Alvon Johnson with Greg Bridges
Former vocalist with the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame group "The Coasters" Alvon Johnson is called the Ambassador of the Blues as he performs nationally and abroad. In 2015 he was the recipient of the Music Icon Award from the Black Music Association and Academy of America.

Fareed Haque with Chris Cortez
Modern guitar virtuoso Fareed Haque was voted Best World Guitarist by Guitar Magazine's readers poll in 2009. Well steeped in classical and jazz traditions his unique command of the guitar and different musical styles have inspired his musical ventures with tradition and fearless innovation.

Tal Farlow with Dick Conte
Nicknamed "Octopus" because of his large, quick hands that spread over the fret board with ease and dexterity, guitarist Tal Farlow worked with Red Norvo and Artie Shaw's Gramercy 5 early on in his career and later in life with Great Guitars. He partially retired in 1958 deciding to split his time at home as a sign painter, playing local gigs and recording.

Sheryl Bailey & Harvey S. with Alisa Clancy
Guitarist and composer Sheryl Bailey has earned numerous accolades for her impeccable approach and engaging compositions featured on her 9 releases as a leader. She currently divides her time between teaching at Berklee College of Music and performing. Prolific bassist Harvie S has worked with Al Cohn, Thad Jones, and Lee Konitz, among others and has recorded extensively with vocalist Sheila Jordan.

Dee Dee Bridgewater
When Dee Dee Bridgewater learned that she would become a 2017 NEA Jazz Master, a succession of thoughts and feelings flooded her mind. The news came as a total shock, as she tells it: "It was so far out of my orbit and just my whole sphere of thinking," she said in a conversation at NPR this spring, hours before she formally received her award.

She's 70 - far from retirement age in jazz, and on the extreme forward edge of the NEA Jazz Masters demographic. So she was aware of her relative youth in the field. She also recognized that there haven't been many women in the ranks of NEA Jazz Masters: fewer than 20, out of 145. That idea led her to reflect on her predecessors: legendary singers like Betty Carter, who was inducted back in 1992, and Abbey Lincoln, who received the nod in 2003.

Bridgewater sought inspiration and counsel from both Carter and Lincoln, as she recalls in this episode of Jazz Night, which features music recorded during the season opener for Jazz at Lincoln Center. On a program called "Songs of Freedom," organized by drummer Ulysses Owens, Jr., Bridgewater sang material associated with Lincoln as well as Nina Simone: furious anthems of the civil rights movement, like "Driva Man" and "Mississippi Goddam," both potent and relevant today.

A separate concert, "Songs We Love," found Bridgewater singing less politically charged (but still gripping) fare like "St. James Infirmary," which appears on her most recent album, Dee Dee's Feathers. She worked with a different group of musicians on that evening, but still leaned on younger talent - a reminder of the role that she herself has embraced, as a mentor in the music.

In words as well as music, this episode reveals how seriously Bridgewater takes that responsibility, seeing as how it connects to her own experience in the jazz lineage. But maybe "seriously" isn't the right word when it comes to Dee Dee, whose effervescence shines through even in a reflective mood. Join her here for a while; she's excellent company, no more or less so now that mastery is officially a part of her resume.

Helen Sung
Iconic drummer Albert "Tootie" Heath first recorded in the 1950s with John Coltrane, has been active for over 50 years, performing with such artists as Dexter Gordon, Nina Simone, Wes Montgomery, and countless others.

Jazz Night In America visited Jazz at Lincoln Center as Tootie Heath performed at his 80th birthday party back in 2015 - and host Christian McBride popped over to interview him for a raucous, hilarious, personal conversation.

Henry Threadgill
Henry Threadgill's music has always pushed boundaries. Two tubas with two guitars, a "sextett" with seven members, a free-improvising trio with an instrument made of hubcaps, a dance orchestra: Nothing is off the table.

Back in 2014, when the saxophonist, flutist and composer turned 70, he celebrated at Harlem Stage with a special two-day concert programmed through the lens of his various groundbreaking ensembles, curated by pianist Jason Moran. Threadgill watched from the audience as dozens of musicians from all throughout his trajectory gathered in Harlem Stage's unique uptown venue to present a rare retrospective of his work.

Phil Schaap
We're honoring 2021 NEA Jazz Master Phil Schaap. Schaap has played a part in nearly every aspect of jazz. He's a polymath with an incredible memory and immense devotion to the history and future of the music. This episode is all about his life and legacy. We'll hear from the Jazz at Lincoln Center Orchestra and rare, live music produced by Schaap himself at The West End Cafe in Manhattan.

Gary Bartz is one of the preeminent jazz saxophonists today. His work with Art Blakey, Max Roach, McCoy Tyner and Miles Davis, helped launch him to international status and set him on a course as a leader in Jazz. In celebration of Jazz Appreciation Month we honor the legacy of Gary Bartz with an encore presentation of a 2019 interview conducted here at KCSM with Gary as well as a recent interview talking about his latest endeavors.

Miki Yamanaka, a New York-based pianist from Kobe, Japan.

David K Mathews, Piano, Electric Piano, Hammond Organ, Clavinet and Synthesisers andthe Keyboard Player with SANTANA since August of 2010.

Trumpeter/Composer/Bandleader Erik Jekabson

SJazz Journalist Yoshi Kato

Singer/lyricist Karen Marguth

Guitarist & Composer Julian Lage