Music

In jazz history, record labels helped shape it. No label did that more profoundly than Blue Note Records.

This week we’ll be talking about the life and career of the man that many call the Father of American opera: Carlisle Floyd. Our guests are Floyd's neice, Jane Matheny, and his biographer, Thomas Holliday. A native of Latta, South Carolina, Carlisle Floyd became a professor of composition at Florida State University in 1947. His magnum opus, Susannah, was first performed in 1955 and became the most performed American opera, second to Gershwin’s Porgy and Bess.Floyd was both composer and librettist of his operas, which typically portrayed themes common to rural America, especially the post-Civil War South. 2026 in the centennial of Carlisle Floyd’s birth and today we’ll talk with our guests about his long life and his career.

When people think of Southern jazz, New Orleans often gets the spotlight, but the music’s story stretches far beyond the Crescent City.

In 1959, at the height of his career, saxophonist Sonny Rollins disappeared from the jazz scene. But Rollins wasn’t done -- he was searching. He found his practice space high above New York City on the Williamsburg Bridge.

Jazz has always been rich in creativity, but making a living as a jazz artist can be a different story. From the earliest days of big bands to today’s streaming era, musicians have had to balance artistry with economic reality.

Jazz has always been more than notes—it’s a conversation, a release, and a way to center the mind. When musicians improvise, they enter a state of focused presence. The past and the future fall away, and the only thing that matters is the phrase unfolding in the moment. That’s mindfulness.

Many of the innovators who shaped bebop’s explosive new sound had deep roots in the Carolinas. They brought with them the rhythms of the South, the spirituals of the church, and the blues traditions that defined their communities.

From the early days of jazz, a remarkable musical exchange flowed across the Atlantic, connecting the creativity of Harlem with the cultural embrace of Paris.

Detroit has long been a powerhouse in American industry—and in American jazz. In the mid-20th century, the Motor City’s working-class neighborhoods produced a wave of extraordinary musicians who shaped the sound of modern jazz.

Jazz is constantly evolving—shaped by fresh voices and new waves of creativity. Today, two powerful movements are commanding attention: the return of the alto sax to center stage, and a rising generation of innovative vocalists.