Jason Moran

Born and raised poor in New Orleans at the start of the 20th century, Louis Armstrong (1901-1971) became one of America’s most influential and esteemed musicians, and with supreme congeniality and talent brought this country’s gift to the world — jazz — into a new level of artistry and global prominence.

Jazz musicians continuously reinvent their music, responding to one another in the room and across time. Jazz is the music of freedom, and one of its pioneers was composer and conductor James Reese Europe (Feb. 22, 1881–May 9, 1919).