Inside The Festive Jazz Funerals Of New Orleans
Funerals take on many different forms around the world across various cultures, and not all of them are somber and quiet. Enter New Orleans' jazz funerals.
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The Tragic Real-Life Story Of Etta James
Etta James was an R&B legend, with legendary hits like "At Last." However, despite her talent and notoriety, her life was fraught with addiction and abuse. -
12 Iconic People Tony Bennett Had Duets With
Tony Bennett was well-known for his collaborations with other iconic artists. From Judy Garland to Stevie Wonder, here are some of his most notable duets. -
Why Music Legend Ahmad Jamal Disliked The Term Jazz
Ahmad Jamal would eject the term "jazz" for the kind of music he would become famous for as a musician, composer, and band leader. Here's why. -
Miles Davis Rarely Changed Wayne Shorter's Jazz Compositions (And That's A Big Deal)
Miles Davis' reported reaction to Wayne Shorter's musical contributions speaks volumes to Shorter's work, as well as the creative relationship the two had. -
The San Francisco Church Named After Jazz Legend John Coltrane
At its best, music, of all kinds, is often cited as a transcendent art form, lifting the listener out of the ordinary and into the spiritual realm. -
The Tragic 1941 Death Of 'Jelly Roll' Morton, One Of Jazz Music's Greatest Innovators
"Jelly Roll" Morton may or may not have "invented" jazz, as he claimed, but he was undeniably one of the great jazz innovators in American music history. -
How Did Nina Simone Get Her Name?
Known as the "High Priestess of Soul" Nina Simone' was a child piano prodigy who became an icon, but how did she get her name? -
Jazz Legend John Coltrane's 1967 Death Explained
John Coltraine was one of the most iconic and influential jazz musicians of all time. His death rocked the music world but the cause is still misunderstood. -
The Wild Story Of Al Capone Kidnapping Jazz Legend Fats Waller
Jazz musician Fats Waller was once kidnapped in Chicago by Al Capone's men. -
The Real Reason The Jazz Singer Wasn't Nominated For Best Picture For The First Academy Awards
Around the time of the first Oscar ceremony in 1929, going to the movies looked and sounded entirely different. Up to that point, films had all been silent. -
The Star Billie Holiday Named Herself After
Billie Holiday is considered to be one of the greatest Jazz singers of all time. Her 1939 song "Strange Fruit" became her biggest hit and made Holiday a star. -
The Truth About Ella Fitzgerald's Rocky Teen Years
Long before she was the first Black woman to win a Grammy award, Ella Fitzgerald experienced troubles while living in New York City when she was young. -
How Louis Armstrong's Lips Were Affected By His Playing Style
Jazz pioneer Louis Armstrong gave it all in every performance of his career, which had a particularly gruesome effect on his lips. -
The Tragic Death Of Billie Holiday
Billy Holiday is likely the most celebrated female jazz singer in American history, yet substance abuse and addiction would plague her until her death at 44. -
Things The United States Vs. Billie Holiday Didn't Tell You
Billie Holiday lived a complicated life, and even much of her own autobiography, the 1956 memoir Lady Sings the Blues, is considered historically dubious. -
The Tragic Meaning Behind Billie Holiday's 'Strange Fruit'
The most timeless of her recordings are those dealing with the realities of race prejudice in America, songs that reverberate with astonishing power even today. -
Inside Jazz Legend Chick Corea's Life Before He Died
Armando Antonio Zacconi Corea, best known to the world as Chick Corea, was without a doubt one of the finest, most virtuosic, penultimate masters of his craft. -
The Truth About Frank Sinatra And Billie Holiday's Relationship
Frank Sinatra was floored when he first saw Billie Holiday sing in a nightclub in the late 1930s and even got some singing advice. -
This Was Ella Fitzgerald's Big Break
Ella Fitzgerald is undoubtedly one of the greatest singers ever. And, like many extraordinary talents, her rise to fame seemed to have come out of nowhere. But Fitzgerald worked hard to find success and a last-second decision helped propel her to stardom. -
Why Louis Armstrong Kept So Many Newspaper Clippings Of Himself
Louis Armstrong was more than just a jazz pioneer. The incredibly talented musician also had a peculiar habit, one that made his life what's been described as "one of the most well documented private lives of any American artist." -
How Marilyn Monroe Helped Ella Fitzgerald's Career
Everyone needs a little help from their friends. Even a legend like Ella Fitzgerald. The singer gained popularity in the 1940s, performing jazz and classics in small clubs. But despite her talent, racial barriers and her looks held back her career. Until she became friends with Marilyn Monroe. -
What You Didn't Know About Louis Armstrong's Secret Daughter
There was one accomplishment that Armstrong's biographers believed he never achieved: fatherhood. But in 2012, a woman from Florida put that belief in doubt. -
What You Didn't Know About Louis Armstrong's Encounters With The Mob
Armstrong described Capone as "a nice, little cute fellow, like some professor who has just come out of college to teach." But Louis would eventually find himself with other dangerous players in the seedy criminal underworld of the Roaring Twenties. -
Nina Simone's Tragic Real-Life Story
Nina Simone is known as one of the most prolific vocalists and pianists of 20th-century American music. This is Nina Simone's tragic real-life story. -
The Tragic Real-Life Story Of Ella Fitzgerald
Ella Fitzgerald gained a devout audience for over six decades, though her troubled history isn't usually mentioned. This is the tragic real-life story of Ella Fitzgerald. -
The Tragic Real-Life Story Of Louis Armstrong
Behind Louis Armstrong's career, success, and fame, there was tragedy. The man nicknamed Pops and Satchmo didn't have an easy life by any stretch of the imagination, and even as he was taking to the stage and wowing fans, he struggled. Here's the tragic real-life story of Louis Armstrong.
