On this show, I'll be poking my head out of under my usual explorations of music of the past to check out what's happening with the music of today. This hour, it's our biannual look at the current state of vocal jazz and traditional pop, exploring some new releases. Coming up, we'll hear from some new records by jazz singers Kurt Elling and Kate McGarry. We'll also hear from singers like Van Morrison, Nellie McKay, and Steve Tyrell taking their turns at jazz standards. Plus we'll hear some original music from singers Kat Edmonson and Melody Gardot.
We'll look at more recent releases for 2018 in part 2, coming in November.