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Jazz Musicians

April 25, 2017, marks the centennial birthday of Ella Fitzgerald (above, in a triple-exposure undated photograph).

Women Who Shaped History

Never Mind Her Stellar Jazz Career, Young Ella Fitzgerald Just Wanted to Dance

The preeminent vocalist didn’t actually start out as a singer

Adolphe Sax made this alto saxophone in 1857, long after he had switched to brass. The sax is still a woodwind instrument, though.

The First Saxophone Was Made of Wood

The instrument was invented by–you guessed it–Adolphe Sax

The Original Dixieland Jass Band included cornetist Nick LaRocca, trombonist Eddie Edwards, clarinetist Larry Shields, pianist Henry Ragas, and drummer Tony Sbarbaro.

The First Jazz Recording Was Made by a Group of White Guys?

A century ago, a recording of the startlingly novel “Livery Stable Blues” helped launch a new genre

Interior of Historic RCA Studio B today.

Play Paul Simon’s Piano or Croon Into Elvis’ Mic at These Seven Historic Recording Studios

Take a tour through Americana music history

The word “jazz” was first used in print in California sportswriting around 1912.

This Is the “Jass” Record That Introduced Millions of Americans to a New Kind of Music

The record that introduced millions of Americans to a new kind of music

George Clinton donated to the museum his Parliament Funkadelic Mothership.

Breaking Ground

The New Exhibition on Black Music Could Give Other Museums a Run for Their Money

The collections in the show “Musical Crossroads” at the African American History Museum are near encyclopedic in their scope

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Breaking Ground

The Musical Lineup for the Opening of the African American History Museum Is Announced and It’s Great

The ‘Freedom Sounds’ Festival includes D.C. Go-Go band Experience Unlimited, Public Enemy, The Roots, Living Colour and more

Sarah Vaughan by Herman Leonard, 1949

Jazz Has Never Looked Cooler Than It Does in This New Exhibition

These evocative images by photographer Herman Leonard call to mind a bygone era

Louis Armstrong's historic trumpet was a "great playing" instrument, says Wynton Marsalis, after his performance last Fall at the Smithsonian.

Breaking Ground

To Really Appreciate Louis Armstrong’s Trumpet, You Gotta Play it. Just Ask Wynton Marsalis

It’s not always the white-glove treatment; some artifacts live on through performance

This conception of jazz as a means of bringing people together is manifested nowhere better than in Benny Carter (above, 1986).

It’s Springtime and Jazz Is In Bloom

This year’s Jazz Appreciation Month celebrates the singularly talented alto saxophonist Benny Carter

Wayne Shorter and McCoy Tyner at Shorter's April 29, 1964 session for "Night Dreamer" at the Van Gelder Studio, Englewood Cliffs, New Jersey

These Rarely Seen Images Show Jazz Greats Pouring Out Their Hearts

Frank Wolff’s gritty portraits, the hallmark of Blue Note Records, became a visual catalog of jazz in action

Don Cheadle stars as Miles Davis in the new film Miles Ahead.

Smithsonian Jazz Expert Gives Liner Notes to the New Miles Davis Biopic

The American History Museum’s James Zimmerman dives into Miles Davis’ sound and style

David Baker directing the SJMO in the Kennedy Center Concert Hall

Jazz Legend David Baker’s Soaring Legacy

Smithsonian’s maestro, a founding director of the Smithsonian Jazz Masterworks Orchestra, has died at the age of 84

Jon Batiste and Stay Human perform at the Austin City Limits Music Festival.

Why Jon Batiste Is the Perfect Choice to Be the “Late Night” Bandleader

The tall, lanky jazz musician will bring his unique talents to television this fall

Jack Kevorkian stands in front of one of his paintings.

Cool Finds

Listen to Dr. Kevorkian’s Jazz-Funk Album

The man called “Dr. Death” created a complex and surprising body of artistic work

Revelers two-step at the New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival.

How Do You Dance to Jazz?

The attendees at this year’s New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival taught our music writer a step or two

Louis Armstrong playing in Rome in 1959. You can visit his house in Queens, New York, and see how he lived for the last 30 years of his life.

Urban Explorations

Where to Celebrate the History of American Jazz

These six spots are just a short riff on what makes the musical genre particular to the United States

Jazz singer Billie Holiday wears a large white flower in her hair for a performance in New York City.

What Makes Billie Holiday’s Music So Powerful Today

Musicians including Cassandra Wilson pay homage to the jazz legend with new albums for Lady Day’s 100th birthday

Billy Strayhorn playing piano in a home, May 26th,1952.

This New Collection of 12,000 Photographs Chronicles the American Jazz Scene

A donation from the family of photographer and historian Duncan Schiedt captures the music’s “essence”

Depicted in Big Band are: Billie Holiday, Louis Armstrong, Ella Fitzgerald, Lionel Hampton, Duke Ellington, Benny Goodman, Jerry Mulligan, Charlie Parker, John Coltrane, Lester Young, Glen Miller, Charles Mingus, JJ Johnson, Miles Davis, Dizzy Gillespie, Wynton Marsalis and Gene Krupa.

LeRoy Nieman Pulled Together a Dream Band for His Epic Portrait of Jazz Greats

The iconic artist’s large-scale painting of this century’s music greats debuts at the American History Museum, kicking off Jazz Appreciation Month

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