May 01 Watch 6:48 Trombone Shorty on what happens when New Orleans’ musical heartbeat falls silent By Jeffrey Brown, Anne Azzi Davenport Jazz Fest, one of the nation’s liveliest annual music celebrations, should have been full-throttle this week in New Orleans. Instead, the city remains locked down, a hot spot in the COVID-19 pandemic with close to 6,500 cases and over 400… Continue watching
Nov 11 Watch 7:11 With emphasis on arts, rural communities challenge national narrative of decline By Jeffrey Brown Americans have been drawn to rural areas in recent years partly due to the appeal of a higher quality of life. These regions have not traditionally been known as art hubs, but some residents say that trend is changing. Jeffrey… Continue watching
Aug 26 Watch 3:32 Painter, printmaker and sculptor Oliver Lee Jackson on the artist who inspires him American painter, printmaker and sculptor Oliver Lee Jackson has a complex and diverse portfolio that expertly incorporates influences from the Renaissance to modernism and African culture to American jazz. A current National Gallery show presents 18 paintings he created in… Continue watching
Jul 22 Art Neville, member of funk band The Meters, dies at 81 By Rebecca Santana, Kevin McGill, Associated Press In 1968, Art, Aaron and Cyril joined four New Orleans musicians to form The Meters, an American funk band often cited by other bands as a musical influence. Continue reading
Dec 14 Watch 2:05 Remembering Nancy Wilson, singer with dazzling style Singer Nancy Wilson has died at the age of 81. Wilson -- who was also a civil rights activist who marched in Selma -- released more than 60 albums in a career spanning five decades, winning three Grammys and scoring… Continue watching
Jul 13 Watch 8:05 Lost recordings uncover John Coltrane’s timeless talent By Jeffrey Brown, Anne Azzi Davenport The lost recordings of jazz titan John Coltrane have been rediscovered and shared with the world. Jeffrey Brown visits the jazz great’s recording studio where the mystery began to take a listen to "Both Directions at Once: The Lost Album,"… Continue watching
Apr 19 Watch 3:36 Why artists are responsible for moving society forward Composer and artist Samora Abayomi Pinderhughes wants to make music that makes listeners live differently. Pinderhughes gives his Brief but Spectacular take on his responsibility as an artist. Continue watching
Mar 03 Watch 7:39 Female jazz musicians raise their voices against sexism By Ivette Feliciano, Zachary Green At this year’s Winter Jazzfest in New York, one of the world’s biggest jazz festivals, women took center stage in more ways than one. In a year when more than a third of the festival’s acts had female bandleaders --… Continue watching
Jan 23 Watch 3:26 Remembering Hugh Masekela, master musician who fought for South African freedom By Jeffrey Brown Over the course of his six-decade career, Hugh Masekela’s jazz and anti-apartheid activism made him a beloved international figure. In exile, he used his music as a form of activism to call for Nelson Mandela’s release from prison and freedom… Continue watching
Oct 19 WATCH: Trombone Shorty joins a ‘second line’ in New Orleans By Anne Azzi Davenport Trombone Shorty said he always makes a point of dropping by his old neighborhood when he stops home from his tours. Continue reading