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For 30 years, the go-to guy for zydeco music has been Stanley Dural Jr., better known as Buckwheat Zydeco. In addition to featuring his own songs, his new album Lay Your Burden Down features songs by an eclectic group, from Bruce Springsteen to Jimmy Cliff to Captain Beefheart.

Born 100 years ago Saturday, clarinetist Benny Goodman made jazz a listening concern for folks who thought it was only for the clubs. He was not only an innovative musician, but a forward-thinking bandleader, the first to integrate black musicians on stage with a white band.

Her name is synonymous with Chicago blues, and her voice was growling, thunderous and full of soul. Grammy Award-winning blues singer Koko Taylor died in a Chicago hospital Wednesday.

Nearly every jazz musician today comes from an institutional program, but Claudia Acuna took an alternate route that started in her native Chile. In a session from WBGO, the jazz vocalist performs the music of a Chilean freedom singer and Cole Porter.

"This is our house," says the artistic director for jazz at the Kennedy Center, introducing his long-running trio. The pianist plays the music of Fats Waller and other surprises.

One of the most promising sights in jazz is Paquito D'Rivera, coming your way with his clarinet bag over his shoulder, smiling and looking to spread his goodwill. Still, as joyful and funny as he is, D'Rivera takes his hard-won musical freedom seriously. The clarinetist's quintet takes a trip around Latin America in a concert from >>>JazzSet.

Nobody could accuse composer Gunther Schuller of slacking off. He played principal French horn in the Cincinnati Symphony as a teenager, collaborated with Miles Davis and developed a new classical-jazz hybrid. And at 83, he's still composing.

Soul queen Naomi Shelton got her start in her Alabama church choir at age six. She would soon sing her way to the New York funk scene, filling night clubs with her soulful, jazzy style. Now, forty years later, Shelton has released a studio album, What Have You Done, My Brother?

The guitarist shows off his amazing technique and improvisational abilities in "My Funny Valentine."

In this session, saxophonist JD Allen performs songs from Shine, his second consecutive trio recording featuring bassist Gregg August and drummer Rudy Royston. The songs all feature Allen's calling card: a forceful tenor saxophone that blows mightily.