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Fats Waller was often dubbed the "clown prince" of jazz who delighted crowds with his playful stage antics — a reputation that overshadowed his gifts as a musician and songwriter. A new CD collection of his recordings focuses on the music behind the merriment.

Jascha Heifetz and Fritz Kreisler were both born on Feb. 2 — Kreisler in 1875 and Heifetz in 1901. But the men share more than just a birthday. Music commentator Miles Hoffman discusses the two fiddlers and how they each set new standards for the art of playing the violin.

Pumpkins are on doorsteps. Movie screens are aglow with zombies and torture devices. Virtually every show on television has a Halloween theme. For one last day, Halloween is everywhere. But where's the Halloween music?

After decades conducting symphony orchestras and composing classical music, Andre Previn records a solo jazz album. The musical polymath has written scores for hit musicals like Gigi and Kiss Me Kate.

The 20-something has had to fight to be himself, and the voice and vision of a distinctive composer shines through in his impressive debut, Guzo.

One of the best and most consistent songwriters in kids' music, Roberts has just released Jungle Gym, his seventh album for families. While avoiding lesson songs, Roberts instead paints spot-on portraits of how kids view the big and small events of their lives: haircuts, broken arms or temporarily losing Mom at the shopping mall.

A new album puts a Serbian band's wild, genre-bending flair on full display.

A few years ago, blues guitarist Eric Bibb was approached by a fan carrying a guitar case. The case held a '30s-vintage Resophonic National guitar once belonging to blues legend Booker White. Bibb persuaded the fan to lend him the instrument, then produced a record inspired by prewar Delta blues.

Few sounds get under the skin quite as readily as that of bare hands plucking nylon strings. Gismonti and his son make listeners feel the sensuousness of every note. Their palette of sounds and ideas is so varied that the music is impossible to classify. This session features some of the most exciting guitar playing you're likely to hear all year.

Join us for a listening session that includes a lovesick Puerto Rican rapper, wild Spanish punk rockers and some globe-trotting Uruguayans.

All Songs Considered's Bob Boilen chats with Newport Folk Festival executive producer Jay Sweet about this year's surprising lineup.

Hear the shredded noise rock of Rev Rev Rev, the thundering soul of Yola Carter, Afro-Cuban grooves from Cimafunk, the warped and woozy pop of Rose Droll and much more in our 2019 SXSW wrap-up.

Palmieri is out with a new book, Dear Madam President, and it's both a retrospective on the 2016 election and a compendium of advice for the first woman to make it to the Oval Office.

NPR's Mary Louise Kelly talks with actor Brooke Shields about embracing aging.

Pamela Hemphill, who pleaded guilty to a single misdemeanor charge and spent 60 days behind bars for her role in the Capitol riots, says she no longer believes the lies President Trump promoted.

As rocket launches go, Thursday’s deployment of a communications satellite from Cape Canaveral was nothing too unusual.For early risers across Tampa Bay,…

NPR's Sacha Pfeiffer speaks with a man who is concerned about CTE, and with neuroscientist Bob Stern, who explains why more cases of CTE may emerge decades after plastic helmets became commonplace.

As the U.S. withdraws from Afghanistan after 20 years, it leaves behind a country made worse by the pandemic. The situation for children under five is dire: more than 40% are acutely malnourished.

Joe Biden's inaugural will be one that we haven't seen before. Ten thousand National Guard soldiers will help provide security. And because of the pandemic, there will be no inaugural balls.

Myanmar's military has taken control of the country in a coup against the civilian government led by Aung San Suu Kyi. She was detained along with other party leaders on Monday.

While mass shootings prompt gun control bills in many states, conservative states are considering bills loosening gun restrictions. We meet an influential Idaho group that makes the NRA look liberal.

The FDA's decision to fully approve Pfizer's COVID-19 vaccine has opened the door for a growing number of colleges and universities to mandate the vaccine for their communities this academic year.

Under the growing burden of drought, California is struggling to supply enough water to all of the people currently living there. The state is also working on ways to ensure water for millions more residents expected to live there in the future.

The U.S. Supreme Court starts a new term Monday with a menu of high-profile cases, from abortion to gun rights and religious rights.

Secretary of Defense Leon Panetta says U.S. troops hope to begin transitioning from a combat role in Afghanistan to a role that focuses on training Afghan troops instead. The transition could happen sooner than expected — possibly by mid- to late-2013. U.S. troops would still remain in Afghanistan through at least the end of 2014, however. Audie Cornish talks to NPR Pentagon correspondent Tom Bowman, who has the latest.