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John Pizzarelli has been playing jazz guitar with his legendary father, Bucky, since he was 6 years old. John's latest album is Dear Mr. Sinatra, on which he plays songs written for Ol' Blue Eyes. Pizzarelli appears at the Birdland jazz club in Manhattan this week.

Today is the 85th birthday of jazz drummer and legendary bandleader Chico Hamilton. He has spent seventy years behind the drum kit, performing in a wide variety of styles and jazz flavors: from big band and R&B, to funky and experimental.

Vaughan was, arguably, the foremost interpreter of Brazilian music in jazz history. Recorded three years before she died, Brazilian Romance is her equivalent of Johnny Cash's American Recordings — full of contemporary spirit, propelled by a timeless voice.

Trumpeter, composer, and arranger Gerald Wilson turned 88 years old Monday. He grew up in Mississippi, and got his start playing with Jimmy Lunceford's band in New York City. He later worked with Benny Carter's band and formed his own. As a composer-arranger, he worked for the Count Basie and Dizzy Gillespie bands. And he accompanied Billie Holiday on her tour of the South in 1949. He's arranged music for Ella Fitzgerald, Ray Charles, Sarah Vaughan, Bobby Darin, and Carmen McRae. His most recent CD was released last year, In My Time.

In the year since Katrina struck, the musicians of New Orleans have struck back with their art, celebrating the city's life before the storm and bemoaning its fate. We have chosen ten songs that convey their spirit, their spunk and their commitment to Crescent City.

Detroit-born jazz pianist and singer Geri Allen says she owes as much to Motown as she does to jazz greats like Dizzy Gillespie and Bill Evans for the inspirations for her sound. Her latest album is Timeless Portraits and Dreams — musician and Day to Day contributor David Was has a review.

Wise in Time, the brainchild of DJ and producer Ian Simmonds, combines folk guitars, electric pianos and jazz influences to create a complex musical landscape. The band's music moves seamlessly through lounge-friendly jazz, funk and dance music.

Harry Connick Jr.'s song "All These People" chronicles the devastation he witnessed in his native New Orleans during the days immediately following Hurricane Katrina. All proceeds from the single go to Musicians' Village, a New Orleans rebuilding project sponsored by Habitat for Humanity.

Saxophonist Kenny Garrett talks with Tony Cox about his attempts to marry Asian music with jazz on his latest CD, Beyond The Wall.

Join us for our annual broadcast of Johann Sebastian Bach's St. Matthew Passion on Good Friday, April 15th from noon to 3 PM. This year we'll hear a 1999 recording from the Bach Collegium Japan conducted by Masaaki Suzuki.