Soundcheck

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The Calm Spark of South African Jazz Master Abdullah Ibrahim Persists

August 03, 2026

The late South African pianist and composer Abdullah Ibrahim (aka "Dollar Brand") had a notable career, helped early on by Duke Ellington, and  acknowledged later by Nelson Mandela, who called Ibrahim “our Mozart.” In 2019, Abdullah Ibrahim became a National Endowment for the Arts Jazz Master, and he released an album titled The Balance, (which was his 70th or 71st LP, and that's not including his work as a sideman, which might push the total album credits to over 100!). The Balance is full o...

Best of Soundcheck: Meklit, The Bad Plus

August 02, 2026

On this episode of Soundcheck, a great band bids farewell after a monumental career that lasted more than a quarter of a century. American avant-garde group The Bad Plus spent long years fusing instrumental jazz with rock music, with each member playing their seemingly traditional instruments to their fullest extent in unexpected ways. They perform some tunes from their final record, “Complex Emotions” and reflect on their creative journey. Also, Ethiopia-born, California-based singer Meklit ...

Alt-Country Artist Tift Merritt Shares Her New Confessional Songs, In-Studio

July 30, 2026

After almost a decade-long wait, the Grammy-nominated alt-country artist Tift Merritt returns with her new record Sugar, in which she sings, “I didn’t really want to be here tonight / I don’t need you looking at me / I don’t like the light bright.” Is a romantic love story the inspiration behind these words? Or is it the music industry itself, which is, as Merritt puts it, the ultimate “bad boyfriend”. “This was a little song that was negotiating how I could come back and stay grounded in my ...