Jazz Night In America Jazz Night In America is a public radio program, a video concert documentary series, and an online home for the music, from NPR Music, WBGO and Jazz at Lincoln Center.

Jazz Night In America

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Pianist Helen Sung: From Classical Outsider To The Jazz Inner Circle

Helen Sung Ayano Hisa/Jazz at Lincoln Center hide caption

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Jazz Night In America: The Radio Program

Pianist Helen Sung: From Classical Outsider To The Jazz Inner Circle

WBGO and Jazz At Lincoln Center

March 4, 2021 • Sung reflects on how, as a young classical pianist, she stuck to her jazz dreams. More recently, she's translated her emotions on social justice into a thematic composition for her quartet.

Pianist Helen Sung: From Classical Outsider To The Jazz Inner Circle

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Chick Corea performs in Boston. NPR hide caption

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WBGO and Jazz At Lincoln Center

February 18, 2021 • The legendary pianist has lived many lives as a musician, from post-bop wunderkind to free-jazz maverick to fusion explorer to chamber-jazz eminence.

Chick Corea: Back In Boston

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Alone Together: Jazz Couples (Stuck) at Home

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Jazz Night In America: Video Episodes And Shorts

Alone Together: Jazz Couples (Stuck) at Home

WBGO and Jazz At Lincoln Center

February 12, 2021 • Over the past year, we caught up with jazz couples to get a behind-the-curtain look at life during quarantine, alone together.

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Our Partner: WBGO

Founded in 1979, WBGO is a publicly-supported cultural institution that champions jazz to a worldwide audience.

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Meet Christian McBride

The host of Jazz Night In America is also one of the premier bass players of his generation.

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Jazz Night In America: The Radio Program

A Fine Romance: Jazz & Valentine's Day

WBGO and Jazz At Lincoln Center

February 11, 2021 • Celebrate Valentine's Day with classic songs of love from a 2018 Jazz at Lincoln Center concert, featuring vocalists Brianna Thomas, Vuyo Sotashe and an all-star big band.

A Fine Romance: Jazz & Valentine's Day

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Saint Coltrane: The Church Built On 'A Love Supreme'

WBGO and Jazz At Lincoln Center

February 2, 2021 • Jazz Night visits the St. John Will-I-Am Coltrane African Orthodox Church, an evolving house of worship that has incorporated John Coltrane's A Love Supreme album as their chief liturgical text.

Lost (And Found) In Yonkers: The Billy Lester Story

Anna Yatskevich /Courtesy of Newvelle Records

Jazz Night In America: The Radio Program

Lost (And Found) In Yonkers: The Billy Lester Story

WBGO and Jazz At Lincoln Center

January 28, 2021 • Jazz Night shines a light on the reclusive 74-year-old pianist Billy Lester. Lester has spent his whole life in Yonkers, N.Y. We hear his story and listen back to a trio set recorded in 2019.

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The Modern All-Stars: A Newport Jazz Festival Special

Top (L to R): Antonio Hart, Carl Allen, Christian McBride, Roy Hargrove, Benny Green. Bottom (L to R): Marlon Jordan, Tim Warfield, Mark Whitfield Ken Franckling /Jazz Times hide caption

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The Modern All-Stars: A Newport Jazz Festival Special

WBGO and Jazz At Lincoln Center

July 25, 2020 • Hear a power hour of all-stars with some of the best sets to come out of the modern era of the Newport Jazz Festival, featuring Herbie Hancock, Roy Hargrove, Cécile McLorin Salvant and more.

The Modern All-Stars: A Newport Jazz Festival Special

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The Golden Age: A Newport Jazz Festival Special

Fans sit under an umbrella as shade from the hot sun during the Newport Jazz Festival in Newport, R.I., on July 8, 1962. Boston Globe/Getty Images hide caption

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Jazz Night In America: The Radio Program

The Golden Age: A Newport Jazz Festival Special

WBGO and Jazz At Lincoln Center

July 23, 2020 • Hear an unforgettable lineup of music from the Newport Jazz Festival, hand-picked by Christian McBride. Check out rare sets from the Clifford Brown/Max Roach Quintet, Dave Brubeck and Horace Silver.

The Golden Age: A Newport Jazz Festival Special

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The Stars Shine: A Newport Jazz Festival Special

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Jazz Night In America: The Radio Program

The Stars Shine: A Newport Jazz Festival Special

WBGO and Jazz At Lincoln Center

July 24, 2020 • Hear historic music from the Newport Jazz Festival, hand-picked by Christian McBride. Tune in to rare sets from Ray Charles, Cannonball Adderley, Sarah Vaughan, Duke Ellington and Louis Armstrong.

The Stars Shine: A Newport Jazz Festival Special

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The Evolution Of Jon Batiste, Music Consultant Of Pixar's 'Soul'

Jon Batiste performs an intimate set in New York City. Becky Harlan/WBGO hide caption

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Jazz Night In America: Video Episodes And Shorts

The Evolution Of Jon Batiste, Music Consultant Of Pixar's 'Soul'

WBGO and Jazz At Lincoln Center

December 31, 2020 • Jon Batiste was born for show business. Hear him play an intimate set in New York and on our radio show as we trace his story to his current gig as band leader of The Late Show with Stephen Colbert.

The Evolution Of Jon Batiste, Music Consultant Of Pixar's 'Soul'

56:20

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In Memoriam: 10 Jazz Artists We Lost In 2020

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

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Bernard Benant, Jonathan Chimene/WBGO, David Kaufman, Tom Pich

Jazz Night In America: The Radio Program

In Memoriam: 10 Jazz Artists We Lost In 2020

December 17, 2020 • We remember luminaries we lost this year in our In Memoriam program: Jimmy Heath; Lee Konitz; Càndido; Tony Allen; Annie Ross; Freddy Cole; Gary Peacock; Henry Grimes; Wallace Roney; and McCoy Tyner.

In Memoriam: Jazz Night Radio Remembers 10 Musicians Who Altered The Shape Of Jazz

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Grammy-winning trumpetist Keyon Harrold performs "Ethereal Souls" at Fontaine Capel in Socrates Sculpture Garden of Queens, N.Y.. Nikki Birch/NPR hide caption

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Jazz Night In America: Video Episodes And Shorts

Watch Jazz Night's Tribute To Musicians We Lost In 2020

WBGO and Jazz At Lincoln Center

December 17, 2020 • Grammy-winning trumpeter Keyon Harrold performs "Ethereal Souls" for Jazz Night In America's tribute to the jazz musicians we lost in 2020.

Ring In The Holiday Season With Sherman Irby

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

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Frank Stewart/Jazz at Lincoln Center

Jazz Night In America: The Radio Program

Ring In The Holiday Season With Sherman Irby

WBGO and Jazz At Lincoln Center

December 10, 2020 • Sherman Irby, saxophonist in the Jazz at Lincoln Center Orchestra, brings a fresh take to holiday favorites with his quintet. Christian McBride hosts.

Ring In The Holiday Season With Sherman Irby

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Crate Digging With Christian McBride: Joe Zawinul And 50 Years Of Weather Report

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Jazz Night In America: The Radio Program

Crate Digging With Christian McBride: Joe Zawinul And 50 Years Of Weather Report

WBGO and Jazz At Lincoln Center

November 25, 2020 • Hear an electric fusion set from keyboardist Joe Zawinul and The Zawinul Syndicate in concert from 2006. We also celebrate 50 years of Weather Report with co-founder Wayne Shorter and other alumni.

Crate Digging With Christian McBride: Joe Zawinul And 50 Years Of Weather Report

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Crate Digging With Christian McBride: The History Of Latin Bass

The Afro Latin Jazz Orchestra featuring bassists Cachao, Andy González, and Charnett Moffett. Frank Stewart/Jazz at Lincoln Center hide caption

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Frank Stewart/Jazz at Lincoln Center

Jazz Night In America: The Radio Program

Crate Digging With Christian McBride: The History Of Latin Bass

WBGO and Jazz At Lincoln Center

October 29, 2020 • Hear the Afro-Latin Jazz Orchestra in 2006, with four virtuoso bassists: Rubén Rodríguez, Charnett Moffett, the late Andy González, and the mighty Cachao, two years before his death.

Crate Digging With Christian McBride: The History Of Latin Bass

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Swinging The Clouds Away: Jazz Takes Over Sesame Street

Richard Termine/JALC

Jazz Night In America: The Radio Program

Swinging The Clouds Away: Jazz Takes Over Sesame Street

WBGO and Jazz At Lincoln Center

October 23, 2020 • On this show, the Jazz at Lincoln Center Orchestra with Wynton Marsalis invite the Sesame Street gang onstage. Plus, trombonist Joe Fielder's Open Sesame share rare songs from the Sesame songbook.

Swinging The Clouds Away: Jazz Takes Over Sesame Street

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Social Music In An Age Of Social Distancing

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Jazz Night In America: Video Episodes And Shorts

Social Music In An Age Of Social Distancing

WBGO and Jazz At Lincoln Center

October 16, 2020 • How is the Philadelphia jazz community responding to the global pandemic? Pianist Orrin Evans and other musicians are taking on the challenge.

Social Music In An Age Of Social Distancing

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Meet the NEA Jazz Masters, Class of 2020

Bobby McFerrin, Dorthaan Kirk, Roscoe Mitchell and Reggie Workman. Carol Friedman, David Tallacksen, Richard Kohler, Ken Weiss /NEA hide caption

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Carol Friedman, David Tallacksen, Richard Kohler, Ken Weiss /NEA

Jazz Night In America: The Radio Program

Meet the NEA Jazz Masters, Class of 2020

WBGO and Jazz At Lincoln Center

September 18, 2020 • Jazz Night in America honors jazz masters Reggie Workman, Bobby McFerrin, Roscoe Mitchell and Dorthaan Kirk.

Meet the NEA Jazz Masters, Class of 2020

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Bird Lives! A Charlie Parker Centennial, With Strings Attached

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Jazz Night In America: The Radio Program

Bird Lives! A Charlie Parker Centennial, With Strings Attached

WBGO and Jazz At Lincoln Center

August 28, 2020 • Charlie Parker with Strings was the most commercially successful project of his all-too-brief career. We'll examine the backstory and hear rare selections from the collaboration.

Bird Lives! A Charlie Parker Centennial, With Strings Attached

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Joshua Redman, Brad Mehldau, Christian McBride and Brian Blade. /Courtesy of the artist hide caption

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Jazz Night In America: Video Episodes And Shorts

Watch Party: The Joshua Redman Quartet's 'RoundAgain' Reunion Concert

WBGO and Jazz At Lincoln Center

July 22, 2020 • Before Joshua Redman, Brad Mehldau, Christian McBride and Brian Blade recorded their new studio album, RoundAgain, they recorded this special hour-long concert video.

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Playing Music Together Online Is Not As Simple As It Seems

July 15, 2020 • For musicians who want to play together while following social distancing guidelines, the solution goes beyond a Zoom call. Pianist Dan Tepfer leads us down the technological rabbit hole.

Jazzmeia Horn performs at Jazz at Lincoln Center in New York City. Jazz at Lincoln Center hide caption

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Jazz at Lincoln Center

Jazz Night In America: Video Episodes And Shorts

Premiere: Watch Jazzmeia Horn's Final Live Performance Before The Pandemic

WBGO and Jazz At Lincoln Center

July 8, 2020 • Join us to watch jazz vocalist and songwriter Jazzmeia Horn give her last in-person concert before the pandemic shuttered music venues in March 2020.

Inspired By Injustice, Wynton Marsalis Reflects On His Music

Frank Stewart/Jazz at Lincoln Center

Jazz Night In America: The Radio Program

Inspired By Injustice, Wynton Marsalis Reflects On His Music

WBGO and Jazz At Lincoln Center

July 2, 2020 • Host Christian McBride and trumpeter/composer Wynton Marsalis reflect on Marsalis' studio recordings that address injustices and speak about the role music plays in speaking truth to power.

Inspired By Injustice, Wynton Marsalis Reflects On His Music

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Michela Marino Lerman and Russell Hall perform at home. /Courtesy of the artist hide caption

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Michela Marino Lerman And Russell Hall: Alone Together Duets

WBGO and Jazz At Lincoln Center

June 19, 2020 • Tap dancer Michela Marino Lerman and bassist Russell Hall rattle our senses with a performance evoking the soundscapes of protests taking place in cities across America.

Colin Marshall/NPR

Jazz Night In America: Video Episodes And Shorts

Cabaret Cards: The Law Police Used To Keep Musicians Of Color Off Stage

WBGO and Jazz At Lincoln Center

June 3, 2020 • The New York Police Department kept musicians of color from the stage for almost three decades by revoking their cabaret cards, a license required to perform for pay in nightclubs.