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On Jan. 25, the American Symphony Orchestra will give the U.S. premieres of composers from the former East Germany. It's music most Americans have never heard. Conductor Leon Botstein says that the music of Eisler, Fessay and Matthus often experiments within the tradition of Bach and Mozart.

In honor of Miles Davis' 50th-anniversary Kind of Blue reissue, music writer Ashley Kahn looks at a few of the stories behind the scenes of the legendary recording sessions.

Grammy Award-winning jazz musician Freddie Hubbard has died at the age of 70. He collaborated with such greats as John Coltrane and Sonny Rollins. Hubbard had been hospitalized since a heart attack last month.

Richie Havens is the man who opened Woodstock, and he hasn't stopped performing or inspiring ever since. Here, the legendary folk singer and guitarist discusses his new album, Nobody Left to Crown.

Conductor Marin Alsop examines the rarely heard music from early in Aaron Copland's career. With an ear toward Copland's bold and sometimes jazzy rhythms, Alsop says that listeners can hear hints of the wide expanses that would later open up in music such as Appalachian Spring.

With so many classic Christmas carols to choose from, creating brand new ones can be daunting, but English conductor-composer John Rutter has been at it for nearly 50 years. He shares his tips on what makes a good carol.

Alto saxophonist Rudresh Mahanthappa, son of Indian immigrants, says he didn't think about his ethnic identity growing up. But on his new album Kinsmen, he and other like-minded South Asian American jazz musicians, fuse American jazz with a global sound that embraces the music of India.

He still isn't very well-known in the U.S., but Solal is considered one of the greatest living European jazz musicians. And at 81, the pianist still keeps a schedule of concerts and club gigs that would wear out someone half his age.

This year's oldest Grammy nominee is Delta blues pianist Pinetop Perkins. He's played with the likes of Sonny Boy Williamson and Muddy Waters. He says he even performed for a U.S. president at the White House — though at 95, he can't remember which one.

With her wispy, delicate voice, Dearie was a darling of the jazz world for decades. Her biggest hit was "I'm Hip," and she even recorded with Schoolhouse Rock. The cabaret singer and pianist died Saturday of natural causes in her New York City home. She was 82.