The Art of the Story

As New York Voices prepares to retire after nearly forty years together, Darmon Meader looks back with Janis Siegel on the unlikely origins of one of jazz's defining vocal groups - and the role WBGO played from the very beginning.

A new jazz club in New York's Financial District is part of a surprising wave of venues opening across the city. Leo Sidran visits One Flight Up, where drummer Joe Strasser and his longtime friend and business partner Mark Quinn have turned a decades-old dream into reality.

Thirty years after Where Have All the Cowboys Gone? became one of the defining songs of the 1990s, Paula Cole reflects on writing, recording and ultimately misunderstanding the success of a song that never fit neatly into a category.

Willard Jenkins chats with Nasar Abadey, leader of the group Supernova, ahead of their 2026 D.C. Jazz Fest appearance.

Forty years ago this summer, singer songwriter Pat MacDonald released one of the defining pop songs of the 1980s: “The Future's So Bright, I Gotta Wear Shades.” Today Leo Sidran considers the song’s legacy.

Long before Herbie Hancock became the musical giant he is today, there was a time when he too, like so many other musicians past and present, would pull all-nighters practicing for an especially crucial performance. In conversation recently with WBGO’s Pat Prescott, Hancock looked back on his formative years, landing the gig with Donald Byrd, and moving to New York City.

Dave Popkin catches up with saxophonist Jimmy Greene at the Saratoga Jazz Festival.

Leo and Ben Sidran reflect on 250 years of America, jazz being arguably one of America's greatest contributions to the world, and democracy both conceptually and in practice.

Aaron Diehl on curating 92NY's Jazz in July and the enduring echoes of Miles Davis.

Writer Heather Aimee O’Neill spoke to Leo Sidran about her debut novel and about how she knew it was time to come out of the shadows as a writer.

Herbie Hancock talked recently with WBGO's Pat Prescott about Miles, Wayne Shorter, and his upcoming NJPAC show. Here on The Art Of The Story, Ray Long presents the standout Wayne Shorter memory that Herbie shared.

Dave Popkin chats with rising vocalist and Saratoga Jazz Fest performer Tyreek McDole

Dave Popkin catches up with Chicago blues man Lil Ed Williams

Willard Jenkins catches up with the multifaceted Alex Hamburger - a musician as well as the managing director of CapitalBop, a resource for all things jazz in the D.C. area.

Leo Sidran chat with Patricia Nicholson Parker about the 30th Vision Festival, set for June 23–28 at the Abrons Arts Center in New York.

On this episode of The Art of the Story, WBGO's Doug Doyle chats with legendary festival producer Danny Melnick about the upcoming Saratoga Jazz Festival

Leo Sidran talks to composer and musician Arturo O’Farrill about creation, discovery and imposter syndrome.

Vocalist and educator Theo Bleckmann on why artists need community, how to "code the self," and why a life in music matters more than a career.

Dave Popkin talks with drummer Vince Wilburn Jr. of the Miles Electric Band. Wilburn performed with Miles Davis throughout the 1980s and is his nephew. He is also a co-manager of the Davis estate’s business, including new releases, collaborations, social media, merchandise, and other ventures.

On this episode of The Art of the Story, WBGO's Doug Doyle reports on the passing of South African pianist and NEA Jazz Master Abdullah Ibrahim

Food writer Melissa Clark talks to Leo Sidran about when a kitchen improvisation becomes a recipe—and how finding the right name can help bring it to life.

Dave Popkin chats with Mississippi-born blues artist Christone “Kingfish” Ingram.

Willard Jenkins talks with D.C. Jazz Festival President and CEO Sunny Sumter about the origins of the festival and the musical "crossroads" it embodies and represents.

Dave Popkin speaks with one of the key organizers of the inaugural Brooklyn Guitar Festival, musician Joel Harrison.

Vibraphonist Warren Wolf is one of the most accomplished musicians of his generation, but he never planned on playing the instrument that would define his career. Raised in Baltimore by a father who insisted he study music, Wolf spent years practicing vibraphone, drums and piano before discovering the joy of performance and finding his own voice. Today, whether he's making groove-oriented records...