When violinist Anne Akiko Meyers embarked on a new interpretation of Philip Glass' "Metamorphosis ," the composer directed her to his longtime collaborator Michael Reisman. Turns out Reisman was already collaborating with Meyers in her new release in an arrangement of Arvo Pärt's "Fratres." These two meditative pieces on Meyers' album Mirror in Mirror (itself a reference to Pärt) contribute to a whole characterized by haunting beauty—featuring lullabies and sunken ships. "You have to create this beautiful sonic world full of color and movement and breath, and to make it sing, yet while sculpting these long, slow notes," says Meyers of Reisman's adaptation. "It felt to me like color coating a glacier." Listen to the full conversation between Of Note's Katy Henriksen and violinist Anne Akiko Meyers by clicking on the streaming link above.

Several local bars and coffee shops in downtown Fayetteville will get a little Artosphere Festival Orchestra pop-up action, thanks to this year's "Off the Grid" this Thursday, June 27. “It’s not that concert hall, tuxedo formal at all,” AFO violist Carl Larson said. “It’s just a great raw, raw way to listen to music and clink a beer.” This annual classical pub crawl, along Dickson and Block, concludes at Smoke and Barrel when AFO conductor Corrado Rovaris joins the musicians to perform, perhaps, an entire movement of a symphony. Click the streaming link above to listen to the full interview with Of Note’s Katy Henriksen.

Musical and cinematic storytelling collide in "The Moon," Artosphere Festival Orchestra's finale concert this Saturday, June 29, at Walton Arts Center . The concert, featuring music from Richard Strauss, John Williams, Debussy and more, pairs live classical music and narration with the George Melies' 1902 silent film “A Trip to the Moon.” Artistic director Francesco Micheli’s vision for "The Moon" project was born from his passion to explain music in other ways. “We try to build a journey by means of the music. We can say that we are on the Artosphere airlines, able to make an incredible journey between the starts and on the moon,” he said. Click on the streaming link above to listen to hear Micheli's full interview with Of Note’s Katy Henriksen.

Composer Reiko Futing redefines contemporary composition with the incorporation of early music. In Futing's newest international portrait album "distantSong," he draws on music of the past to reflect on the art and culture of today. Futing was inspired by a professor at the Hochschule fur Musik in Dresden to incorporate early music into his own compositions. Futing says this led him to produce a subtle, yet noticeable, marriage of past and present musical languages for something completely new, yet familiar. Listen to the full interview with Of Note's Katy Henriksen with the streaming link above.

A new recording from Philippe Quint and Marta Aznavoorian proves Charlie Chaplin is as relevant today as he was in his heyday. His legacy in visionary musical genius continues to be celebrated with "Chaplin's Smile," a collection of Chaplin's songs arranged for violin and piano. "He has a very amazing spin on a melody," says Aznavoorian, who was inspired by Chaplin's emotional and character-driven compositional style. "There's an incredible dichotomy of happiness and sadness in his melodies, and that is mirrored by what's happening in his films." Listen to the full interview between Quint, Aznavoorian and Of Note's Katy Henriksen with the streaming link above.

Live music takes to the streets with “Live at the Five and Dime,” a series of intimate sidewalk concerts presented by the University of Arkansas Music Departmenton the downtown Bentonville Square. “It’s a really great opportunity to infringe on people’s environment. That’s honestly where [music] belongs,” upright bassist Garrett Jones says about incorporating passers-by. “Art’s all around you on a day-to-day basis. Music is up the same alley.” Spearheaded by Alan Gosman, the department's associate chair, this intimate outreach effort features a local musicians performing a wide array of sounds including jazz, classical, Latin, and more. The intimate concerts are a collaboration with The Walmart Museum and Downtown Bentonville Inc. “Live at the Five and Dime” performances continue throughout the summer on Wednesdays from 6-8 p.m. in front of the Walmart Museum in Bentonville, with the Jake Hertzog Trio set to perform Aug. 21. Speaking of jazz, there's now a program to offically study it

Harpist Yolanda Kondonassis’ newest album “dreams, soars and levitates” through an intricately flowing compositional architecture with the inclusion of a newly commissioned harp concerto by Pulitzer Prize-winning composer Jennifer Higdon . “The idea was the interplay and the precociousness, and the childlike wonder,” Kondonassis elaborates on how Higdon encompassed her emotions in the composition. “She really impressed upon us that this is fluid and full of wonder, rather than the somnambulant kind of experience.” Kondonassis’ album “American Rapture” expands upon how North American compositions have developed through three generations and features the Rochester Philharmonic Orchestra, directed by Ward Stare. Listen to the full interview between Kondonassis, Stare and Of Note’s Katy Henriksen with the streaming link above.

The Symphony of Northwest Arkansas ’ upcoming season promises to be their best yet, honoring Beethoven’s 250 th birthday with “bucket list pieces” such as “Carmina Burana” and “Pictures at an Exhibition.” Paul Hass, SoNA's music director, credits the orchestra’s success to its familial atmosphere. “It’s so exciting to be a part of something like this that’s constantly growing,” Haas says. “It really is like a family—we all care about each other. This is something special; not every community has this.” SoNA’s upcoming season will feature multiple collaborations including the SoNA singers for “Carmina Burana” and violinist Jennifer Frautschi for “Beethoven’s Violin Concerto”. SoNA will also perform a premiere of Haas’ new composition, Angelique . Listen to the full interview between Haas and Of Note’s Katy Henriksen with the streaming link above.

On a journey of musical and personal self-discovery, violinist Janet Sung dove into vulnerability to produce her latest album “Edge of Youth,” which represents who she is as an artist through personal expression. “In order to really convey what all of the works were really offering, I would have to really look deeply and be utterly convinced of the thing that I was trying to communicate,” Sung explains about her individual interpretation. “It really starts to become something that comes from within yourself.” The album also features Missy Mazzoli’s Dissolve, O my Heart , which spins off of Bach’s Partita in D Minor to build and unravel, breaking with the recognized Bach tradition to further Sung’s unique expression. Listen to the full interview between Sung and Of Note’s Katy Henriksen with the streaming link above.

The Fort Smith Symphony’s upcoming season promises film scores and more, but it’s not your average John Williams programming. Music Director John Jeter picked film scores of Hans Zimmer and Bernard Herrmann to take center stage. “Now, there is a whole series of composers who have kind of taken over that mantel, and we wanted to kind of celebrate that different approach to film scoring,” Jeter says. All but the more traditionally programmed opening concert will include 20 th century music, most of which presents itself as film scores for movies such as Interstellar , Avatar and Pirates of the Caribbean . The Fort Smith Symphony’s opening concert will feature pianist Drew Petersen on Mozart’s Piano Concerto No. 20 . For their closing concert, the symphony will accompany a showing of the movie North by Northwest with a performance of the full film score by Bernard Herrmann. Listen to the full interview between Jeter and Of Note’s Katy Henriksen with the streaming link above.

Violinist Itamar Zorman navigated exotic Israeli scales and modes to release his newest album “Evocation,” which highlights distinctive works by German-born Israeli composer Paul Ben-Haim. “There is a really delicate but wonderful balance between the emotional content and the technical form of the piece, and the analytical part of it,” Zorman explains about reflecting Ben-Haim’s multi-cultural influenced compositions. Listen to the full interview between Zorman and Of Note’s Katy Henriksen with the streaming link above.

Women composers and performers united to create art from the human condition with pianist Lara Downes’ latest album “Holes in the Sky,” named for a poem by Georgia O’Keeffe. In addition to representing women in music, “Holes in the Sky” also served to support human welfare efforts, including PLAN International to support impoverished children. “These are stories about the power of the expressive urge, the creative urge, to come forward,” Downes says about the potential of music. “It will come forward, despite anything else trying to constrain it.” Downes will represent women’s contributions to the past, present and future of American music by performing music from “Holes in the Sky” 3 p.m. Sunday, Sept. 15 at Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art as part of the Van Cliburn Concert Series . Listen to the full interview between Downes and Of Note’s Katy Henriksen with the streaming link above.

Even in self-isolation, we can learn something new every day.

WHEN the world first came across Gary Meikle, we met his eyebrows before his face.

Small music venues across the city could be among some of the hardest hit businesses due to the coronavirus crisis, a charity has said.

GBX DJ George Bowie will perform from the balcony of his Glasgow home via Facebook live tomorrow afternoon in aid of Children's Hospice Across Scotland (CHAS).

Glasgow Comic Con is postponed until further notice due to the coronavirus crisis.

Zakary Pashak is a rare breed. His company, Detroit Bikes, is one of the very few American bicycle makers. Most bikes come from China. At times, Pashak endured ridicule at trade shows. "I'd get kind of surly bike mechanics coming up and telling me that my products stunk. There's definitely a fair bit of attitude in my industry," he says. But last September, the industry's tune abruptly changed. The first round of U.S. tariffs, or import taxes, upped the cost of Chinese-made bikes by 10%, and companies saw Detroit Bikes as a potential partner. "All of a sudden I felt like the belle of the ball or something," Pashak says. Now a new round of tariffs set at 25% is hitting imports from China. Like many other American companies, Detroit Bikes is poring over the 194-page list of imported Chinese goods subject to the levies. Companies like Detroit Bikes rely on those goods, and now they face choices that will ultimately determine the prices consumers will pay. Pashak started the company when

Updated at 4:12 p.m. ET Special counsel Robert Mueller shut down his Russia investigation on Wednesday in an unusual appearance in which he restated his findings and made clear that he never considered it an option to charge President Trump. "We are formally closing the special counsel's office," Mueller told reporters at the Justice Department on Wednesday morning. In his 10-minute statement, Mueller highlighted a few portions of his roughly 400-page report , including the section on whether President Trump obstructed justice. "If we had had confidence that the president did not commit a crime, we would have said so," he said. "We did not, however, make a determination as to whether the president did commit a crime." Mueller emphasized that Justice Department regulations do not permit the indictment of a sitting president. Accordingly, Mueller said, he never considered it an option to seek one no matter what he had uncovered. If Americans or members of Congress want to hold a

Fatima, now 17, was eating dinner with her family in Nigeria two years ago when she heard the gunshots. "Unknown to us, the village had been surrounded and was being invaded," she says. "We covered ourselves with [a] mattress and cried for help to no avail." Fatima and her mother fled into the bush, where they were separated; they didn't see each other again for 18 months. Fatima – and other women in conflict zones – are often perceived as victims. They may be in many cases, but they also hold multiple and sometimes conflicting identities: as fighters, breadwinners and leaders. Photographer Robin Hammond sought to capture the many roles they play in his series of portraits, "Making the Invisible Visible," which had its first public showing this past week at the Women Deliver 2019 Global Conference in Vancouver, Canada. Noraisa Macud, 52, fled the fighting between Philippine military forces and Islamic militants in Marawi, a predominantly Muslim city, in 2017. Hundreds of thousands of

Updated Saturday at 10:30 a.m. ET A day after U.S. and Mexico officials announced an agreement to avert tariffs — set to begin on Monday — affecting billions of dollars in imports from Mexico, President Trump took a victory lap on Twitter. Under a joint agreement released by State Department officials, Mexico will assist the United States in curbing migration across the border by deploying its national guard troops through the country, especially its southern border. The deal also expands a new program called Migrant Protection Protocols, allowing U.S. immigration enforcement officials to send Central American migrants to Mexico as their asylum claims are pending Mexico says those migrants will be offered jobs, health care and education, though critics question how safe migrants will be as they await the conclusion of their claims. In addition, the agreement says Mexican authorities will work to dismantle human smuggling operations. Mexican President Andrés Manuel López Obrador praised

This year, NPR held its first Student Podcast Challenge — a podcast contest for students in grades 5 through 12. As we listened to the almost 6,000 entries , we smiled, laughed, and even cried. Students opened their lives to us with stories about their families, their schools and communities and their hopes for the future. We named our winners last month — the eighth graders of Bronx Prep Middle School in New York, and the eleventh graders of Elizabethton High School in Tennessee. But lots of other students blew us away. Here, for your listening pleasure, are just some of the many podcast entries that made us smile — and reminded us what it's like to be in middle and high school. A divisive subject: Tater tots How did tater tots come to rule the lunchroom? LA Johnson / NPR The title of this finalist was enough to get our judges' attention. In "Tater Tots and their Lasting Impact on Society," fifth-graders Jack Lazzarone and Kalvin Martinez interviewed their classmates in teacher Ryan

Updated at 8:45 p.m. ET President Trump says he might accept dirt from another country on his potential Democratic rivals if offered, raising new questions and concerns about foreign influence on American elections. "It's not an interference, they have information — I think I'd take it," Trump said. "If I thought there was something wrong, I'd go maybe to the FBI — if I thought there was something wrong." Trump made the comments in an Oval Office interview with ABC News' George Stephanopoulos , after being pressed about the Trump Tower meeting in June 2016 with Russians and Trump officials. Ahead of that meeting, which former special counsel Robert Mueller probed , the Trump campaign was offered damaging information on Trump's opponent, Hillary Clinton.

Updated at 6:55 p.m. ET President Trump announced Thursday he would sign an executive order to obtain data about the U.S. citizenship and noncitizenship status of everyone living in the United States. In a Rose Garden ceremony, Trump said he would drop efforts to include a citizenship question on the 2020 census. Instead, his executive order will direct all U.S. agencies to provide the Department of Commerce all information they have on U.S. citizenship, noncitizenship and immigration status. "We have great knowledge in many of our agencies," Trump said, flanked by Attorney General William Barr and Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross. "We will leave no stone unturned." The executive order marks the administration's latest effort to obtain the information despite a ruling from the U.S. Supreme Court that bars the administration from including the question on the 2020 census for now. In backing down from the legal fight, Trump appears to be doing what the Census Bureau encouraged over a year

Updated at 6:40 p.m. ET President Trump announced an executive order on gathering citizenship information, a shift from an earlier effort to get a question about citizenship on the 2020 census. Trump spoke alongside Attorney General William Barr, who praised his decision. Their remarks come after the Supreme Court blocked, for now, the addition of the question " Is this person a citizen of the United States? " on the annual headcount. Critics feared the question would lead to undercounts of immigrant groups and communities of color. Despite the justices' rejection, Trump had vowed to continue pushing for the change — even as printing of the paper forms has begun. The administration's persistence includes an attempt to change the Justice Department's legal team on the issue. But Trump's remarks Thursday indicate the administration is dropping the question fight in favor for a different avenue for getting a count of noncitizens in the U.S. Still, it's not clear what impact the executive

Updated at 7:40 p.m. ET A House panel heard at times emotional testimony about conditions at facilities run by the Department of Homeland Security. The hearing of the House oversight committee grew heated as Democrats and Republicans on the panel argued over who bore responsibility for the overcrowded and unsanitary conditions at detention centers on the southern border. Republican lawmakers who represent border districts and Democratic lawmakers who have recently traveled to the border each testified. Rep. Debbie Lesko, R-Ariz., disputed charges that some of those being held at a Border Patrol facility in Texas were forced to drink water from toilets. "Please, American public," Lesko said, "there is no one asking people to drink out of toilets." She referred to a video from the Arizona Border Patrol showing an agent touring a facility and drinking water from a sink above a toilet unit. But Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, D-N.Y., who made that accusation in a news conference after

When President Trump tweeted his racist remarks Sunday, asking why certain Democratic congresswomen don't just "go back and help fix the totally broken and crime infested places from which they came," he did not just take aim at the four women of color — three of whom were born in the U.S. He did so using a taunt that has long, deeply entrenched roots in American history: Why don't you just go back where you came from? The question doesn't always appear in those precise words, nor does it always surface in the same situations. And it doesn't always get directed at the same groups of people — far from it, in fact. But more often than not, it conveys the same sentiment: You — and others like you — are not welcome here. "There have been different phrases that have been used," says Michael Cornfield , a scholar of rhetoric at George Washington University , "but the idea that we don't have any more room for people, or those people don't look like us, this is a long, ugly strain in American

Updated at 7:05 p.m. ET The House of Representatives approved a resolution Tuesday evening condemning the president for a series of racist tweets about four Democratic lawmakers. The vote was mostly along party lines, as the House split 240-187, with four Republicans supporting the nonbinding measure. Republican Reps. Fred Upton of Michigan, Brian Fitzpatrick of Pennsylvania, Susan Brooks of Indiana and Will Hurd of Texas joined with Democrats to rebuke the president, as did Michigan Rep. Justin Amash, who recently left the Republican Party to become an independent. The House was paralyzed for a substantial portion of the afternoon over legislative procedure. Republicans sought a ruling on the question: Does calling the president's tweets "racist" violate the rules of decorum established in the House? So an already heated debate turned to farce as the House voted on whether to sanction House Speaker Nancy Pelosi for characterizing the president's remarks as "racist," as part of a

Former special counsel Robert Mueller is testifying before Congress on Wednesday, and lawmakers have so many questions they may not have enough time to ask them all. The House judiciary and intelligence committees have scheduled hearings for 8:30 a.m. and noon. Majority Democrats and minority Republicans are expected to try their utmost to get the most good they can from Mueller — in very different ways. Members of Congress already postponed Mueller's hearings once to wrangle more time. Complicating the matter will be Mueller himself, who has said he intends to confine his testimony to what he has already set forth in his report. In addition, the Justice Department sent Mueller a letter on Monday night saying it expects Mueller to not stray beyond what is publicly known about his work, citing executive privilege. That won't constrain members of Congress from trying. Here are some of the questions they might ask, broken up by the majority and the minority members on these committees.

Updated at 4:56 p.m. ET Peril from foreign interference in American elections will persist through the 2020 presidential race, former special counsel Robert Mueller warned on Wednesday. Asked whether Russia would attempt to attack future U.S. elections, as it did in 2016, Mueller replied: "They're doing it as we sit here." Mueller didn't detail a prescription for how he believes Congress or the United States should respond, but he recommended generally that intelligence and law enforcement agencies should work together. "They should use the full resources that we have to address this," Mueller said. That warning came during hours of hearings, first before the House Judiciary Committee and then the intelligence committee, in which Democrats sought to underscore that Mueller had not cleared Trump of obstruction allegations and that he had found many contacts between Trump's campaign and the Russian interference in the 2016 election. "Did you actually totally exonerate the president?"

Editor's note: This is an updated version of a story that was published on Nov. 9, 2018. The United States has the 28th-highest rate of deaths from gun violence in the world: 4.43 deaths per 100,000 people in 2017 — far greater than what is seen in other wealthy countries. On a state-by-state calculation, the rates can be even higher. In the District of Columbia, the rate is 16.34 per 100,000 — the highest in the United States. In Louisiana, the rate is 10.68 per 100,000. In Texas and Ohio — the scene of two mass shootings at the beginning of August — the rates are close to the national average: 4.74 per 100,000 in Texas and 4.60 in Ohio. And the national rate of gun violence in the U.S. is higher than in many low-income countries. Those findings are part of the latest version of an annual report on gun violence from the University of Washington's Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation , which tracks lives lost in every country, in every year, by every possible cause of death. The

Unlike postcard mountain resort towns, or the booming, high-tech corridor centered around Denver, Pueblo is Colorado's faded industrial relic. A city struggling to redefine its economy, and its politics following decades as a solidly blue-collar Democratic stronghold. Pueblo is a two-hour drive south from Denver, through prosperous Colorado Springs with its military bases, defense contractors and megachurches. Wide open plains stretch for miles, mountains off in the distance. And then, popping up out of the horizon, stark vertical lines: Smokestacks from the mill that gave this place its nickname, Steel City. Today only about 6% of Pueblo's jobs are in manufacturing after a decades-long decline. Loading... Old timers like Rod Slyhoff remember the day everything changed, back in 1984. "It's in my mind all the time," said Slyhoff, president and CEO of the Pueblo Chamber of Commerce. "I believe it was in March, 6,500 pink slips were issued to the [steel mill company] employees," Slyhoff

Joe Biden and Bernie Sanders have the stage to themselves for Sunday night's Democratic primary debate. The debate, hosted by CNN and Univision in Washington, D.C., will not have a live audience amid coronavirus concerns. Follow NPR's live coverage of the debate. Copyright 2020 NPR. To see more, visit Loading...

John Prine, a wry and perceptive writer whose country and folk songs often resembled vivid short stories, has died at age 73. His death, from complications caused by COVID-19, was confirmed by his family. Even as a young man, Prine — who famously worked as a mailman before turning to music full-time — wrote evocative songs that belied his age. With a conversational vocal approach, he quickly developed a reputation as a performer who empathized with his characters. His beloved 1971 self-titled debut features the aching "Hello In There," written from the perspective of a lonely elderly man who simply wants to be noticed, and the equally bittersweet "Angel From Montgomery." The latter song is narrated by a middle-aged woman with deep regrets over the way her life turned out, married to a man who's merely "another child that's grown old." Bestowing dignity on the overlooked and marginalized was a common theme throughout Prine's career; he became known for detailed vignettes about ordinary

We begin this episode with new music; first from our Hartford cats and then from more nationally known jazz artists. Finally the set ends with classic jazz from Hancock and Miles.

Playlist
Artist ~ Track ~ Album
The New Mosaic ~ Out Of Body ~ single
Jen Allen ~ Begin Again ~ Sifting Grace
Jen Allen ~ Prickly Pear ~ Sifting Grace
Mike Casey ~ Unforgettable ~ single
Christopher Hollyday ~ Dialogue ~ Dialogue
Pat Metheny ~ Everything Explained ~ From This Place
Kenny Barron, Dave Holland Trio ~ Porto Alegre ~ Without Deception
Herbie Hancock ~ Maiden Voyage ~ Maiden Voyage
Herbie Hancock ~ Tell Me A Bedtime Story ~ Fat Albert Rotunda
Herbie Hancock ~ Ostinato (Suite for Angela) ~ Mandishi
Miles Davis ~ Dear Old Stockholm ~ Round About Midnight

This episode begins with tunes that can be associated with a couple of political campaigns. Don't worry, I don't get too political on you. Everyone loves a Miles set, and that is what comes next. Then a set of "Moments"; Moments Notice, Stolen Moments, Idle Moments and Bright Moments. Finally something new from a group called Idle Hands, and an album Solid Moments.

Playlist
Artist ~ Track ~ Album 
Curtis Mayfield ~ Move On Up (extended version) ~ Curtis
Bill Frisell ~ Revolution ~ all we are saying...
Miles Davis ~ Tutu ~ Tutu
Miles Davis ~ Footprints ~ Miles Davis: Birth of the cool (soundtrack)
Miles Davis ~ Round Midnight ~ Round About Midnight
John Coltrane ~ Moments Notice ~ Blue Train
Oliver Nelson ~ Stolen Moments ~ Blues and the Abstract Truth
Blue Note 7 ~ Idle Moments ~ Mosaic: A Celebration of Blue Note
Rahsaan Roland Kirk ~ Bright Moments ~ Bright Moments
IdleHands ~ Barrelling Through ~ Solid Moments

Except for the opening track (Feel the Bern - Mike Casey), this podcast is all McCoy Tyner. We pay tribute to this iconic jazz pianist that passed away last week. Tyner's influence on modern jazz cannot be overstated. His contribution to this art form will be an indelible part of jazz history.

Playlist
Artist ~ Track ~ Album 
Mike Casey ~ Feel The Bern ~ single
McCoy Tyner Trio ~ Flying High ~ Infinity
McCoy Tyner Trio featuring Michael Brecker ~ Impressions ~ Infinity
McCoy Tyner ~ Song for My Lady ~ Song for My Lady
McCoy Tyner ~ T 'n A Blues ~ Today and Tomorrow
McCoy Tyner ~ Passion Dance ~ The Real McCoy
McCoy Tyner ~ Sahara ~ Sahara
McCoy Tyner ~ Alone Together ~ Illuminations
McCoy Tyner ~ My Favorite Things ~ Echoes from a Friend
McCoy Tyner ~ Fly With the Wind ~ Fly With the Wind
McCoy Tyner ~ Peresina ~ Expansions

We may be stuck at home ALONE, but TOGETHER through our common love of jazz music, we can will get through this. For many of us music sustains our spirit and enhances our lives. My hope is that this podcast will help to keep you "In The Groove", hip you to new music, and give you comfort with our great jazz standards.

Playlist
Artist ~ Track ~ Album 
McCoy Tyner ~ Alone Together ~ Illuminations
Jimmy Greene ~ Spring Can Really Hang You Up The Most ~ Introducing Jimmy Greene
Ahmad Jamal ~ Stolen Moments ~ The Awakening
Bill Evans Trio ~ Milestones ~ Waltz for Debby
Billy Childs feat. Lisa Fischer ~ Map to the Treasure ~ Map to the Treasure: Reimagining Laura Nyro (2014)
Kenny Barron & Dave Holland Trio (feat. Johnathan Blake) ~ I Remeber When ~ Without Deception
Hudson (feat. Dejohnette, Grenadier, Medeski, Scofield) ~ Tony Then Jack ~ Hudson

A mix of jazz music for a beautiful spring day. New music from Connecticut based artists featured within (Escoffery, Barber, Envisage). Please listen for a special message at the end of this episode.

Playlist
Artist ~ Track ~ Album
Sonny Rollins ~ Alfie's Theme ~ Soundtrack from Alfie
Wayne Escoffery ~ Sanctus ~ The Humble Warrior
Jonathan Barber (feat. Vision Ahead) ~ Legacy Holder ~  Single
Jonathan Barber ~ 29 (feat. Vision Ahead) ~ Single
Envisage Collective ~ Step on a Crack ~ Reach Out
McCoy Tyner ~ Mr. P.C. (with John Scofield) ~ Guitars
Roxy Coss ~ Don’t Cross the Coss ~ Quintet
David Liebman ~ Jean Pierre ~ On the Corner Live! The Music of Miles Davis

Russian President Vladimir Putin sent telegrams on Friday to US President Donald Trump and British Prime Minister Boris Johnson suggesting the need to rekindle their nations' cooperation during World War II to solve today's problems. Putin's overture was the latest in a series of contacts with Washington with which Moscow is keen to rebuild relations frayed over everything from election hacking allegations to Syria. Ties with London remain badly strained over the poisoning of a former Russian spy and his daughter in England. The telegrams were among many Putin dispatched to the Soviet Union's World War II allies on the 75th anniversary of the end of the conflict in Europe. Related:   Coronavirus postponed Russia's Victory Day. For Putin, it's a problem. Russia, which marks the unconditional surrender of Nazi Germany on May 9, the day after "Victory in Europe" Day, has been forced to scale back commemorations due to the coronavirus. Fiona Hill served as the senior director for European

President Donald Trump wants the Catholic vote. Recently, Trump was on a conference call with several hundred Catholic educators — and many prominent bishops. Trump reportedly described himself as the “best [president] in the history of the Catholic Church.”  In reality, though, there’s a growing rift within the church on support for the president. A number of prominent Catholics are criticizing Trump's handling of the coronavirus pandemic — and many have been vocal on Twitter. Related:  Coronavirus postponed Russia’s Victory Day. That could be a problem for Putin. Rev. Robert Ballecer, an American priest stationed in the Vatican, has been particularly outspoken. Before he moved to Rome, Ballecer had been living at St. Ignatius College Prep , a Jesuit high school in San Francisco. The Jesuits allowed Ballecer to pursue his Catholic ministry as a host at “ TWiT ,” a podcast network focused on technology . It seemed like a good fit, as Ballecer is a self-described mechanic, engineer and

A slickly produced 26-minute video called Plandemic has exploded on social media in recent days, claiming to present a view of COVID-19 that differs from the "official" narrative. The video has been viewed millions of times on YouTube via links that are replaced as quickly as the video-sharing service can remove them for violating its policy against "COVID-19 misinformation." In it, filmmaker Mikki Willis conducts an uncritical interview with Judy Mikovits, who he says has been called "one of the most accomplished scientists of her generation." Never heard of her? You're not alone. Two prominent scientists with backgrounds in AIDS research and infectious diseases, who asked not to be identified over concerns of facing a backlash on social media, told NPR that they did not know who she was. If you were aware of Mikovits before this week, it is probably for two books she published with co-author Kent Heckenlively, one in 2017 and another last month. Heckenlively has also written a book

The Census Bureau says it is continuing the gradual relaunch of limited field operations for the 2020 census next week in nine states where the coronavirus pandemic forced the hand-delivery of paper forms in rural areas to be suspended in mid-March. On May 13, some local census offices in Florida, Georgia, Kansas, Kentucky, Missouri, North Carolina, Oregon, Pennsylvania and Washington are scheduled to restart that fieldwork, according to an updated schedule the bureau published on its website Friday. All workers are expected to be trained in CDC guidance in preventing the spread of COVID-19, and besides a new reusable face mask for every 10 days worked and a pair of gloves for each work day, the bureau has ordered 2 ounces of hand sanitizer for each census worker conducting field operations, the bureau tells NPR in an email. The announcement means more households that receive their mail at post office boxes or drop points are expected to find paper questionnaires left outside their

This is part of a series looking at pressing coronavirus questions of the week. We'd like to hear what you're curious about. Email us at goatsandsoda@npr.org with the subject line: "Weekly Coronavirus Questions." More than 76,000 people in the U.S. have died because of COVID-19, and there have been 1.27 million confirmed cases across the country — and nearly 4 million worldwide. Though the virus continues to spread and sicken people, some states and countries are starting to reopen businesses and lift stay-at-home requirements. This week, we look at some of your questions as summer nears and restrictions are eased. Is it safe to swim in pools or lakes? Does the virus spread through the water? People are asking whether they should be concerned about being exposed to the coronavirus while swimming. Experts say water needn't be a cause for concern. The CDC says there is no evidence the virus that causes COVID-19 can be spread to people through the water in pools, hot tubs, spas or water

The Pan American Health Organization this week warned of an impending humanitarian crisis in Haiti due to the coronavirus pandemic. Haiti has reported relatively few cases of COVID-19 but it shares the island of Hispaniola with the Dominican Republic, which is experiencing one of the worst outbreaks in the hemisphere. With the Dominican Republic under lockdown, thousands of laid off migrant workers have headed home to Haiti and presumably some of them are carrying the virus with them. "There is real danger of a large-scale outbreak followed by a humanitarian crisis in Haiti," said Carissa Etienne, the head of PAHO, in a briefing this week with reporters. She said Haiti's health-care system is ill-equipped to deal with an outbreak of a highly-infectious, potentially-fatal respiratory disease. And the measures used elsewhere to stem the spread of COVID-19 are impractical or impossible in Haiti. "It is extremely difficult to institute proper social distancing in Haiti," she said —

Eighth grader Abby Pike is putting her Christmas present to good use. She received a sewing machine for the holiday last year. And amidst the COVID-19 global pandemic she and her family have spent their days and evenings sewing. So far, they’ve sewed about 700 masks. They’ve used social media to help distribute them to people who need them through donations and sold some as well. “It just brightens my day to see that I’m making an impact,” Pike said. Pike is involved in Edmond’s Cheyenne Middle School’s Family, Career and Community Leaders of America student organization. And she said many of her friends know a little about sewing, however most students her age and even many adults don’t know even how to sew a button on, her teacher Kendall Wildman said. Wildman teaches family and consumer sciences at Cheyenne. Family and Consumer Science teachers have seen a sudden spike in a need for the skills they teach during the COVID-19 pandemic. The need for teaching the subject, which has

Protests over stay-at-home orders because of COVID-19 have become more common around the country. In California, a surprising group is behind some of them: those who oppose mandatory vaccinations. On Thursday, a mash-up of people mingled on the sidewalk in front of California's state Capitol in Sacramento. There were Trump supporters wearing MAGA hats and waving American flags. There were Christians, singing along to religious rock songs and raising their hands in prayer. The event's MC. urged Gov. Gavin Newsom to tune into their event. "Everybody up at the Capitol, tell Gavin Newsom [to tune in to] 107.9 FM, if he wants to hear what we have to say," the MC told the crowd over loudspeakers. "It could be kind of good for him!" There were also mothers with their children at the rally. Many people were not wearing face masks or observing social distancing protocols. They'd all come out to protest California's stay-at-home order, put in place to slow the spread of COVID-19. This week's

President Trump wants states to begin relaxing stay-at-home orders and reopen businesses after the spread of the coronavirus pummeled the global economy and killed millions of jobs. The White House coronavirus task force released guidelines on April 16 to encourage state governors to adopt a phased approach to lifting restrictions across the country. Some states have moved ahead without meeting the criteria . The task force rejected a set of additional detailed draft recommendations for schools, restaurants, churches and mass transit systems from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention that it considered " overly prescriptive ." A number of states have already begun to lift restrictions, allowing for businesses including hair salons, diners and tattoo parlors to once again begin accepting customers. Health experts have warned that reopening too quickly could result in a potential rebound in cases. States are supposed to wait to begin lifting any restrictions until they have a 14

As of Friday in Texas, you can go to a tanning salon. In Indiana, houses of worship are being allowed to open with no cap on attendance. Places like Pennsylvania are taking a more cautious approach, only starting to ease restrictions in some counties based on the number of COVID-19 cases. By Monday, at least 31 states will have partially reopened after seven weeks of restrictions. The moves come as President Trump pushes for the country to get back to work despite public health experts warning that it's too soon. "The early lesson that was learned, really, we learned from the island of Hokkaido in Japan, where they did a really good job of controlling the initial phase of the outbreak," said Bob Bednarczyk, assistant professor of global health and epidemiology at the Rollins School of Public Health at Emory University in Atlanta. Because of that success, many of the restrictions on the island were lifted. But cases and deaths surged in a second wave of infections. Twenty-six days later

For the first time in its 231-year history, the Supreme Court justices heard oral arguments remotely by phone and made the audio available live. The new setup went off largely without difficulties, but produced some memorable moments, including one justice forgetting to unmute and an ill-timed bathroom break. Here are the top five can't-miss moments from this week's history-making oral arguments. A second week of arguments begin on Monday at 10 a.m. ET. Here's a rundown of the cases and how to listen. 1. Justice Clarence Thomas speaks ... a lot Supreme Court oral arguments are verbal jousting matches. The justices pepper the lawyers with questions, interrupting counsel repeatedly and sometimes even interrupting each other. Justice Clarence Thomas, who has sat on the bench for nearly 30 years, has made his dislike of the chaotic process well known, at one point not asking a question for a full decade. But with no line of sight, the telephone arguments have to be rigidly organized, and