I heard George Russell's rendition of "Manhattan" for the first time when I was at a friend's house in the mid-'60s. I thought Jon Hendricks' opening patter was just about the hippest thing I'd ever heard, so my friend&#...

You don't need to speak Portuguese to understand the music on Brazilian bluesman Sérgio Duarte's "Destilado 'N' Blues." His harmonica will translate. The album alternates between bluesy party tunes and break your heart burners. Duarte's a first-rate...

Friday morning blues: 1) Calvin Jackson and Mississippi Bound: "Bright Lights, Big City" 2) Cyril Neville: "I'll Take Care of You" 3) Bobby "Blue" Bland: "Road of Broken Hearted Men" 4) Eddie Cusic: "You Don't Have to Go" 5) Henry Gray: "I Held My...

Pedro Giraudo's one of the most innovative big band jazz leaders working today. His latest album, "El Viaje," is terrific. Here are a couple of clips of his orchestra:

Thursday morning jazz: 1) Sonny Stitt with the Oscar Peterson Trio: "Blues for Pres, Ben and All the Other Funky Ones" 2) Arnett Cobb and Guy Lafitte: "Blues Abrupt" 3) Sam Jones: "Blues on Down" 4) Jim Rotondi: "One Mint Julip" 5) Howard McGhee and...

I'm sure many of you have already watched Jimmy Fallon's impersonation of Neil Young &#151 I first saw it on an NPR blog &#151 but it's too good not to share with the rest of you. Besides, it's worth seeing multiple times.