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In the 1960s, the renegade saxophonist took children's songs, march melodies and gospel hymns and made them into powerful free improvisations. Now, he's being embraced by a generation of rock fans — and explored in a recent documentary.

The daughter of famed jazz journalist and producer Leonard Feather first tried to make a career as a stage actress. That's when she started to translate her minor aggravations into song lyrics — and singing them.

From jazz concerts and cabaret acts to multimedia art installations, Theo Bleckmann has made a name for himself in new York. Now, the vocalist and composer looks back to his native Germany.

When The Beatles' members started Apple Records 40 years ago, they still depended on larger companies for the basics. Independent labels, including some run by musicians, have come a long way since. A small but growing number of musicians are taking the idea of the independent label even further.

"Return of the Prodigal Son," like the parable from which it draws its name, is a homecoming story. Eight years have passed since Brian Blade Fellowship's last release, and during that time, Blade himself has been more prodigious than prodigal.

Alto saxophonist Rudresh Mahanthappa, son of Indian immigrants, says he didn't think about his ethnic identity growing up. But on his new album Kinsmen, he and other like-minded South Asian American jazz musicians, fuse American jazz with a global sound that embraces the music of India.

Chestnut is a musical agent of sweet and serious soul. JazzSet celebrates Martin Luther King Day with a concert from the pianist, his quintet and vocalist Cynthia Scott at the Kennedy Center. The group performs a spiritual, hymns and gospel songs.

Reed is relatively new to the national jazz scene, but he's been singing for more than 50 years. After a life of addiction and incarceration, Reed has emerged triumphant, ready for his moment in the spotlight. With accompanist Gary Fisher, Reed performs "Sleeping Bee" and "Ask Me Now" before he and host Marian McPartland get together on Ellington's "All Too Soon."

Pianist Robert Glasper wrote the hypnotic "Enoch's Meditation" years ago, for his 2005 album Canvas. He conceived it as a tribute to his colleague, drummer Enoch Jamal Strickland, but reconditioned it in time for Inauguration Day 2009. Hear Glasper perform the repurposed song at the studios of WBGO.

He grew up with John Coltrane, gigged with Art Blakey and shared the silver screen with Tom Hanks. Now, on the eve of 80, illustrious saxophonist and jazz composer Benny Golson is re-creating his greatest ensemble: the six-person Jazztet.