Listen to Jazz

Born in 1901 in New Orleans, the cradle of jazz, Louis “Satchmo” Armstrong is the most important figure to emerge from the musically rich city. He first made his mark in the band led by cornetist Joe Oliver, whom he followed to Chicago in 1922, cutting his first records with the group the following year. Armstrong’s growing fame and feverish creativity led him to form his own groups, The Hot Fives and The Hot Sevens, between 1925 and 1928. Early on he embraced the contrapuntal style of early jazz mastered by Oliver’s Creole Jazz Band, but he soon pioneered the jazz solo, an extended improvisation gliding through the chord changes of each tune. His devastating technical mastery eclipsed that of his peers, and his brilliantly melodic, inherently bluesy, and rhythmically inventive playing paved the way to the swing quality that so largely defines the music. He used his raspy, avuncular singing to forge a second weapon on par with his horn work in both originality and influence, transforming scat singing into an art form, and rode it to mainstream success. By the ’30s he was a pop star, touring in Europe, appearing in Hollywood movies, and leading a buoyant big band. Adapting to the declining appeal of swing orchestra, in 1947 Armstrong debuted a smaller, more nimble all-star band. He endured on the pop charts despite changing tastes, scoring pop hits in the ’50s (“Mack the Knife”) and the ’60s (“Hello, Dolly!” and “What a Wonderful World”). Given his iconic status and international fame, he was enlisted as a cultural ambassador by the U.S. State Department. He died in 1971, but the magnetism and power of his work remain undiminished, the product of a lifelong elevation of jazz’s bawdy roots into one of America’s finest cultural achievements.

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Trumpeter and singer Chet Baker’s father was a professional guitarist who gave up the instrument to support his family during the Great Depression. ∙ In 1946, Baker dropped out of school at age 16 to enlist in the U.S. Army, where he played trumpet in military bands. ∙ Even before he made his first album as a bandleader, he had already won the DownBeat poll as the best trumpet player in jazz—at age 24. ∙ Along with Miles Davis, Gerry Mulligan, and Dave Brubeck, Baker was one of the principal architects of the West Coast “cool school” jazz scene. ∙ His debut vocal album, Chet Baker Sings—which includes his acclaimed renditions of “My Funny Valentine,” “That Old Feeling,” and “I Fall In Love Too Easily”—was inducted into the Grammy Hall of Fame. ∙ Baker’s artistry and movie-star good looks inspired the character Chad Bixby, played by Robert Wagner, in the 1960 film All the Fine Young Cannibals. ∙ Let’s Get Lost, the 1998 Oscar-nominated documentary filmed near the end of his life, chronicles how his remarkable talent had been derailed by drug addiction. ∙ Ethan Hawke played Baker in the 2015 biopic Born to Be Blue.

Bilal Sayeed Oliver, who goes by just Bilal, is an American R&B, funk and hip-hop performer and record producer who played locally in Philadelphia when he was young and attended The New School for Jazz and Contemporary Music in New York. His 2001 debut album, '1st Born Second' went to number 31 on the Billboard 200 and subsequent releases 'Airtight's Revenge' (2010), 'A Love Surreal' (2013) and 'In Another Life' peaked in the lower 100 of the chart. The 2001 track 'Soul Sista' reached number 71 on the Billboard Hot 100. His 2020 schedule was to include appearances at venues in Detroit, New York City and Napa in California.

Semah Riahi, also known as Samara, is a Tunisian rapper hailing from Menzel Bourguiba in Bizerte. He made his entry into the music scene around 2013 and achieved significant recognition with the release of his album "Cuba" in 2016. One of the standout tracks from this album was "Ya 7ouma," which swiftly gained popularity and established Samara as a prominent figure in Tunisian rap. His album "Cuba" showcased his distinctive style, and musical talent, capturing the attention of audiences and critics alike. Samara's impact with "Cuba" and the success of "Ya 7ouma" marked a pivotal moment in his career, cementing his position as a rising star in the Tunisian music industry. His contributions to the rap scene in Tunisia reflected his artistry and storytelling, resonating with listeners and earning him a dedicated fan base.

One of the most influential bandleaders, composers, and pianists in jazz history, Edward Kennedy “Duke” Ellington was born on April 29, 1899, in Washington, D.C. He made his mark as a key figure in the Harlem Renaissance in 1924 with the Washingtonians, launching a multi-year stint at the Cotton Club in 1927 under his own name. His silken arrangements and ambitious writing quickly set him apart from other jazz bandleaders, and over the decades he composed specifically for a committed group of distinctive instrumentalists, including alto saxophonist Johnny Hodges and cornetist Rex Stewart. Ellington was joined by fellow composer and arranger Billy Strayhorn in 1939, and together they produced a string of jazz standards like “Take the ‘A’ Train,” bringing a new rigor and sophistication to big band music. Ellington continued to compose, record, and tour until his death in 1974.

A Black Queer Multi-Media Artist, VA, Oswald Fan, Indigo Park Dev and Founder of Team Neutron! || inqu: [email protected] || He/They 🏳‍🌈 24 Most known for tracks such as their Amanda The Adventurer songs like Don't Listen and Play My Way, and others like Jax Toy, Good Enough or Why Must We Do

There’s art that fits into clean labels, and then there are the shapeless soundscapes of Terrace Martin. Over the past several decades, Martin has planted his artistic flag in something much deeper than genre or form: Los Angeles. He wears it on his sleeve loud and proud, like on Sounds of Crenshaw Vol. 1 by his side project The Pollyseeds, but you don’t need explicit mentions to hear it in the music, a rich blend of jazz, R&B, hip-hop, soul, and funk that bubbles like melting concrete. The son of a jazz drummer and a singer, Martin was born in 1978 and hopped all around L.A. as a kid, picking up the piano and saxophone on his own. Along the way, he learned to produce on a sampler, too. A bona fide prodigy, he immersed himself in the city’s jazz scene as a high schooler, studying under renowned music educator Reggie Andrews. Midway through studying at CalArts, he departed to tour as part of the backing band for both Kirk Franklin’s gospel choir God’s Property and Puff Daddy, alongside fellow young jazz luminaries Kamasi Washington and Thundercat. Those artists would remain central to Martin’s solo records, including 2015’s simmering Velvet Portraits, as well as his collaborative work with rappers like Kendrick Lamar and YG. In fact, collective play and improvisation have been maybe the most important aspects of Martin’s music. On albums like Sounds Of Crenshaw and his 2020 album Dinner Party with Robert Glasper and 9th Wonder, he’s less a lead player than a guiding light with a clear sonic inspiration. His vision fuses the many threads of Black music into something new, something mind-bending, something Los Angeles.

Talib Kweli has been hip-hop’s most socially conscious voice since teaming up with Mos Def as Black Star in 1998. Kanye West produced his empathetic 2003 anthem “Get By,” and Kweli continued to hone his soulful, streetwise storytelling from there.

Unassuming yet witty clarinetist Benjamin David Goodman was America's first King of Swing and a pivotal figure in the introduction of Black jazz to white audiences. Born in Chicago to poor Jewish immigrants in 1909, Goodman began performing professionally as a young teenager. After kicking off a string of chart hits in 1930 with the relatively tame "He's Not Worth Your Tears," he later commissioned "killer-diller" arrangements from Fletcher Henderson that added rhythmic excitement to Goodman's famously sweet sound. A regular spot on the radio program Let's Dance primed the pump for a career-making 1935 Hollywood show by Goodman's big band that essentially ignited the Swing era. With racial segregation the norm, Goodman helped integrate popular music by hiring Black musicians such as pianist Teddy Wilson and guitarist Charlie Christian. Goodman's big band, trio, quartet, and sextet ruled jazz for the rest of the '30s. He had his biggest hit with "Moonglow" in 1936, and a 1938 Carnegie Hall show brought the clarinetist and entire jazz genre unprecedented respectability. Until his death in 1986, Goodman continued to perform jazz (including a short-lived bebop period) while regularly commissioning classical works from composers like Belá Bartók and Igor Stravinsky.

Laid-back jazz from Stockholm. Built on warmth, simple melodies, and stillness, the Isac Solo Trio’s music favors delicate dynamics, spacious arrangements, and a relaxed feel that turns simple moments into something a little more special.

Hindi Zahra, Born and raised in Morocco, grew up within a large family among members who were renowned musicians and whose mother was a singer and theatre performer. Hindi Zahra’s music combines soul and jazz-tinged ballads, but is also inspired by African melodies and captivating improvisations. A crossover between cultures, her music serves the purpose of bridging between musical cultures and languages. Her celebration of music is on stage. She toured years before she produced her first album Handmade, signed with Blue Note . Having received multiple prizes, her album went “gold”. After five years on tour, and two film roles, Zahra releases her second album “Homeland”, recorded in Morocco, Spain and France. “Homeland” was so well received, it was awarded the prestigious “Victoires de la Musique” title for “Best World Music Album”. For this multidisciplinary artist, life on tour is quintessential to her artistic expression, through which she builds a solid interaction with her growing audience. Hindi Zahra is now working on her third album, creating a new story for her future performances.

Born in Belgium in 1910 and raised in France, Romani guitarist Django Reinhardt was the first European jazz musician to carve out a unique style—jazz manouche—wedding the virtuosic speed and rhythmic conception of Roma traditional music with jazz improvisation. He led the transformation of the guitar from a rhythmic to a soloistic role, and wrote numerous compositions that became standards, including “Nuages” and “Minor Swing.” Although he taught himself to play numerous instruments as a child, Reinhardt didn’t connect with jazz until the late 1920s, and after meeting violinist Stéphane Grappelli in Paris he began formulating a style that emerged with their Quintette du Hot Club de France, performing with many visiting American jazz greats. The band was touring the UK at the outbreak of World War II, so Reinhardt returned to France for the duration, but he reunited with Grappelli in 1946 and also traveled to the US to tour with Duke Ellington. He died in 1953 from a brain hemorrhage.

CLOUDSAVE is a New Orleans-based ensemble fusing the sounds of jazz, funk, and soul with the iconic melodies of video game music. Think of it as your favorite boss battle reimagined with brass, groove, and a whole lot of style. With a lineup of seasoned musicians and a love for everything from Kingdom Hearts to Pokémon, CLOUDSAVE transforms pixelated nostalgia into high-energy live experiences. Whether you’re tearing through Rainbow Road at one of our Mario Kart Live shows, or listening to us lay down lush harmonies in VGM set full of jazzy arrangements, our mission is simple: to turn video game memories into something you can dance to.

The Southern Belle is a pianotrio formed in 2022 by bassplayer Martin Hoper. We explore the american songbook as well as traditional folk tunes, original compositions and improvisations. Thanks för listening!