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Violinist Hilary Hahn, 23, has just released a CD, Bach Concertos, with Jeffrey Kahane and the Los Angeles Chamber Orchestra. As odd as it may seem, Hahn encourages listeners to dance to the classical composer's music. Hahn tells Liane Hansen about the CD.

NPR's Tony Cox talks with 28-year-old Harlem pianist and band leader Jason Moran about his fresh and innovative jazz album, The Bandwagon.

For the past three years, All Songs Considered, NPR's online music show, has showcased the talents of both established artists and new voices. A newly released CD collects compelling music from the wide range of genres — from Latin jazz to electronica and Afropop — heard on the show. NPR's Scott Simon talks with All Songs host Bob Boilen.

Horace Silver pioneered the hard bop style in the 1950s, but he never forgot his roots. On Song for My Father, Silver demonstrates his imaginative and funky piano style while paying homage to the Cape Verdan melodies of his Portuguese father.

With her diverse singing style, Dinah Washington had an influence on many R&B and jazz singers, particularly Nancy Wilson and Esther Phillips. In 1954, she recorded perhaps her most memorable live jam session, with Clifford Brown. The result was Dinah Jams, which also includes solos by flügelhornist Clark Terry.

The Vanguard Jazz Orchestra began its stellar career by performing at the Village Vanguard, one of the most famous basements in New York City, in the 1960s. In 1999, the band re-released many of its classic songs on the album, Thad Jones Legacy, which includes detailed notes and a selected discography.

In 1951, Jimmy Smith began playing the Hammond organ. Within a few years, he was considered to be THE master of the instrument. Smith also was one of the founders of the "hard bop" funk school of the 1950s. Smith's talents, including his quick agility with organ peddles, come through on this album.

Born Eunice Kathleen Waymom, Nina Simone adopted her stage name while playing in bars in Atlantic City. Often called the "high priestess of soul," Simone recorded soul, jazz, pop, blues and gospel music. This album covers her career from 1967-1972, just before she moved to France to protest American racism.

The 1953 album Jazz at Massey Hall contains the only jazz composition sung by a United States president while in office. The song is "Salt Peanuts," performed by Jimmy Carter at the White House Jazz Festival. Jazz at Massey Hall also documents one of the rare moments when Dizzy Gillespie, Charlie Parker, Bud Powell, Max Roach, and The Quintet recorded together.

Joshua Bell plays a Stradivarius violin built in 1713 that's been notoriously stolen a few times. On his latest CD, the young virtuoso borrows a few great classical melodies and transposes them. He discusses his results with NPR's Liane Hansen.