How Stevie Wonder’s Hit Songs Got to Chicago’s Symphony Center

Because the names Bach, Mozart, Beethoven, Schubert, and Wagner are inscribed on the façade of Symphony Center, it may come as a surprise to some that the music of Stevie Wonder will pour out of Orchestra Hall.

Why Vijay Iyer, DownBeat’s Jazz Artist of the Year, Doesn’t Like the Word ‘Jazz’

DownBeat magazine gave Vijay Iyer the honors of Jazz Artist & Jazz Group of the Year in its 63rd Annual Critics Poll. But to Iyer, jazz is a bit of a four-letter word.

What If Nina Simone Had Been a Classical Pianist?

Before Nina Simone became one of America’s most iconic jazz musicians, she wanted to have a career as a classical pianist.

Guggenheim Fellow Rudresh Mahanthappa On Creating Music that Defies Genre

To label Manhathappa’s music simply as a fusion between Carnatic music and jazz would be reductive. If, anything, it represents “the beautiful multicultural state of affairs of the United States right now.”