Terell Stafford with Chris Cortez
Well-known for his work as a member of Bobby Watson's Horizon, Florida native, Terell Stafford began as a classical trumpeter with a degree from Rutgers but later branched out into jazz after moonlighting with the University of Maryland Jazz Band. He has played with McCoy Tyner, Christian McBride and Russell Malone among others and is currently the director of Jazz Studies at Temple University.

Freddy Cole with Alisa Clancy
Grammy nominated singer and pianist Freddy Cole, the younger brother of Nat King Cole has enjoyed a career that has spanned more than 65 years and was inducted into the Georgia Music Hall of Fame . At the age of 88 he's recorded dozens of albums as a leader and continues to do what he loves the most touring and performing all over the globe.

Abbey Lincoln with Dick Conte
The multi-talented Anna Marie Wooldridge known professionally as Abbey Lincoln left an indelible mark on the world as a distinctive jazz vocalist, songwriter and actress who was also an outspoken civil rights activist during the 1960's. Married to Max Roach from 1962 to 1970 she sang on his seminal civil rights-themed recording "We Insist!" and was awarded the esteemed NEA Jazz Master Award in 2003.

Dan Hicks with Chris Cortez
The incomparable singer and songwriter (the late) Dan Hicks was born in Little Rock, Arkansas but adopted Mill Valley as his home in the early 1970's. He continued to lead his band Dan Hicks and The Hot Licks for many decades fusing an eclectic mix of genres that he dubbed "folk swing". Billboard magazine called him an eccentric whose music contained elements of country, folk, jazz and humor. He's worked with Elvis Costello, Tom Waits, Bette Middler, Rickie Lee Jones and Brian Setzer among others and remains a true original.

Joe Lovano
Jazz Night in America heads to Cleveland where we catch up with Joe Lovano. It's a bit of a homecoming for the saxophonist; he comes back to Cleveland every December. We sit down with his family to hear the lore surrounding Lovano's father, saxophonist Tony "Big T" Lovano. Our music features highlights from two, sold-out nights at The Bop Stop at the Music Settlement where Lovano featured his family, old classmates, and locals who've been making music in Cleveland for years.

Grover Washington, Jr.
One way or another, you've heard Grover Washington Jr.'s saxophone. Perhaps on "Mister Magic" or another of his instrumental hits, like "Winelight." Or on "Just the Two of Us," the smash hit featuring Bill Withers. What Washington's sound represents is soul, plain and simple, though it's often been associated with another word: "smooth." A lot of musicians have some choice words to say about that, starting with Washington himself.

Jazz Night in America recently partnered with WRTI, in Grover Washington's adopted hometown of Philadelphia, to present a tribute concert at the Temple Performing Arts Center. In this episode of the radio show, we'll put you in that room with a wildly enthusiastic crowd, to hear a reunion of Grover Washington band members, like bassist Gerald Veasley and keyboardist Bill Jolly, as well as two saxophonic inheritors, Gerald Albright and Najee. We'll also hear from musicians like David Sanborn, a near-contemporary of Washington's, about the legacy and presumptions surrounding "smooth jazz," and the ways in which Washington both defined and transcended it.

Mark Guiliana
Drummer/composer Mark Guiliana traverses many musical landscapes from modern jazz (Brad Mehldau), Tunisian oud music (Dhafer Youssef), Hasidic reggae (Matisyahu), or legendary rock (David Bowie.) However, these days, his primary mode for expression is displayed in two distinctly different sounding bands: the acoustic The Mark Guiliana Jazz Quartet and his electric Beat Music project. But don't make the mistake of thinking about these vehicles as separate, or only binary, divided between plugged-in and plugged-out lines, but rather in unison, from the creative mind of an artist who deftly synthesizes the vast array of contemporary sounds around us. And, as far as the spirit of the music, Guiliana says, "You know, every time I sit down it's jazz whether it is or not."

Join us on this exciting Jazz Night in America journey, where we'll bring you these two bands in their peak form, with two unique concerts, from two hemispheres of the globe: The Mark Guiliana Jazz Quartet recorded at the world famous Bimhuis in Amsterdam followed by Beat Music's album at Rough Trade in Brooklyn.

Wayne Shorter And The Jazz At Lincoln Center Orchestra
In the Spring of 2015, Wayne Shorter’s life-long search for new possibilities landed him on stage with the Jazz at Lincoln Center Orchestra. This concert offers an unprecedented opportunity to hear Shorter revisit the beautiful melodies that their creator has rarely, if ever, performed since recording them for posterity a half-century ago as well as some of Shorter’s most masterful material, including E.S.P., Lost, and Endangered Species.