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Pianist and composer Andrew Hill was one of the least-known, but one of the most revered — among musicians and fans — of the jazz players who came on the scene in New York in the 1960s. He died today at the age of 75, several years after he'd been diagnosed with lung cancer.

Every decade or so, jazz trumpeter Wynton Marsalis says, he makes a political album. From the Plantation to the Penitentiary is his latest. The songs criticize hip-hop culture, a lack of strong black leadership and materialism.

Ornette Coleman, 77, has won the 2007 Pulitzer Prize for music. As a musician, he has erased as many borders as he has crossed. Whether he's writing symphonic works, chamber music, or playing alto saxophone, trumpet or violin, Coleman continues to surprise audiences.

Turtle Island Quartet has just released A Love Supreme, a take on the music of John Coltrane, Miles Davis and others. Violinist David Balakrishnan and cellist Mark Summer discuss how they transformed the jazz masterpiece for string quartet.

With a career that spans over four decades and 50 recordings, John Abercrombie is an established master of the jazz guitar. He says his new CD, The Third Quartet has the sound of 20th century classical music.

This show celebrates the music of one of the greatest singers of our time with interviews that include Ella herself; vocalists Betty Carter, Jon Hendricks and Joe Williams; writers Gene Lees and Albert Murray; and pianist Oscar Peterson.

Count Basie called him "The 8th Wonder of the World" and the clarity and speed of his playing has never been matched.

In 1977, there was a historic meeting of two musical currents: albino guitarist Johnny Winter played with legendary bluesmen Muddy Waters and James Cotton. Their 1977 concert has been released on a new album, Breakin It Up, Breakin' It Down.

New Orleans blues singer Marva Wright says she remains too distraught over the destruction of her hometown to write songs about what happened. She sure can sing about it, though, as her bittersweet cover of "You Are My Sunshine" proves.

It took a renegade of modern film, Dennis Hopper, to engineer one of the great had-to-happen musical summits of modern times. To provide the music for The Hot Spot, the director hired greats from different musical worlds: bluesman John Lee Hooker and jazz trumpeter Miles Davis.