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On this edition of All Songs Considered, we've got select highlights from the First Listen Series, plus a look back at the recent All Tomorrow's Parties music festival.

The tenor sax is a powerful instrument. This is especially apparent in music created by mighty jazz masters whose skills shaped sounds still reflected in present-day compositions. Hear five great pairings, battles and studio jam sessions.

When the Saints captured the NFC Championship two weeks ago, music roared from every neighborhood and spontaneous brass-band parades shut down streets: New Orleans rhythms exploded across the city in a way that seemed natural for celebrations of football glory. Now, you can hear 10 songs which typify the music in the New Orleans air right now.

Many things make New Orleans a one-of-a-kind music town, but one is the tuba, the monstrous brass instrument worn like a python squeezing its victim.

St. Patrick's Day is a holiday when everybody is Irish: wearing at least a splash of green, getting together with friends for a pint or a party, and so on. To celebrate the day, here are some jazz songs that wear the green, at least in their titles, as well as musical tributes to Ireland.

Some jazz musicians are known as much for their wit as for their chops. To celebrate National Humor Month, hear five jazz songs designed to make you laugh.

The early stages of 2011 have already seen new jazz records inspired by the civil rights movement, scored for a New Orleans trio and rearranging an underrated drummer's music. Hear music from Marcus Shelby, Plunge, Joel Harrison and the Horo label.

The jazz vocalist has been entertaining crowds with his impressive four-octave baritone range for more than 10 years. Listen to Elling perform and discuss his favorite up-and-coming jazz vocalists.

Dekker plays drums in the innovative black-metal bands Agalloch and Ludicra, but says that before he'd ever heard Kiss, "there was only Coltrane." Find out which Mingus album he calls a "Lovecraftian noir soundtrack" and more with Dekker's favorite five jazz records.

If you find yourself stuck in the house due to recent snowfall around the country, huddling around the fire has surely become tiresome by now. So why not hover around your computer with some wintry tunes and a cup of tea instead?