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Charles Mingus' monumental masterpiece "Epitaph" never saw the light of day during his lifetime. But the tempestuous jazz legend left his ambitious score to be discovered by new generations. Hear the full piece, a 2 1/2-hour affair for 31 musicians.

Fresh Air's jazz critic has a listen to a re-issue of The Hawk Flies High, the 1957 album from tenor saxophonist Coleman Hawkins — who's often credited with legitimizing that instrument in the jazz world.

NOMO recently stopped by KUT's Studio 1A with synthesizers, horns and homemade instruments in tow. Elliot Bergman, speaking on behalf of the eight musicians, explained to KUT's Jay Trachtenberg how a band coming out of the Midwest came to emulate music many Americans overlook.

The music Wilkes composed for Drop It diverges from the trumpeter's avant-garde roots, with a title track that sounds beautifully in the pocket. Listen for Robert Irving III's unobtrusive electric piano, a woozy frontline melody that peps up to evoke old-school hard-bop, and rhythmically savvy solos that take few harmonic chances, to satisfying effect.

Over the past 14 years, some of New York's hottest young jazz musicians have worked for peanuts, just to have the chance to play the Argentine composer's challenging mix of Latin rhythms, classical structures and singable melodies.

Catherine Russell embodies a voice so versatile, she transcends genres with each song. Showcasing a repertoire of blues, jazz, swing and R&B, Russell's new album Sentimental Streak is both powerful and vulnerable.

Berklee-educated jazz keyboardist Marco Benevento is defined by two things players with similar training often strive to avoid: jam-band associations and plainspoken, hooky melodies. In "Golden," he applies jazz principles to a My Morning Jacket staple.

The pianist for the BMI/New York Jazz Composers Orchestra is also a singer and a former musical director at an Episcopal church. Her latest studio album elaborates on familiar jazz forms while embracing sacred texts, including a piece for Easter vespers.

After more than a decade of jamming, improvising and experimenting with sound, Benevento has discovered his own way into music by combining the thrust of rock, the questing of jazz and the experimental ecstasy of jam. Hear his trio cover Deerhoof and Leonard Cohen in a session.

Ever since the new "Queen of Blues" made her debut at age 19, she's been working to re-create the blues for a new generation. On Copeland's latest release, Never Going Back, she incorporates pop and jazz into her soulful singing, which conveys a message of inspiration and empowerment for the modern woman.