Pianist Benny Green with Jesse "Chuy" Varela

Vocalist Ernie Andrews with Dick Conte

Jazz Impresario Pete Douglas with Chris Cortez

SF Trad Jazz Foundation Archivist's Clint Baker & Jerry McBride with Alisa Clancy

Charles Mingus Sextet
Recordings of live performances of one of Charles Mingus's greatest bands, a swinging sextet with Jaki Byard, Clifford Jordan, Eric Dolphy, Dannie Richmond, and Eric Dolphy, capture a smoldering ensemble fully realizing the potential of Mingus's compositional genius.

Freddie Redd
One of the major composers of late 50s/early 60s bebop, Freddie Redd achieved renown through his work with Jackie Mclean. Now he maintains a low but steady profile, playing and recording with younger musicians like saxophonist Chris Byars.

Dudu Pukwana
South African saxophonist and composer, Dudu Pukwana was a member of the pioneering Blue Notes sextet...One of the great free-jazz bands of the late 1960's that performed under apartheid with a mixed-race group unifying African styles and progressive jazz ideas of the time.

Kenny Wheeler
One of the major voices of jazz in Europe, Kenny Wheeler was a trumpeter/composer who brought intelligence and grace to the avant-garde scene in the UK for 60 years. His collaborations with the best musicians on both side of the Atlantic still sound inviting and fresh.

Lisa Mezzacappa
It's hard to imagine the forward-looking jazz scene of the Bay Area without the tireless efforts of composer, bandleader, and bass player Lisa Mezzacappa. Her open approach and powerful sound serve as the backbone for an incredible range of musical projects, and her vision and enthusiasm as a curator and organizer help keep the creative pulse strong in a rapidly changing city.

Maria Grand, Melanie Charles & Lakecia Benjamin
Itis saxophonist Maria Grand, vocalist and flutist Melanie Charles, and saxophonist Lakecia Benjamin on Jazz Night in America. Weill hear from each musician on their own unique sound, in their own words.

NEA Jazz Master Dee Dee Bridgewater
Jazz Night in America spotlights vocalist Dee Dee Bridgewater in a performance from Jazz at Lincoln Center, featuring the music associated with Abbey Lincoln and Nina Simone.

Happy Birthday Herbie Hancock
Jazz Night in America celebrates Herbie Hancockis 79th birthday with a conversation between Christian McBride and Mr. Hancock about his journey in technology through the years.

Gary Burtonis final U.S. Concert
Two years ago this month, the legendary vibraphonist Gary Burton announced his retirement. Jazz Night in America flew to the Jazz Kitchen in Indianapolis, to capture NEA Jazz Master Burtonis final concert in the U.S.

NEA Jazz Master Abdullah Ibrahim
Pianist/Composer/Bandleader Abdullah Ibrahim's Town Hall Concert in New York City on 2017 South Africa Freedom Day. In addition to his own compositions, Abdullah revisits music from his years in the Jazz Epistles (1960), a short lived, legendary South African bebop band.

Herbie Hancock
On this episode of Piano Jazz, composer and keyboardist Herbie Hancock stops by in a program recorded in 1987. The ever-inventive Hancock sticks with the acoustic piano for this set of solos and duets with host Marian McPartland.

Henry Mancini
Composer, arranger and pianist Henry Mancini (1924-1994) wrote some of the most memorable tunes of the modern era. Throughout his career, he recorded more than 90 albums and won 20 Grammys and four Oscars. In this 1985 edition of Piano Jazz, he discusses his muse - the movie screen - and performs several favorites, including Days Of Wine And Roses.

Lionel Hampton
Vibraphonist Lionel Hampton (1908-2002) was one of the most influential figures in the history of jazz. He made the vibes a vital voice in the arsenal of jazz instruments, and gained international fame while playing in Benny Goodman's small groups and leading his own orchestra. On this 1989 episode of Piano Jazz, Hampton and host Marian McPartland duet in a set that includes Sweet Georgia Brown and Mack The Knife.

Sue Mingus
Author, promoter, entrepreneur, record producer, band manager and Charles Mingus' widow, Sue Mingus, joins host Marian McPartland, on this 2003 edition of Piano Jazz.

Showman, composer, performer, and ambassador, Duke Ellington (1899-1974) turned jazz it into a sophisticated international art form, in practically all forms. Duke put his stamp on popular songs, serious works, musicals, "sacred concerts," and even extended symphonic suites. This overview takes measure of the jazz royalty that was The Duke.

Duke Ellington: The Overview, Part 2
The Ellington story picks up in the early '30s. As America struggled through the depths of the Depression, Ellington's star continued to rise. But his manager Irving Mills's move to book Ellington and his band on a tour of the racially-segregated Deep South brought Duke to a career crossroads.

Duke Ellington: The Bandleader, Part 1
Duke Ellington, the bandleader, was an icon. From his humble beginnings with a little six-piece band from Washington, DC, he assembled one of the greatest orchestras in the history of jazz and kept it going for almost fifty years.

Duke Ellington: The Bandleader, Part 2
Host Nancy Wilson explore the sound, sheen, and sophistication of the Ellington band through the eyes and ears of its members, who say that part of the secret of the band's success was in its continuity from year to year, or as historian and composer David Baker argues "There was only one place to go out of the Ellington Band...down."