I read with sadness about the passing of Terry Teachout, whom I knew as theater critic, jazz musician, playwright, and biographer of jazz greats. And that was just part of who he was.

Vibraphonist Khan Jamal, who combined jazz-funk, post-bop, and a spirit-seeking philosophy, died on Monday at Chestnut Hill Hospital in Philadelphia. He was 75.

Join us in celebrating the life and legacy of Rev. Martin Luther King, Jr. as we bring you The Philadelphia Orchestra’s 32nd annual Martin Luther King, Jr., Tribute Concert, led by Music Director Yannick Nézet-Séguin, on Monday, January 17, at 1 PM, LIVE on WRTI from the Kimmel Center’s Verizon Hall. WRTI’s Melinda Whiting is host.

Acclaimed for her fearless performances in operas by Strauss and Bizet, Ewing also partly inspired Passing, a film written and directed by her daughter, Rebecca Hall.

Mtume brought, in Miles Davis' words, "a deep African-American groove" to the trumpet legend's band before later exploring neo-minimalist funk and R&B. And then there was "Juicy."

Alongside her husband, Alan, she won two Academy Awards for Best Original Song for "The Windmills of Your Mind" and "The Way We Were."

Terence Blanchard became the first Black composer to premiere an original opera at The Metropolitan Opera in 2021. Fire Shut Up in My Bones—an adaptation of New York Times columnist Charles Blow’s bestselling memoir about childhood trauma and its layered emotional fallout—opened the Met’s 2021-2022 season. Hear it on WRTI, Saturday, January 8th at 1 PM.