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Perennial Jazz Fest Performers, Preservation Hall Jazz Band perform live in NPR's Studio 4A. New Orleans' tiny Preservation Hall has presented traditional jazz for more than 40 years. The hall is more famous than the musicians who play there, but the Preservation Hall Jazz Band continues to attract music lovers at home and to its concerts around the world.

A distinctive mix of rock, funk and world beats put Talking Heads in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. Who else could get people to dance to the dark "Psycho Killer" and the gospel "Take Me to the River"? NPR's Bob Edwards and band leader David Byrne look back at the band and the music. Hear an extended interview and songs from a new box set.

In Ghana, the '70s was a time of political repression, high inflation, and funky pop music. A young British emigre named John Collins formed the Bokoor Band with locals in 1971. The Bokoor Beats retrospective captures a band full of pride and confidence from Ghana's then-recent independence.

Host Rob Kapilow welcomes special guest artists Nikki Renée Daniels and Michael Wintherin a special Celebrating the Great American Songbook the songs of…

In 1995, the Memphis hip-hop group Three 6 Mafia took a shoestring DIY approach to recording their debut album, Mystic Stylez. Their example led to a flourishing independent hip-hop scene.

We're now a decade into the 21st century, so it's time to check in on the blues and see how it's doing in the relatively new world of loops, samples and remixing technology.

Jazz has no shortage of celebrated masters. Every year brings an abundance of new milestones for record labels to celebrate. With that in mind, we present songs by six American jazz musicians who would have become centenarians in 2009, including Lester Young.

Broken Social Scene, the indie rock collective based in Toronto, Canada, is getting rave reviews for their third CD, a self-titled album some critics say is their most powerful record to date. NPR producer Christopher Johnson reports on the band's unique, multi-layered rock 'n' roll rumble and the logistics of getting a dozen band members on and off the stage.

With his heady, bop-rooted explorations of improvised music, pianist and composer Hill stretched the boundaries of jazz. He demonstrated his mastery of melody, rhythm and technique in a 2005 session.

Music critic Milo Miles tells us about Joe Strummer's pre-Clash band, The 101'ers. Strummer went on to fame as the lead singer of the seminal punk band The Clash. Elgin Avenue Breakdown Revisited is the reissued 101'ers album in stores now.