NPR Staff

The French drummer, who provided the driving beats on Peter Gabriel's 1986 hit album So, is a sideman to the stars — and a composer in his own right.

The concert pianist's latest album resulted from his study of what makes a piece of music uniquely French.

Born in Tel Aviv, Anat Cohen came to New York two decades ago to study the masters of jazz. In so doing, the clarinetist and saxophonist started a bit of a stampede: Today, Israel is exporting some of the most vital jazz out there.

One of today's hottest conductors talks about a piece that's integral to his musical life: Stravinsky's earthshaking Rite of Spring, which Dudamel insists has not lost its power to shock in the century since it was written.

Jonny Greenwood began as an underachieving viola student at Oxford. After years of crafting the iconic guitar sound of Radiohead, he's found his way back to the orchestra as a film-score composer.

Joe Jackson's new album, The Duke, is a tribute to fellow musical pioneer Duke Ellington. The album, however, is not meant as a faithful, note-for-note re-creation. In fact, it features almost no horns.

Philip Rosheger says his bandleader father discouraged him from playing music as a kid — but once he heard his first classical guitar record, there was no looking back.

The Brazilian singer's two new albums of cover songs explore her love of both jazz and bossa nova.

Listener Melanie Cowart says things were rarely easy for her parents — one of whom was black and one white — in Depression-era Missouri. Porter's "Begin the Beguine," one of their favorite songs, became a fitting symbol of their relationship.

The jazz vocalist says that once an idea has been caught on tape, "it's never going to be quite as strong" as in that first moment. Her new, all-improvised album is called Spontaneous.