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Musician, avid golfer and Day to Day contributor David Was reviews jazz singer Tierney Sutton's new recording, I'm With the Band, a collection of mostly jazz standards given strange new life with an overly cheerful delivery.

Folklorist Nick Spitzer hosts American Routes, a public radio music program based in New Orleans. He left the city before Hurricane Katrina and is now in Lafayette, La. He talks about the cultural and musical history of New Orleans.

NPR's Tavis Smiley and music critics Gail Mitchell of Billboard magazine and Stephen Ivory talk about the significance of Black Music Month. They hash out what tunes they would want most if trapped on a desert island.

The Tavis Smiley Show bids music legend Ray Charles a final goodbye. On Thursday, a long line formed around the Los Angeles Convention Center where people paid their final respects to the music legend. We hear from Mable John, who wrote more that 52 songs for Ray Charles and served as lead vocalist and director of the Raylettes backup singing group.

Jazz musician Pat Martino lost almost all memory of his family and his career after suffering a brain aneurysm in the 1970s. But he was able to reverse much of that loss by studying his old recordings and re-learning to play the guitar. He performs this weekend in New York City -- musician and Day to Day contributor David Was profiles Martino and his amazing comeback.

The accordionist Richard Galliano plays what's known as French musette, a rich, energetic blend of European folk music and American jazz. Critic Jim Fusilli says Galliano's new live album, Ruby, My Dear, shows just how dazzling jazz with a French flair can be.

Ed Gordon talks with Quincy Jones, who scored the music for new film Get Rich or Die Tryin, starring rapper Curtis "50 Cent" Jackson.

NPR's Tony Cox sits down with internationally renowned flutist Hubert Laws for a conversation about his expansive music career and latest CD, Moondance, which blends classical and jazz vibes.

Critic Kevin Whitehead reviews the new recording by tenor saxophonist Fred Anderson and drummer Hamid Drake. It's called Back Together Again.

Influential jazz saxophonist Steve Lacy died Friday of cancer at age 69, ending a career that was noticed by both John Coltrane and the MacArthur Genius Awards. Hear NPR's Tom Cole.