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He is the most important jazz musician of all time, and even that's an understatement. Louis Armstrong defined American popular culture in the 20th century as a musician, an actor and an entertainer. As a singer and trumpeter, he taught the world to swing.

Jazz expression remains forever steeped in the innovations of Armstrong's trumpet solos. The scope and magnitude of his virtuosity was nothing short of world-altering. Each time he held his horn up to his lips, he made melodies ring out in a joyful, brilliant tone.

From Kendrick Lamar and Megan Thee Stallion to Coldplay, here they are: the magnificent, the flawed-but-forceful, the forgettable and the truly, epically misbegotten.

The 1985 novel has been described as "unfilmable." Baumbach wasn't deterred — and though the movie brims with terrific moments, his White Noise doesn't hold together as well as Don DeLillo's.

New York City's heroes are traditionally celebrated way downtown, at City Hall Park. But at the J&R Music Festival, drum hero Roy Haynes leads the celebrations. Here, the octogenarian drives his Fountain of Youth band through a characteristically hard-driving set.

Composer-bandleader Maria Schneider's The Thompson Fields and alto saxophonist Rudresh Mahanthappa's Bird Calls tie for top album honors among 147 writers and broadcasters.

By the early 1930s, Louis Armstrong had already revolutionized jazz. Through the next four decades, he would continue to reinvent himself. Along the way, he produced landmarks of the 20th century in American music and entertainment.

The classical pianist, who turns 200 today, changed the art of performance forever with his over-the-top concerts, creating a craze that historians have dubbed "Lisztomania."

NPR staff share recommendations for non-fiction reading from our Books We Love list: "The War of Art," "Shattered Lands," "Toni at Random" and "Patchwork."

All of the top-10 books borrowed through the public library app Libby were written by women. And Kristin Hannah's The Women was the top check-out in many library system around the country.