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Born and raised among the jazz greats of New Orleans, renowned trumpeter Terence Blanchard captured the city's devastation in his film score for Spike Lee's When the Levees Broke. He discusses his latest project, A Tale of God's Will (a requiem for Katrina).

Known in his heyday as "The Velvet Fog," Tormé was a consummate entertainer: a drummer, singer, composer, arranger, lyricist, writer and actor. Of course, underneath it all was his intuition for all things jazz — and a voice to match.

In time for Earth Day, McPartland pays loving tribute to an early environmental hero, Rachel Carson, in a composition for symphony and improvised piano. The piece begins with a simple bird-song motif and moves through both the triumph of nature and its possible dramatic end.

Every September since 1958, the Monterey Jazz Festival has transformed the municipal fairgrounds into a vast, sun-speckled California music weekend. JazzSet picks the best moments from last fall's 50th Monterey Jazz Festival, including performances from Gerald Wilson and Otis Taylor.

Gypsy's antiheroine is a woman boiling over with frustrated ambition, who channels all her energies into turning her daughters into stars — woe be to anyone who gets in her way. Jeff Lunden has an appreciation.

Leavell plays the music of The Allman Brothers and Hoagy Carmichael in a session from 2003.

Ella Fitzgerald is one of the most recognized voices in jazz history. As a teen, her dream was to be a dancer, but fate had different plans for her. "Lady Ella" possessed a three-octave range, was noted for her pure tone, and is widely considered one of the finest Great American Songbook interpreters.

She was the Hollywood star for two decades, then a washout, then an Oscar nominee again — twice. On the centenary of her birth, NPR's Bob Mondello looks back at a star you think you know.

With this live version of "Wonderwall," Mehldau reduces Oasis' most famous song to a post-bop stride-piano exercise.

Named for the little slice of New York City that gave rise to Tito Puente, pianist Oscar Hernandez's Spanish Harlem Orchestra celebrates the rhythms of salsa music. The Grammy-winning group played a fiery set at the 2008 Portland Jazz Festival.