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Fresh Air's jazz critic takes a fresh look at the reissue of the album Head On (Blue Note/EMI), a 1971 session led and recorded by Bobby Hutcherson.

As a kid, Charlie Haden was a yodeling cowboy during radio's Golden Age. He's since become a respected jazz bassist for musicians such as Pat Metheny and Keith Jarrett. But the bluegrass of his youth was an irresistible siren song, and now he's recorded Rambling Boy with friends and family.

The bossa nova style comes naturally to Luciana Souza. In "O Pato," the Brazilian-born chanteuse sings (and quacks) in Portuguese in a light-hearted concert moment at the Kennedy Center.

For its latest album, the New Orleans funk band laced a new element on top of its groove-based jams: hip-hop MCs. On tour, Galactic visited Mountain Stage with one of its guest stars, Boston rapper Mr. Lif.

Jimmy Thackery is a musical hitchhiker: He jumps on Chuck Berry's "Promised Land" and takes off without a second look. The bluesman uses his stinging, ringing guitar to set the pace for a cross-country journey that begins on a bus in Southwest Virginia.

Pianist Tardo Hammer is a marvelous bebop player and a sought-after sideman. When he's not playing festivals and club dates around the world, he remains active as a jazz educator. An expert interpreter of the music of Tad Dameron, Hammer plays his tunes and joins host Marian McPartland on "Good Bait."

Hiromi's Sonicbloom brought a high-energy kickoff to 2009's Toast of the Nation broadcast, as she performed a set from where all four members met: the Berklee College of Music in Boston, Mass. The quartet performs with High-Romantic lyricism, jazz-fusion electronics and arena-rock bombast.

The former leader of Booker T and the MGs has been jamming for nearly four decades, paving the way for countless forms of funk and soul music. The organist's latest album, Potato Hole, is his first solo release in 20 years.

The last year and a half hasn't been easy for the award-winning jazz pianist and composer, who spent months in a coma and almost died. But he has a new album out and is performing again.

No matter how you're going to spend your time by the pool, you're going to need musical accompaniment -- preferably something that steers clear of the typical Jimmy Buffett and Beach Boys mix. How about some jazz? Not the heady stuff, unless you're aiming to clear the decks. Instead, get yourself some deep '70s jazz; the kind that leaves a funk aroma and washes off easily when you take the plunge.