Jazz

Few groups shaped modern jazz like Art Blakey and the Jazz Messengers.

Wes Montgomery forever changed jazz guitar. Playing with his thumb instead of a pick, he created a warm, rounded tone that was instantly his own.

Nina Simone was a singer, pianist, and force of nature. Born in Tryon, North Carolina, in 1933, she was classically trained but fused jazz, blues, gospel, and folk into a sound uniquely her own.

In 1988, Clint Eastwood directed "Bird," a powerful biographical film about saxophone legend Charlie Parker.

When photographer Art Kane assembled 77 jazz musicians for the iconic 1958 photo A Great Day in Harlem, only three women stood among the crowd: Marian McPartland, Mary Lou Williams, and Hazel Scott. Their presence was quiet but powerful in a sea of men.

In 1994, director Jean Bach gave us "A Great Day in Harlem," a one-hour documentary that peels back the remarkable story behind Art Kane’s legendary 1958 photograph of jazz legends gathered on a Harlem stoop.

From its beginnings, jazz has drawn deeply from African American spirituals — songs of sorrow, strength, and hope.

Vinyl records are back in a big way, and nowhere is their revival more celebrated than in jazz.