NPR Staff

The bassist has made the rounds with some of the best jazz musicians in the world, including Wynton Marsalis and Herbie Hancock. But for McBride, staying in the swing of things means reaching audiences. Guest host Celeste Headlee speaks with McBride about his new album, People Music.

Vocalist Cecile McLorin Salvant and pianist Aaron Diehl, both in their 20s, have already racked up major industry prizes. On her new album, they find ways to honor old traditions as young people.

San Francisco Symphony music director Michael Tilson Thomas guides us through the infamous Rite of Spring premiere, the music's longevity and its surprising singability.

Four years after it was recorded live in Lucerne, Switzerland, an album of six standards called Somewhere is finally getting a proper release.

Not long after his shocking ballet, the composer branched out into a broad range of styles, ushering in new musical trends far from the violent tone of his iconic Rite of Spring.

Rachel Barton Pine says that while recording an album of music designed to help babies sleep, it helped to keep her own infant daughter in mind.

The violinist, vocalist and composer says that writing a piece like her prize-winning Partita for 8 Voices begins with "having a sound in your head that you really want to hear."

Even among experimentalists like Philip Glass and Steve Reich, the composer Julius Eastman stood out: black, gay and politically provocative. Clayton's new album is a tribute to the singular artist who burned out too early.

The Japanese pianist's latest album begins with a tribute to a sound she's never liked: the chime of an alarm clock.

Four decades after her death, Bonds — a gifted pianist and a friend and collaborator of Langston Hughes — is still one of few African-American woman composers to gain recognition in the United States.