“Among the top [jazz] practitioners in the world, and certainly among one of the most thoughtful and inquisitive spirits in jazz, is pianist Brad Mehldau,” says Sebastian Scotney on The Economist’s The Intelligence podcast. “He probably has the mantle of the world’s preeminent jazz pianist.” You can hear their conversation here.

“This week’s guest has a voice for the ages,” Sheroes host Carmel Holt says of Rachael Price. “That may sound like a bold statement to some of you, but those of you who have heard Rachael Price sing, either as the front woman of Lake Street Dive, or in her duo Rachael & Vilray, will know that it’s not hyperbole … Our guest has carved a seemingly limitless path for her instrument.” They talk about Rachael & Vilray's new album, the “superb” I Love a Love Song!, and much more. You can hear the episode here.

“The Kronos Quartet in the world of classical music are like The Beatles,” says Tom Power, host of CBC’s Q. “They pack rooms all around the world. They’ve been doing it for 50 years now. And those rooms are filled with people who don’t typically listen to classical music. So ... what have they figured out?” Kronos Quartet artistic director, founder, and violinist David Harrington spoke with Power and tries to answer that question, among others. You can hear their conversation here.

"Brad Mehldau is one of the most influential and acclaimed jazz pianists living today," Sam Briger, producer of NPR's Fresh Air with Terry Gross, says of his guest on the show. From the piano at WNYC Studios in New York City, Mehldau talks with Briger about his upcoming live solo album, Your Mother Should Know: Brad Mehldau Plays The Beatles, out this Friday, and performs several musical examples during their conversation. They also discuss Mehldau's new memoir, Formation, due in March from Equinox Publishing. You can hear it here.

Rhiannon Giddens is on Speaking Soundly, a podcast in which host and MET Opera Principal Trumpet David Krauss talks with fellow performers about their creative process and lives as artists. “In addition to being expert in the music, you’re steeping in the history behind the music,” Krauss says. “And then you compose a song to capture that history and use it as a lens to focus in on what’s really happening in our society today. That’s a lot.” You can hear their conversation here.

Rachael & Vilray are on The Vinyl District’s Radar podcast to discuss their new album, I Love a Love Song!. “There is an intrinsic grandeur to the Great American Songbook that we can all appreciate,” says host Evan Toth. “However, the Great American Songbook must always be accepting new entries and if we had to suggest some additions from our time, from this year, Rachael and Vilray should be at the top of our list.” You can hear their conversation here.

“To try to define Mary Halvorson solely by the term ‘guitarist’ is to do both her and her art a disservice, as she’s unlike any other guitarist currently playing today,” says Matt Byars, co-host of NPR’s Essential Tremors. “Halvorson’s work is vibrant and alive, agile and electric, fluid and inventive, all of which are particularly in evidence on her latest release.” She talks with Byars and his co-host Lee Gardner about songs by Jimi Hendrix, Yusef Lateef, and Robert Wyatt that helped shape who she is. You can hear why on the episode, a collaboration with Big Ears Festival, where Halvorson will perform this spring, here.

NPR's Fresh Air with Terry Gross aired an encore broadcast of Rachael & Vilray's 2020 interview on the show today to mark the release of the duo's new album, I Love a Love Song!. They spoke with producer Sam Briger and performed music from their 2019 self-titled debut album. You can hear the episode here.

Rachael & Vilray are on New Sounds' Soundcheck to talk with host John Schaefer about their new album, I Love a Love Song!, and perform three songs from it—"Is A Good Man Real?," "Hate Is The Basis (of Love)," and "Join Me in a Dream"—at WNYC Studios in New York City. You can hear the episode and watch the performances here.

Caroline Shaw is on BBC World Service’s Music Life with fellow musicians Patrick Watson, Weyes Blood (with whom Vagabon is touring North America this spring), and Flume. They discuss the idea of perfection as a route to self-sabotage, the pressure to share more of one’s personal life, and more. You can hear their conversation here.

Singer-songwriter Connie Converse’s song “One By One,” which Julia Bullock performs with Christian Reif on piano on her solo debut album, Walking in the Dark, in an arrangement by Jeremy Siskind, is the subject of the latest episode of Resounding Verse, a podcast about poetry and song hosted by Stephen Rodgers. You can hear it here. "I can’t help but think if [Converse] could only hear this luminous recording, if she only knew that over seventy years after she wrote this song, it would finally find a wide audience, and her songs would finally shine like the sun, she would be pleased," Rodgers says of Bullock's performance.

David Byrne’s American Utopia is the focus of the latest episode of the Suzie Explores podcast. Seven members of the Broadway cast—Bobby Wooten III, Mauro Refosco, Daniel Freedman, Tim Keiper, Stéphane San Juan, Jacquelene Acevedo, and Tendayi Kuumba —joined host Suzie Collier six months after the end of the Broadway run to discuss the show and what’s happened since. You can watch the conversation here.