it was the restless exploration to follow that made him a pioneer of American music.
She cut her teeth as a trombonist in the big bands of Gerald Wilson and Dizzy Gillespie and scored classic records for Marvin Gaye and others. And, against the odds, she made it as a woman in jazz.
Artie Shaw's ideas were often deemed too modern, and his temperament was ill-suited to the role of star.
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Shaw was the temperamental leader of some of the hottest swing bands of his era. Though he had huge hits with Begin the Beguine and Frenesi, Shaw disdained the spotlight, and his bands never lasted long.
This show celebrates the music of one of the greatest singers of our time with interviews that include Ella herself; vocalists Betty Carter, Jon Hendricks and Joe Williams; writers Gene Lees and Albert Murray; and pianist Oscar Peterson.
Celebrated jazz singer Anita O'Day experienced both the "high times and hard times" — as her autobiography is so aptly titled. Despite drug addiction that interfered with her potential for super-stardom, she made a profound impact with her exceptional range, improvisation and skillful interpretion of lyrics.
Bassist Milt Hinton, known as the "Judge," was considered to be the ultimate timekeeper. With his buoyant tempos and fat, booming sound, Hinton provided the rhythmic foundation for many jazz greats.
