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NPR's Tony Cox interviews jazz composer Terence Blanchard about his latest projects.

The 78-year-old singer is currently performing at Birdland in New York City. Previously, Carroll spent 25 years playing at Bemelmans Bar at the Carlyle Hotel. This year, she received three lifetime achievement awards; one of them was the Kennedy Center's Mary Lou Williams Women in Jazz Lifetime Achievement Award. Carroll has a number of albums to her credit; her latest is the new solo album Morning in May.

She is creating a buzz in the jazz community. Critics have remarked that the young jazz artist has a "penchant for leisurely tempos, soulful interpretations and gloriously resonant low notes." Producer Roy Hurst talks with the singer-songwriter about her critically acclaimed debut album, Salt.

With orchestras clamoring for her work, the rising artist feels a responsibility and opportunity to help reframe classical music and the institutions that present it.

On the largely wordless everything perfect is already here, the composer lets us experience the world through her ears with field recordings, strings and a little tenderness.

His song cycle Cross That River tells how African Americans helped shape the western frontier. The CD is part of a project that includes a novel, a musical and plans for an educational offering in Harlem schools.

At 65, Dr. John is best known for rhythm and blues and his voodoo charms. In a new album, Mercernary, he's taking Johnny Mercer's pop standards and mixing in his own brand of New Orleans funk.

To Guy Davis, the stories behind Southern blues are as important as the familiar music that defines the genre. His new CD, Skunkmello is full of legendary tales, old and new.

Sonya Kitchell is just 17, but her voice and lyrics are drawing comparisons to Joni Mitchell and Norah Jones. Rolling Stone says her music belies her age. Kitchell tells Howard Berkes how a young woman from Massachusetts "gets" the blues.

Tony Cox talks with members of The Dirty Dozen Brass Band. The New Orleans mainstay has a new CD that pays tribute to Hurricane Katrina victims.