These musicians didn’t just navigate the classical and jazz realms… they transcended and redefined them.

Songs by Sister Rosetta Tharpe, The Staples Singers, and even music for the jitterbug can be found on Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.’s playlist.

Humble. Thoughtful. Legendary. After more than 70 years, Mavis Staples’ career is greater than any single word.

An assortment of multimedia tributes — music, visual arts, poetry, and dance — to the monumental Civil Rights leader.

To coincide with exciting new additions to the WTTW slate, WFMT has compiled a playlist celebrating the pinnacles of Black and Latino artistry in vocal music.

The classical crossover has not always had the best reputation, but there’s no shortage of ambitious, energizing takes on genre-mixing. Composer and conductor Teddy Abrams, who collaborated with indie-rocker Jim James on a recent album, breaks down the perils and payoffs of the crossover.

Anniversaries make up many of the highlights of the CSO’s annual summer residency.

“Summertime” from George Gershwin’s Porgy and Bess is one of the one most popular songs in the Great American Songbook. But did you know that neither the tune to “Summertime” nor the lyrics are by George Gershwin?

Though African Americans have faced oppression throughout American history and the arts, Black composers’ contributions to music have been nothing short of history-changing.

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