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The music of bandleader and composer Carla Bley is sure to catch your ear. She's famous for crafty arrangements of familiar tunes. Music critic David Greenberger has a review of her latest album, Looking for America.

Unknown singer Lizz Wright wowed audiences with her performance at last year's Hollywood Bowl's Playboy Jazz Festival. Now, the 23-year-old Georgia native has moved to New York and is touring with Ray Charles. Wright and guest host Joe Palca discuss her debut album, Salt.

Jazz bassist Ron Carter has more than two thousand recordings to his credit. From 1963-1968 he was part of the Miles Davis Quintet with Herbie Hancock, Tony Williams, and Wayne Shorter. Over the years he's played with Randy Weston, Herbie Mann, Betty Carter, Eric Dolphy, Sony Rollins, McCoy Tyner and others. Carter's new CD is The Golden Striker, from Blue Note Records. The interview originally aired Oct. 15, 2002.

NPR's Tony Cox talks with 28-year-old Harlem pianist and band leader Jason Moran about his fresh and innovative jazz album, The Bandwagon.

Jazz critic Kevin Whitehead reviews two new CDs by the Art Ensemble of Chicago, The Meeting and Tribute to Lester.

Tom Terrell reviews a CD of funk collaborations between Quincy Jones and Bill Cosby, The Original Jam Sessions: 1969, and a companion CD called The New Mixes Volume One. He says while the 1969 tracks were fairly ordinary, the remixes are full of musical surprises.

With some of the fastest reflexes in the history of jazz piano, Art Tatum deftly mastered stride, swing, and boogie woogie. Although nearly blind, Tatum had a knack for playing out-of-tune keyboards with sticky notes. On The Chronological Art Tatum: 1949, Tatum was at the apex of his career.

Horace Silver pioneered the hard bop style in the 1950s, but he never forgot his roots. On Song for My Father, Silver demonstrates his imaginative and funky piano style while paying homage to the Cape Verdan melodies of his Portuguese father.

The Vanguard Jazz Orchestra began its stellar career by performing at the Village Vanguard, one of the most famous basements in New York City, in the 1960s. In 1999, the band re-released many of its classic songs on the album, Thad Jones Legacy, which includes detailed notes and a selected discography.

In 1964, Miles Davis recruited saxophonist Wayne Shorter from Art Blakey's Jazz Messengers. This album captures the duo during this important time. Shorter went on to become Davis' most prolific composer, writing classics such as "Prince of Darkness" and "Nefertiti."