The Art of the Story

Harry Connick, Jr. talks to Leo Sidran about his new project, Babe: Elaboratio — A Tribute to My Mother, part symphony, part memoir, and devoted to his mother, Anita Livingston, who died when he was 13.

Blossom Dearly, a pink cherry blossom with a passion for jazz, talks with Leo Sidran about her unexpected internet success, the importance of kindness, why jazz is American history, and her first live performance with the Shrub-Tones at Lincoln Center.

Ray Long chats with singer, songwriter, and multifaceted musician Jake Sherman about his recently launched Organ Night concert series, and the surprising depth of community that it has already cultivated.

As she celebrates her 70th birthday at Jazz at Lincoln Center, Russell reflects on a working life shaped by unexpected opportunities, a remarkable family legacy, and a willingness to keep following wherever the music leads.

Willard Jenkins catches up with Washington D.C. area based musician Allyn Johnson, colloquially dubbed "the dean of D.C. jazz."

Pianist and producer Kiefer traces the unexpected path from jazz piano to beat-making, the rhythmic lessons he later recognized in Sonny Clark, and how those influences came together on Memory Bomb, his solo debut for Blue Note Records.

h Grammy-winning singer, pianist and songwriter Nicole Zuraitis talks to Leo Sidran about building the ambitious world of The Devil I Knew, finding her voice as a fiercely independent artist, and challenging assumptions about what jazz can be.

Dave Popkin catches up with bassist and composer/songwriter Hannah Marks at D.C. Jazz Fest

Vocalist and Jazz at Lincoln Center regular Ekep Nkwelle talks with Kyla Marshell about her debut album Caged Bird

Guitarist Miles Okazaki tells Leo Sidran about the making of The Monkathon, a new concert film documenting the extraordinary undertaking of performing all 66 Thelonious Monk compositions from memory in a single evening.

On pop stardom, artistic identity, and learning to let go of what happens to your work.

Willard Jenkins speaks with saxophonist Ricardo Toscano at the Embassy of Portugal in Washington D.C.

Ahead of her September 30 album release show at The Pocket, pianist and singer Kelly Green talks with Leo Sidran about the lifelong pursuit of jazz, finding her musical family, and the Eastern philosophy that has taught her to put everything into her music and then let it go.

Ray Long chats with filmmaker Penny Lane about her new documentary Wild Inside, which chronicles the fascinating year-long NYC adventure of Eurasian eagle-owl Flaco after his escape from the Central Park Zoo.

Sullivan Fortner tells Leo Sidran about how he seriously considered becoming a doctor, and didn't choose music until almost the last possible moment.

Twenty-five years ago, New York’s jazz clubs went dark after the September 11 attacks. Some reopened within days. Others never recovered. A look at the musicians, clubs and institutions that kept the music alive.

Dave Popkin catches up with prolific saxophonist Joshua Redman at the 2026 D.C. Jazz Festival.

At a late-summer celebration in Central Park, Verve Records marked its 70th anniversary alongside SummerStage’s 40th season. From a new generation reimagining Getz/Gilberto to Samara Joy and Christian McBride carrying the jazz tradition forward, the evening was a reminder that musical history is kept alive by the people who believe in it — sometimes quietly, one person at a time.

The first Labor Day parade took place in New York City in 1882, but it didn’t get moving until a group of workers from Newark arrived with a band. Leo Sidran traces the musical origins of the holiday and considers the enduring question of musicians as both artists and workers.

Leo Sidran revisits a 2023 conversation with singer Samara Joy about her experience studying at SUNY Purchase

WBGO's Doug Doyle reports on the impact of the late Cassandra Wilson

Singer, composer, and producer Sofia Rei talks with Leo Sidran about “Folk and Futurism,” rediscovering tradition from a distance, and how her collaborators and students continue to influence the music she makes.

Willard Jenkins speaks with Joi Brown, Artistic Director of The Music Center at Strathmore.

Dave Popkin talks with Isaiah Collier about his new music from his EP Joy - as well as honoring and continuing the legacy of John Coltrane, on the centennial of his birth.

Willard Jenkins chats with 2026 D.C. Jazz Festival artist-in-residence Janelle Gill