We're looking at the best jazz releases of March 2026! Listen with pianist Adam Maness as he breaks down and reacts to these great tracks.

Start your free Open Studio trial for ALLLLL your jazz lesson needs:
https://osjazz.link/yhi

Thelonious Monk Plays Duke Ellington: The musicians on this album were already legends when it came out in 1955.

Each of them completely reinvented how people play their instruments. Drummer Kenny Clarke: the originator of so much of modern drumming language. Bass player Oscar Pettiford: possibly the greatest bass soloist in the history of the instrument. And then there's Monk, one of the singular greatest pianists of all time. And here they are playing the music of Duke Ellington: an untouchable legend.

The result is an album that brought Monk's genius to the masses. And it may just be one of his best. In this LIVE episode of You'll Hear It, jazz pianists Adam Maness and Peter Martin break down this remarkable moment in music history, playing Monk's interpretations next to Duke's originals.

If you've never really got Monk, this album is your gateway into his music. And if you're already a fan, you'll never hear this album the same way again.

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Start your free Open Studio trial for ALLLLL your jazz lesson needs:
https://openstudiojazz.com/yhi

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About You'll Hear It:

In this popular music series Adam and Peter break down the greatest albums of all time. Stevie Wonder, Michael Jackson, Joni Mitchell, D'Angelo: Jazz is the foundation of the most GENIUS music in recent history. These seasoned jazz pianists bring their deep musical knowledge to every joyful episode to help you hear the hidden qualities that make music AMAZING. You'll never hear music the same way again.

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Sign up for the You'll Read It newsletter for little known stories about the artists you love:
https://youllhearit.com/newsletter

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0:00 - "It Don't Mean a Thing (If It Ain't Got That Swing)"
2:07 - You'll Hear It Live at Jazz at Lincoln Center
6:02 - The Story of Thelonious Monk
8:24 - First Official Recording: Coleman Hawkins Quartet (1944)
10:21 - Keepnews Big Idea to Bring Monk to the Masses
14:46 - "It Don't Mean a Thing": Duke's original vs. Monk's version
20:40 - Bassist Oscar Pettiford's Sophisticated Musical Language
24:10 - Louis Armstrong & Ella Fitzgerald's Version
27:38 - "Sophisticated Lady"
31:44 - "I Got It Bad and That Ain't Good"
35:08 - Bet You Can't Guess This Singer
39:10 - "Black and Tan Fantasy": Duke (1927) vs. Monk
42:30 - Oscar Pettiford Plays "Basso Profundo" with Duke Ellington
45:00 - "Tricotism" - Oscar Pettiford
45:55 - Kenny Clarke deep dive
47:48 - "Mood Indigo"
49:50 - "I Let a Song Go Out of My Heart": Duke's original vs. Monk's version
52:30 - "Solitude"
55:00 - "Caravan": Duke's original vs. Monk's version
58:35 - Categories: Desert Island, Apex Moments, Bespoke Playlists, Quibble Bits
59:50 - Drummer Kenny Clarke's Brush Master Class
1:04:00 - Is This Better than Kind of Blue?
1:04:55 - What to Listen to Next

D'Angelo's Brown Sugar sounded like nothing else in 1995. R&B was slick, polished, and built for clubs. D'Angelo later said the "deeper consciousness" had gone out of contemporary music. Questlove later wrote that contemporary R&B had become "trite" and "soulless" ... and then there was Brown Sugar, D'Angelo's debut album. It sounded more like the '70s than the '90s. More like church than the club.

On this episode of You'll Hear It, jazz pianists Adam Maness and Peter Martin go track by track through D'Angelo's debut, pulling apart the vocal stems, naming the jazz chords underneath the soul, and tracing every influence back to its root. They also bring in the archival recordings you might have missed: a live set from the Jazz Café London that gives the album a whole second life, and a J Dilla remix.

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Start your free Open Studio trial for ALLLLL your jazz lesson needs:
https://openstudiojazz.com/yhi

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Related You'll Hear It episodes:

Voodoo: https://youtu.be/AYqmFNF2s0U

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About You'll Hear It:

In this popular music series Adam and Peter break down the greatest albums of all time. Stevie Wonder, Michael Jackson, Joni Mitchell, D'Angelo: Jazz is the foundation of the most GENIUS music in recent history. These seasoned jazz pianists bring their deep musical knowledge to every joyful episode to help you hear the hidden qualities that make music AMAZING. You'll never hear music the same way again.

-------------------------------

Sign up for the You'll Read It newsletter for little known stories about the artists you love:
https://youllhearit.com/newsletter

-------------------------------

00:00 - D'Angelo's Brown Sugar
01:11 - Let's Go Back to 1995
05:35 - "Brown Sugar"
08:30 - Engineer Bob Power's Influence
09:13 - "Brown Sugar" Felt Different From Anything Else in 1995
16:57 - D'Angelo on Why He Picked Bob Power
19:30 - "Alright"
28:57 - Isolated Vocal Stems on "Alright"
31:27 - "Jones in My Bones"
33:20 - The Little-Known D'Angelo Album
36:25 - "Me & Those Dreamin' Eyes of Mine"
40:30 - The J Dilla Remix (1997)
44:18 - "Shit, Damn, Motherfucker"
46:30 - Live at the Jazz Cafe - "Shit, Damn, Motherfucker"
48:10 - "Smooth"
50:20 - D'Angelo Could Have Been a Jazz Pianist
53:04 - D'Angelo and Peter's Ellis Marsalis Connection
56:21 - "Cruisin'"
59:25 - Ad Break: Learn To Play Like D'Angelo
1:00:37 - "When We Get By"
1:04:44 - "We Were Just Mocking Dilla": Raphael Saadiq on How "Lady" Was Made
1:06:20 - "Lady"
1:11:02 - "Higher"
1:15:28 - "Brown Sugar" Hits Different 30 Years Later
1:17:00 - Our Favorite Moments
1:23:45 - Quibble Bits, Snob-O-Meter & Accoutrements
1:27:26 - Up Next + Listener Reviews
1:29:45 - Open Studio Plays "Lady"

Ornette Coleman's The Shape of Jazz to Come (1959) may be the most controversial album in jazz history, and one of the most important.

In 1959, a broke musician from Fort Worth, Texas arrived in New York City with a plastic saxophone and a band that didn't play by the rules. And EVERYONE had an opinion about it.

Jazz legends hated it. Miles Davis said Ornette was "all screwed up inside." Max Roach punched him in the mouth. Dizzy Gillespie said Ornette's music wasn't even jazz. Meanwhile, Leonard Berstein and John Coltrane celebrated him.

So what exactly is The Shape of Jazz to Come, and why was it so radical? Jazz pianists Peter Martin and Adam Maness break down every track, from "Lonely Woman" to "Chronology". They dig into harmolodics, free jazz, and how Ornette shaped everyone from Miles Davis (who eventually came around) to the '80s burnout crew, including Wynton Marsalis, who personally recommended this record to Peter.

Dig into The Shape of Jazz to Come with us, and learn why this soft spoken saxophonist inspired both criticism and awe.

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Start your free Open Studio trial for ALLLLL your jazz lesson needs:
https://openstudiojazz.com/yhi

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Related You'll Hear It episodes:

Mingus Ah Um: https://youtu.be/XYeRZ0Awui4
Giant Steps: https://youtu.be/8umC2yZlPHc
Kind of Blue: https://youtu.be/ShzSnjP8bSg
Time Out: https://youtu.be/-_qPhFSJeQU
Nina Simone at Town Hall: https://youtu.be/2PDjN5_2y5Q

-------------------------------

About You'll Hear It:

In this popular music series Adam and Peter break down the greatest albums of all time. Stevie Wonder, Michael Jackson, Joni Mitchell, D'Angelo: Jazz is the foundation of the most GENIUS music in recent history. These seasoned jazz pianists bring their deep musical knowledge to every joyful episode to help you hear the hidden qualities that make music AMAZING. You'll never hear music the same way again.

-------------------------------

Sign up for the You'll Read It newsletter for little known stories about the artists you love:
https://youllhearit.com/newsletter

-------------------------------

0:00:00 - Ornette Coleman's The Shape of Jazz to Come
0:01:42 - 1959: A Pivotal Year
0:03:06 - Ornette Coleman: The Backstory
0:04:44 - Ornette's Earlier Sound
0:06:18 - Lore of the Five Spot
0:07:00 - "Lonely Woman"
0:12:27 - Harmolodics Explained (Charlie Haden + Don Cherry)
0:13:27 - "Eventually"
0:14:42 - The '80s Jazz Connection (Wynton, Branford, Kirkland)
0:17:21 - "Peace"
0:23:50 - Ad: Open Studio
0:24:57 - Mingus Said THIS About Coleman
0:27:47 - "Focus on Sanity"
0:29:40 - When Peter Played with Charlie Haden
0:32:43 - Don Cherry's Kids: Neneh Cherry + Eagle-Eye Cherry
0:34:22 - "Congeniality"
0:36:28 - "Chronology"
0:37:23 - Technical Technique vs. Artistic Vision
0:42:13 - Categories: Desert Island Tracks, Apex Moments
0:48:55 - You'll Read It Newsletter + Ambies

What happens when you let a musical genius make the album of his dreams? You get Stevie Wonder's Music of My Mind (1972), the start of the greatest run in music history.

Music of My Mind would be the first of a five-album run that formed Stevie Wonder's Classic Period, including Talking Book (1972), Innervisions (1973), Fulfillingness' First Finale (1974) and Songs in the Key of Life (1976).

In this episode of You'll Hear It, jazz pianists Adam Maness and Peter Martin dive into every track on Music of My Mind, listening to isolated stems and breaking down the theory behind the songs. Plus - we talk about TONTO, the one-ton synthesizer Stevie used to create this record. And we dig into the innovative ways Stevie and collaborators Malcolm Cecil and Robert Margouleff mixed the album.

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Start your free Open Studio trial for ALLLLL your jazz lesson needs:
https://openstudiojazz.com/yhi
-------------------------------

Related You'll Hear It episodes:

Talking Book: https://youtu.be/ymcy3ot116w
Innervisions: https://youtu.be/mUYwIijL7s0
Songs in the Key of Life: https://youtu.be/uk5x4-uTzj8

-------------------------------

About You'll Hear It:

In this popular music series, You'll Hear It, Adam and Peter break down the greatest albums of all time. Stevie Wonder, Michael Jackson, Joni Mitchell, D'Angelo: Jazz is the foundation of the most GENIUS music in recent history. These seasoned jazz pianists bring their deep musical knowledge to every joyful episode to help you hear the hidden qualities that make music AMAZING. You'll never hear music the same way again.

-------------------------------

Like the jam at the end of the show? Head to youtube.com/@OpenStudioMusic for more.

00:00 - Stevie Wonder's Music of My Mind
03:40 - Breaking Free: The Motown Contract Story
05:35 - Finding TONTO: Malcolm Cecil & Robert Margouleff
08:45 - What Was TONTO? The Technology Explained
09:20 - How Stevie Wonder Met Cecil & Margouleff
12:00 - "If You Really Love Me" - Stevie's Motown Sound
16:40 - What Albums Belong in the Run?
19:10 - "Love Having You Around"
22:20 - Isolated Breakdown: Vocals, Talk Box, Rhythm Section
27:35 - Stevie Made Albums Different
32:10 - "Superwoman (Where Were You When I Needed You)"
36:25 - The Greatest Transition EVER
41:45 - Innovation Behind the Mix
44:10 - Ad Break: Learn to play like Stevie Wonder
45:18 - "I Love Every Little Thing About You"
52:55 - "Sweet Little Girl"
56:14 - "Happier Than the Morning Sun"
1:00:53 - Find more performances from Adam and Peter at Open Studio Music
1:01:58 - "Girl Blue"
1:09:28 - "Seems So Long"
1:11:49 - "Keep on Running"
1:15:52 - "Evil" - The biggest moment on the album
1:21:10 - This One is for the Math Nerds About Music
1:23:05 - Categories
1:29:05 - Better Than Innervisions? / Up Next
1:32:05 - More from You'll Hear It: You'll Read It
1:32:40 - Open Studio plays "Superwoman"

We're looking at the best jazz releases of February 2026! Listen with pianist Adam Maness as he breaks down and reacts to these great tracks.

Start your free Open Studio trial for ALLLLL your jazz lesson needs:
https://osjazz.link/yhi

00:00 - Intro
00:26 - In On It - Pat Metheny
02:20 - Circlesz - GENA
04:13 - Will You Walk A Little Faster - Holland, Stone, London Vocal Project
06:31 - La Sentencia - Melissa Aldana
08:55 - La Fiesta - Geoffrey Keezer & Tim Garland
10:58 - Oo Long! - The Tomeka Reid Quartet
13:18 - The Edge - Noah Stoneman
15:40 - Shivaranjani - Ragini Trio

Charlie Parker was punk rock before there was punk rock. His bebop was underground music: subversive, intellectual, and a major departure from popular music of the day (think: Nat King Cole, The Andrews Sisters, Perry Como). He was an intellectual heavyweight, nearly untouchable in his technical ability and pushing music to places no one else was daring to go. So where did Charlie Parker with Strings, his most accessible album, come from?

It's not Bird going commercial, like some have claimed. Charlie Parker with Strings is an album he fought to make. He loved Bach and Stravinsky (even quoting the opening of Stravinsky's 'Firebird Suite' mid-solo in one legendary performance), and had longed to make a record where his jazz saxophone was accompanied by strings.

The resulting record is music's greatest improviser at his best. Jazz pianists Peter Martin and Adam Maness listen to select tracks (like "Just Friends" and "Summertime"), breaking down the theory behind the music to understand what makes this album great.

Jazz is the foundation of the most GENIUS music in recent history: Stevie Wonder, Michael Jackson, Joni Mitchell, D'Angelo. In this popular music series, You'll Hear It, Adam and Peter break down the greatest albums of all time. These seasoned jazz pianists bring their deep musical knowledge to every joyful episode to help you hear the hidden qualities that make music AMAZING. You'll never hear music the same way again.

Like the jam at the end of the show? Head to @openstudiomusic on YouTube for more.

Visit openstudiojazz.com for ALLLLL your jazz lesson needs.

00:00 - Intro: Charlie Parker with Strings
01:10 - "Just Friends"
04:40 - Want to Be a Great Musician? Study This Track
10:20 - Early Recording: "Swingmatism" (1941)
12:45 - The Secret to Charlie Parker's Genius: Practice
15:20 - The Savoy Sessions: "Now's the Time" & Young Miles Davis
18:20 - The Contrafact Built in Real Time
21:45 - "Koko": Miles Davis Couldn't Play It?!
24:30 - Musicians NEED to Listen to This
27:15 - Think Parker Sold Out? Think AGAIN
28:55 - "April in Paris": Parker's Chosen Tune
33:55 - About Mitch Miller's Oboe ...
38:25 - "Summertime"
44:10 - "Out of Nowhere"
46:35 - We Have An Album!
47:20 - "East of the Sun"
53:00 - "I'll Remember April"
55:50 - Categories: Desert Island Tracks
56:35 - The BEST Moments on Strings
1:11:10 - Open Studio Plays "Just Friends"

Is Steely Dan's Gaucho more perfect than Aja? Maybe even ... too perfect? Two years in the studio. The greatest session musicians alive asked to play take after take after take until it was exactly right. And sometimes that STILL wasn't enough for Donald Fagen and Walter Becker.

On today's episode of You'll Hear It, jazz pianists Peter Martin and Adam Maness are breaking down the 1980 album track by track: the jazz harmony hiding inside those smooth grooves, the abstract poetry of the lyrics, and the insane stories behind how this thing got made. Including the $150,000 drum machine invented specifically for this record, the interview quote that cost them a third of a song, and the drum track that took 85 takes and 35 tape edits to piece together.

And after all that, we didn't get another Steely Dan record for 20 years.

Was it worth it?

Read about the simple mistake that would haunt Steely Dan for 44 years in this week's edition of the You'll Read It newsletter: https://youllhearit.com/newsletter

Watch our FULL breakdown of Steely Dan's Aja: https://youtu.be/G10mYohR6T4

00:00 - Steely Dan's Gaucho: A Monument to Perfect
01:15 - "Babylon Sisters"
11:00 - What Makes Steely Dan Genius
13:35 - The Precision of Purdie's Drums on Babylon Sisters
16:10 - Abstract Lyrics
19:35 - "Hey Nineteen"
22:25 - Pristine Rhodes
25:25 - Isolated Vocal Stems on "Hey Nineteen"
33:00 - "Glamour Profession"
38:55 - The Mingus Influence
40:10 - "Gaucho"
43:20 - The Keith Jarrett Lawsuit
48:50 - Gaucho Chorus Deep Dive
54:10 - "Time Out Of Mind"
57:50 - Monument to Perfectionism (Lead Boots)
1:01:35 - Perfectionism and Jazz
1:05:05 - Is Gaucho More Perfect Than Aja?
1:06:25 - "My Rival"
1:10:40 - Bowie / Steely Dan Side-By-Side
1:14:00 - Too Fussy?
1:19:05 - Open Studio Plays "Glamour Profession"