Saxophonist Ben Flocks with Alisa Clancy

Vocalist Barbara Dane with Melanie Berzon

Percussionist Pete Escovedo with Pete Escovedo

Pianist, Dorothy Donegan with Dick Conte

Pasquale Grasso
A virtuoso guitarist with a rich sense of harmony, Pasquale Grasso's studies with Barry Harris helped him form a mastery of the bebop idiom at a young age. Since moving to New York in 2012, he has been working steadily on stage and in studio, and has demonstrated the continuing possibilities of the language of classic jazz.

Marilyn Crispell
A bristling and forceful improviser, pianist Marilyn Crispell is a one of the major voices of avant garde jazz. First heard in her work with Anthony Braxton and Reggie Workman, Crispell is perhaps now best known for her solo piano work, in which she has evolved a style that combines focused structures and textures with dramatic flights of freedom.

John Coltrane's late recordings
John Coltrane is widely regarded as one of the great masters of jazz and a model of musical development, but many who embrace this narrative still shy away from the intense and free improvisations made at the end of his career. After 50 years, this challenging work has lost none of its force, and still bears examination.

Aldo Romano
A musical polyglot who has retained a unique voice across all of the styles of modern jazz, Italian-born and Paris-raised drummer Aldo Romano has appeared on some of the best European jazz records, covering free improvisations in the 1960s, tenures with straight-ahead masters, and his own groups of younger musicians.

Brazilian percussionist/composer Cyro Baptista
In the world of Brazilian percussion, few players have share the stage with Herbie Hancock, Yo-Yo-Ma, Trey Anastasio (Phish), and Sting. Cyro Baptista transcends borders and style, and with more than three decades of wizardry and ingenuity he brings his craft to Jazz at Lincoln Center. Our concert showcases Cryo’s wild take on traditional Brazilian grooves like forro and samba with jazz, experimental and funk undertones. This episode of Jazz Night in America follows Cyro, to Home Depot and into the woods, as he creates a new percussion instrument for his arsenal.

Harlem River Drive: Eddie Palmieri
Jazz Night in America presents the Latin jazz legend’s Harlem River Drive project featuring an 18-piece orchestra recorded in (where else, but) Harlem! In the words of Eddie himself, “The message of Harlem River Drive is the past, present, and future. We’re talking about conditions that exist past, present, and future and why we struggle to survive. We’re talking about the unequal distribution of wealth; we’re talking about broken homes.” Eddie and the band trace the genesis and commercial failure of the 1972 cult album, and how the message is still today.

NOLA Local
There may be no better place than New Orleans to explore the ties of family and tradition in jazz. This episode of Jazz Night in America visits the Crescent City to get inside two of the city’s best known legends: singer John Boutte and drummer Shannon Powell. With music from their shared bill at the Jazz and Heritage Center, this episode spends time with each of them at their homes, tracing their NOLA familial roots and exploring why they’ve chosen stay local.

San Jose Jazz Festival Highlights
Chris Cortez, Jesse ‘Chuy’ Varela and the KCSM gang were on the scene last month! Featuring vocalists Cyrille Aimée and Daymé Arocena.

Ernie Andrews
Vocalist Ernie Andrews is a musician known for his tremendous vitality and ability to communicate that stems from his gospel roots. Influenced by Ella Fitzgerald, Billy Eckstine, and Johnny Mercer, Andrews’ own special style is a mix of energy, drama, and humor. On this 1998 Piano Jazz, McPartland accompanies him as he sings The More I See You and From This Moment On. McPartland then performs a Strayhorn tune, Bloodcount.

Veronica Nunn
Vocalist Veronica Nunn grew up in Little Rock, AR, absorbing all kinds of music, from jazz to funk to gospel. When she moved to New York in 1978, she split her time between Harlem’s jazz clubs and the Theology Department at Lehman College. On this 2008 Piano Jazz, Nunn is accompanied by her husband, pianist Travis Shook. She demonstrates her soulful technique on One Note Samba as well as I’m Old Fashioned.

Dave Douglas
A composer, improviser, and trumpeter, Dave Douglas develops music that transcends the boundaries of traditional jazz. In 2000, when he was McParland’s guest, he was named JazzTimes magazine’s “Artist of the Year.” On this Piano Jazz, Douglas talks about his album Soul on Soul, his stunning tribute to Mary Lou Williams. He and McPartland share their love for Williams’ music with their rendition of Cloudy. Bassist James Genus joins them to perform another Williams tune, Scratchin’ in the Gravel.

Tony Caramia
Tony Caramia is a world-class pianist and educator, currently teaching at the Eastman School of Music, where he is Director of Piano Pedagogy Studies and Coordinator of the Class Piano Program. Caramia is skilled in both classical and jazz, but has an affinity for ragtime, with a particular interest in British composer and pianist Billy Mayerl. McPartland got her start in the music business when she joined Mayerl’s piano quartet in England in the late 1930s. On this 2003 Piano Jazz, Caramia plays a famous Mayerl melody, Marigold.

Sidney Bechet
Sidney Bechet (1897-1959) started playing the clarinet when he was 13 years old. By the time of his death, at age 62, he was considered one of the most innovative and original clarinetists and soprano saxophonists in jazz. He brought to the instrument an unequaled energy, clarity and verve and was best known for his heavy vibrato. Temperamental and creative, Bechet left a profound mark in the way the clarinet and the soprano saxophone is played today. His autobiography, Treat It Gentle is still considered one of the best personal accounts of the life and times of a jazzman. This show explores his legacy.

Thelonious Monk
The sound of pianist/composer Thelonius Monk is one of the most recognizable in modern jazz. By the "plunk" or "thunk" of a single chord, his piano and compositions are unmistakable. An original on and off the bandstand, he was the launch pad of bebop, and also created a body of work in its own orbit. This show celebrates Monk's lasting contributions, with help from his collaborators and admirers including drummer Max Roach, producer Orrin Keepnews, and writer Stanley Crouch.

Bud Powell
After being brutally beaten by police at age 21, pianist/composer Powell spent the rest of his short life fighting mental illness, until his death in 1966. His music revealed his constant state of struggle. Known to improvise like one possessed, Powell's right hand could race through the upper registers of the keyboard with astounding clarity while his left hand grounded the lines with irregularly spaced dissonant bass chords. Bud Powell created a ferocious body of music that shattered the limits of bebop and influenced all that followed him.

Mary Lou Williams
Pianist/composer Mary Lou Williams achieved and maintained a status that many women in jazz found elusive: unwavering respect from male colleagues as a musical equal. Her accomplishments are many as arranger and pianist with Andy Kirk and his Twelve Clouds of Joy, with her own small groups, and with the be-bop artists of the '40s. Throughout, she was always -as Duke Ellington once said- "perpetually contemporary."

Phil Woods
Alto saxophonist Phil Woods has crisscrossed the world playing in the big bands of Charlie Barnett, Buddy Rich, Dizzy Gillespie, Quincy Jones, and even Benny Goodman. He's made over four hundred jazz records, earned five Grammy nominations for his own Quartet records, and has performed with pop artists such as Billy Joel and Paul Simon. The story of this impassioned road warrior is told by Woods himself and others, including Jackie McLean, Bill Goodwin, and Nat Hentoff.