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Alto saxophonist Cannonball Adderley, nicknamed "the New Bird" for his ability to play fast leads a la Charlie "Bird" Parker, swept on the jazz scene in the mid-1950s. On Somethin' Else, Adderley teamed with Miles Davis to create an album that jazz commentator Murray Horwitz calls "near perfect."

Hugh Masekela comes from an extensive jazz background; he is also known as one of the greatest innovators in world fusion. Now Masekela has a new CD, Revival, that draws on pop, jazz and R&B influences.

The Elements of Style, E.B. White and William Strunk's classic manual on writing and usage, can now be seen and heard. A new edition features illustrations by Maira Kalman, while composer Nico Muhly offers a musical adaptation.

NPR station KEXP is an influential and innovative cultural force in Seattle and beyond. Kevin Cole — host of Afternoon Show, which highlights new releases, previews, vintage tracks, rarities, B-sides and in-studio performances — compiled this list of notable debuts.

Saxophonist Euge Groove earned his chops as a member of Tower of Power and sideman for Huey Lewis, Tina Turner and Elton John. He's back with a new solo CD of smooth tunes that are equal parts jazz, pop and R&B. Hear full-length cuts from the CD.

American music legend Ray Charles died Thursday of complications from liver disease. He was 73. Blind since age 7, the man known as "The Genius" built a career that defied genre, lending his soulful, bluesy stylings to jazz, pop, country and R&B. Ashley Kahn has a remembrance.

Southern singer Lizz Wright crafts a distinct mixture of jazz, folk, gospel, and R&B, but she's been most widely celebrated as a rising star in the jazz world. Hear Wright give a performance and interview from WXPN.

The movie version of Frank Miller's graphic novel 300 opened Friday to mixed reviews and then dominated at the box office, taking in $70 million over the weekend. Syndicated columnist Victor Davis Hanson offers his take on the stylized account of the battle of Thermopylae, where 300 Spartans held a narrow mountain pass against invading Persians in 480 B.C.

Boogie woogie has its origins in music played in honky tonks in the American South. The album, Boogie Woogie Anthology, celebrates the genre, and includes Pete Johnson, Albert Ammons, and the Tommy Dorsey Orchestra.

This weekend's Art of Cool Festival in Durham, N.C., aims to expand the audience for improvised music. So it's booked performers from modern R&B, hip-hop and beyond with deep jazz influences.