Toast Of The NationNPR's annual New Year's Eve special celebrates with live jazz and blues performances, including sets from Wynton Marsalis, Jon Batiste and Dee Alexander.
By necessity, the early jazz pioneers knew how to make music for revelers. So it made sense that Marsalis put the tunes of Jelly Roll Morton and King Oliver on the bill for this New Year's Eve bash.
An impromptu bongo beat became a full-on tribute to James Brown, and suddenly a band had a new repertoire. A powerful and versatile vocalist, Alexander and her ensemble honor the Godfather of Soul.
Dee Alexander's Funkin' With Electric Soul In Concert
Following a high-energy main stage set — filled with turbocharged versions of standards, rags and his own party anthems — the young pianist and singer brought his band out into the audience.
With its newest album, the swing revivalists honor a clear pioneer to their dance-friendly approach: Bandleader Cab Calloway. Lead singer Scotty Morris leads the band from Walt Disney Concert Hall.
For one weekend each January, the epicenter of the New York jazz community is a marathon two-night downtown festival. Hear from Donald Harrison, Gretchen Parlato, Hypnotic Brass Ensemble and more.
The vocal gymnast comes from a musical family — his father was the first African American man to sing at the Metropolitan opera. He sings his own takes on spirituals and then some — with his daughter.
Much as families reunite for holidays, Jazz at Lincoln Center's artistic director convened his own reunion of sorts at the end of the year. His working band of the '90s came together to ring in 2014.
A 24-year-old with a taste for finely aged songs, the vocalist was one of the breakout jazz stars of 2013. Accompanied by pianist Aaron Diehl's trio, she performs at the Mary Lou Williams Festival.
A Jazz Messenger, a Young Lion, a New Orleans torchbearer, a mentor for new talent: when leading bands, the "King of Nouveau Swing" merges all that and more.
The Cuban-born reedman has made a career out of crossing genres. So Chicago's Latino Music Festival invited him to perform with jazz and classical musicians, and the Festival's director gets involved.
Every month, the Colorado-born sextet of over 20 years gathers from far and wide at the Denver club Dazzle. This particular month, Convergence welcomed a special guest on the Hammond B-3 organ.
The legendary trumpeter was in good spirits and excellent form as 1989 became 1990. In this archival Toast of the Nation concert, he leads a band in a program of favorites.
The electric guitarist left college about 40 years ago, and judging from the success of his career, it wasn't a bad decision. Berklee welcomes Scofield back to perform new tunes and old repertoire.
In his native Puerto Rico, a jazz drummer found that his friends could all get down to Fela Kuti. So in New York, Cole assembled an 11-piece band to locate the African heart of Caribbean party music.
The jazz orchestra, brassy and slick, powers through Goodwin's charts from the main stage of the historic festival. Included is a performance of George Gershwin's "Rhapsody in Blue."
Gordon Goodwin's Big Phat Band: Live At Monterey Jazz Festival
The New Year's Eve party at Dizzy's Club Coca-Cola featured two institutions of New York jazz. They count down to midnight with their interpretations of Louis Armstrong.
Wynton Marsalis And Vince Giordano: Live In New York
NPR's annual New Year's Eve special celebrates with live jazz and blues performances, including sets from Wynton Marsalis, Jon Batiste and Dee Alexander.
Dayme Arocena's performance at the San Jose Jazz Summer Fest is featured in this year's Toast of the Nation.
Robert Birnbach/2017 San Jose Jazz Summer Festhide caption
toggle captionRobert Birnbach/2017 San Jose Jazz Summer Fest
Celebrate the New Year from Blue Note venues around the world. The lineup includes The Dirty Dozen Brass Band, Joshua Redman and Brad Meldau, Fred Hersch, Ron Carter, Buika and Dee Dee Bridgewater.
The Anat Cohen Quartet performs in Boston on New Year's Eve 2009.
Kelly Davidson/Courtesy of Berklee College of Musichide caption
toggle captionKelly Davidson/Courtesy of Berklee College of Music
Hear a playlist of complete jazz concerts from Clark Terry, Snarky Puppy, Anat Cohen, Wycliffe Gordon, Dianne Reeves, Wynton Marsalis and more to ring in the new year.
On New Year's Eve, NPR Music and WBGO present a live jazz broadcast from venues coast to coast. Wynton Marsalis, Dee Alexander and John Scofield are scheduled to perform; plus, hear concerts from Chicago, New York and the Monterey Jazz Festival.
The young guitarist and composer called up top sidemen Eric Harland (drums) and Larry Grenadier (bass) for a New Year's Eve party at his alma mater. Saxophonist Dan Blake also stopped by.
The pianist and composer is a winner of three Grammy Awards and tours the world leading a chamber ensemble which combines his jazz and classical experience. But Childs rung in 2012 in his hometown.
The pianist counted among his employers Dizzy Gillespie, Dinah Washington and Cannonball Adderley — and that was just the '50s. The bluesy veteran brought a young group to Denver for this concert.
Pianists Geri Allen, Toshiko Akiyoshi, Cyrus Chestnut, Danilo Pérez and Christian Sands were among the all-star cast of musicians who gathered in Washington, D.C. to salute the late pianist.
