The Lionel Hampton Jazz Festival (LHJF) is a jewel among the rolling Palouse hills. Held for 56 years at the University of Idaho in Moscow, this festival has gathered on stage such luminaries as Ella Fitzgerald, Dizzy Gillespie, and the man of note, Lionel Hampton, who has the U of I School of Music named in his honor. This festival is a grand event that brings together Read More
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On April 19, 2022, KOHO 101.1 FM began broadcasting jazz programming in the Wenatchee Valley. The new programming is provided by Northwest Public Broadcasting (NWPB) under a programming and services […]Read More
Simmons died last week at the age of 87. The cause of death remains unknown, but his life is cause for considerable celebration. Although jazz has established a place in academic and cultural institutions, it was and largely still is an outsider's music, and Simmons was an outsider's outsider. Read More
Pixar's new animated film Soul is the story of Joe Gardner, a middle school school music teacher with big dreams about performing jazz onstage. "Music is all I think about, from the moment I wake up in the morning to the moment I fall asleep at night," he says. "I was born to play."Read More
This year's edition of "A Jazz Piano Christmas" features REDWOOD, Cory Henry and Kenny Barron. We're celebrating the holidays with swing from the East Coast jazz scene. Read More
The film continues writer Linda Kuehl's unfinished investigation into Holiday's life through never-before-heard interviews with jazz luminaries, and explores her experiences with institutional racism.Read More
On this show, the Jazz at Lincoln Center Orchestra with Wynton Marsalis invite the Sesame Street gang onstage. Plus, trombonist Joe Fielder's Open Sesame share rare songs from the Sesame songbook.Read More
In 1965, two young fans heard the jazz giant John Coltrane play at a San Francisco club and had a religious epiphany. Their church is an idiosyncratic and joyful blend of devotion to the divine — and to jazz.Read More
As jazz experienced an awakening in the late '60s and early '70s , a record label from Oakland was at the forefront of capturing it. Now, those records are finally returning.Read More
Ronald Bell, along with his brother, Robert "Kool" Bell, brought generations of music fans together on the dancefloor with hits like "Celebration," "Get Down On It" and "Jungle Boogie."Read More
Performances and speeches honor this year's NEA Jazz Masters award recipients, including Dorthaan Kirk, Roscoe Mitchell, Reggie Workman and Bobby McFerrin. Read More
The platinum-selling, low-key superstar performs a solo set at her piano for Tiny Desk's quarantine series.Read More
Guitarist Julian Bream, who died Friday at the age of 87, was as important to the history of classical guitar as Andres Segovia.Read More
Woods played in the International Sweethearts of Rhythm, a history-making all-female big band. She was 96.Read More
Denin Koch's trip to the Hanford B Reactor when he was 19 stirred his musical passion. It eventually inspired a full jazz album exploring the complicated history of Hanford, 75 years after the U.S. bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, Japan ended WWII.Read More
Host Ari Shapiro talks with Linda Diaz, the winner of this year's NPR Music Tiny Desk Contest. Her entry, "Green Tea Ice Cream" is a dreamy R&B song anchored by her skilled and soulful voice.Read More
After collaborating with David Bowie in 2014, the multiple Grammy-winning composer found her artistic process had been recombobulated a bit — much like our ever-more digital world.Read More
The trumpeter, who died last week at the age of 78, was at the vanguard of jazz's midcentury development and is regarded as a legend by his peers.Read More
In 1968, a teenager convinced Thelonious Monk to play a concert at his high school to ease racial tensions in his community. More than 50 years later, it's been rediscovered and remastered.Read More
Ari Shapiro talks to jazz saxophonist Lakecia Benjamin about her new album Pursuance: The Coltranes and an artist she is grateful for: James Blake.Read More
The drummer's subtle and steady hand guided some of jazz's most beloved recordings, including Miles Davis's iconic Kind Of Blue. Read More
Drummer Alvester Garnett joined MacArthur "genius" violinist Regina Carter's band in 1998. It was purely professional at first, but it soon grew into a romantic relationship; the couple married in 2004. "She's the boss two-times over," Garnett says half-jokingly.Read More
On April 30, the global jazz community will celebrate International Jazz Day with an expert panel and a global concert featuring pianist Lang Lang, bassist Marcus Miller and more.Read More
On this episode of Alt.Latino, we pull an interview from the archives with the great Cuban percussionist. From Havana nightlife in the 1940s to the pulsing streets of New York just after World War II, he reminisces about the seminal recordings and jam sessions that took place. Read More
The patriarch of the famous musical Marsalis family, Ellis Marsalis was not only a performer but a teacher, a mentor and a coach.Read More
The Cameroonian musician who became an international star with his song "Soul Makossa" died Tuesday at age 86 in Paris. His music helped fuel disco — and songs by Michael Jackson and Rihanna.Read More
The album, recorded in 1982 after Simone had relocated to France, captures the legendary artist reinvigorated and exploratory.Read More
The saxophonist and composer — an artist who wrote for Miles Davis and Charlie Parker, and who nurtured John Coltrane — died Sunday at age 93.Read More
The irrepressible harpist proves that the instrument can be as tempestuous as a tango, as complex as a Bach fugue and sing as serenely as a church choir.Read More
Know someone who just LOVES Jazz? Use this guide from KJEM, the Jazz Gem of the Palouse to help you pick out a gift they will appreciate!Read More
The singer and pianist says he's loved Porter's music since he was a little kid. Connick's latest album pays tribute to an enduring influence.Read More
Before Nat King Cole became known for his velvety singing voice, he was a pianist working nightly gigs to hone his craft.Read More
His radical combination of symphonic and popular music comes eight years after a controversial statement about the word "jazz."Read More
We revisit pianist, singer and composer Andy Bey throughout his life: growing up in Newark, N.J., working with Horace Silver, performing during his 1990s renaissance and now, looking back at 80.Read More
The Alabama Shakes singer and guitarist brought an eight-piece backing band to the Tiny Desk for a set of deeply personal and affecting songs.Read More
In the 1970s, Fitzgerald became the face (and glass-shattering voice) of Memorex tapes. It fueled a career revival that extended her relevance and positioned her to pass the torch to a new generation.Read More
The Brazilian singer and guitarist, who won wide acclaim for his abundant technical skill and minimalist style, was behind one of the best-selling jazz albums of all time, 1964's Getz/Gilberto.Read More
NPR's Lulu Garcia-Navarro speaks with legendary South African pianist Abdullah Ibrahim about his latest album, The Balance.Read More
Music historian James Karst explains his recent research into the early life of the legendary Louis Armstrong.Read More
Los Angeles-based jazz vocalist Judy Wexler recently released her fifth album, Crowded Heart. Why, in the age of streaming, did she choose to release it solely as a CD?Read More
New Orleans has a fairly spotty track record when it comes to preserving cultural landmarks, but Buddy Bolden's blighted former residence may avoid being lost to time, as he nearly was.Read More
In Melbourne for its eighth iteration, the All-Star Global Concert brought together marquee names in jazz around a concert program of international, but borderless, collaboration.Read More
Join KJEM 89.9FM in Pullman at the Gladish Auditorium, April 11th, 2019 at 7:00 p.m. Jazz Night spotlights local to the Palouse groups Jazz Wires and Fatt Jazz. No ticket […]Read More