Michelle Mercer

Shorter's biographer, Michelle Mercer, recalls the many "isms" and lessons she learned from her time working with the legendary composer and saxophonist on his biography, Footprints.

This Oklahoma City venue is showcasing the role of protest music in the Trump era, and how songwriting can also bridge the political divide.

In the 1970s, Fitzgerald became the face (and glass-shattering voice) of Memorex tapes. It fueled a career revival that extended her relevance and positioned her to pass the torch to a new generation.

Mendonça, one of Brazil's most popular pop stars, is solidifying her reputation as the face of a new genre: "feminejo," which is injecting a female perspective into the region's pop-country music.

In 2013, jazz composer and alto saxophonist Caroline Davis got some troubling news: Her father had a potentially dangerous condition — arrhythmia. His heart was beating irregularly. Her concern for him lead to a unique, musical response, and a new album.

Robert Glasper, Kendrick Scott, Ambrose Akinmusire and a handful of other Blue Note stars join forces on a new album called Our Point of View.

After leaving a successful career in Israel to earn his place in New York's jazz scene, the guitarist proudly bears the fruit of his labor on his first self-produced album.

The pianist and composer left his home country seven years ago. Michelle Mercer says Rodriguez's latest album is the sound of a prodigiously talented Cuban embracing the wider world of music.

NPR reviews the latest release from jazz clarinetist Anat Cohen, Luminosa.

Luciana Souza's The New Bossa Nova features pop standards set to a Brazilian bossa nova beat.

Irish storyteller and folklorist Eddie Lenihan has spent 30 years collecting and telling stories. He has the largest private collection of folklore in Ireland. Lenihan travels the world on a mission to tell his tales -- and in the process, help preserve Irish culture in the modern world.

Involvement in bowling leagues, bridge clubs, and other participatory groups has declined considerably in recent decades, but community choruses have bucked the trend. Commentator Michelle Mercer has noticed the connection between singing and happiness, as she shares in this postcard from her gleeful local chorus.