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The acclaimed jazz pianist and Harvard music professor talks with NPR's Scott Simon about the Vijay Iyer Sextet's new album, Far From Over, and the politics that inspired it.

A Norwegian singer translates the sounds of her homeland... music critic Christian Bordal reviews Little Things, the latest CD from Norwegian singer Hanne Hukkelberg.

Guitarist John Scofield is largely known for playing over funky grooves. But he developed his chops playing with jazz legends, and a new album with his trio and a four-piece horn section finds him back in the swing of things.

A hip New York chef makes food inspired by his love for fresh, simple ingredients and classic Asian dishes. David Chang has four restaurants in his Momofuku empire and has just published a cookbook.

Sonny Brewer did everything from selling cars to singing in a honky-tonk band before he became a novelist — and it turns out, he's not the only one. In Brewer's latest project, Don't Quit Your Day Job, authors write about how they made ends meet before pursuing their literary dreams.

Jazz musicians have long mined Broadway, the Great American Songbook, and even pop music for material. Here are five Latin interpretations of songs written by jazz musicians, a process that isn't as easy as playing the chords of a jazz composition over a mambo rhythm.

Some of jazz's all-time greats will play a legendary festival in the seaside Rhode Island town next weekend. Not all the acts are quite so well-known -- but many of them deserve to be. Hear music from Fly, Gretchen Parlato, Arturo O'Farrill and the Matt Wilson Quartet.

There's a certain intensity of spirit in jazz and improvised music, to the point where it occasionally aligns with religious worship. Of course, sometimes jazz musicians just like playing familiar songs. Here are five records, all from 2012, which run the gamut of Christmas jazz.

Fresh Air jazz critic Kevin Whitehead picks CDs, books and a DVD for the jazz lover on your list this holiday season. His selections include a book of Sonny Rollins photographs and music from the first season of the HBO series Treme.

Writer Christopher McDougall digs into the exploits of Britain's legendary World War II commandos to form a new definition of heroism: It's a skill you can learn, if you push your body to the limit.