Black Music

Broadcast nationwide in 1934 and praised by listeners and critics alike, a masterful symphony soon fell silent. A new recording hopes to help revive an American treasure.

A visionary with seemingly boundless energy, pianist Lara Downes is clearing new paths in the classical music landscape, expanding minds and spurring…

It was 2008 when I authored the biography, "HAZEL SCOTT: The Pioneering Journey of a Jazz Pianist from Café Society to Hollywood to HUAC." At that time, Hazel Scott’s name conjured fond but distant memories among an older generation.

Terence Blanchard became the first Black composer to premiere an original opera at The Metropolitan Opera in 2021. Fire Shut Up in My Bones—an adaptation of New York Times columnist Charles Blow’s bestselling memoir about childhood trauma and its layered emotional fallout—opened the Met’s 2021-2022 season. Hear it on WRTI, Saturday, January 8th at 1 PM.

In 1995, the highly respected alto saxophonist Steve Wilson told The New York Times everything you need to know about fellow altoist Kenny Garrett’s approach to playing music. “He’s the first one of us to really encompass the whole tradition of Black music with his sound."

April 19, 2021. The Grammy-winning Catalyst Quartet uncovers music and the stories of the people who wrote it in its new recording series, UNCOVERED. The…

The bond between Temple University and WRTI has always been strong, but a growing partnership between Temple’s Intellectual Heritage program and WRTI,…

In hard times, we inspire. As musicians, that’s one way that our art serves the world. As our minds were blown and our hearts shattered again and again…

Throughout the month of February, join us for a special classical and jazz celebration of Black History Month on WRTI.Each week, we're spotlighting a key…

When most people think of a love song, it’s usually about being in, falling in, or falling out of a romantic relationship. Yet, we know love is not…