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In the 1940s and 1950s, some of the greatest jazz and Latin musicians performed together in New York and Havana. This festive album, The Original Mambo Kings: An Introduction to Afro-Cubop 1948-1954, features Charlie Parker, Dizzy Gillespie, Bebo Valdes and many others who capture the spirit of the era.

Horace Silver pioneered the hard bop style in the 1950s, but he never forgot his roots. On Song for My Father, Silver demonstrates his imaginative and funky piano style while paying homage to the Cape Verdan melodies of his Portuguese father.

In 1964, Miles Davis recruited saxophonist Wayne Shorter from Art Blakey's Jazz Messengers. This album captures the duo during this important time. Shorter went on to become Davis' most prolific composer, writing classics such as "Prince of Darkness" and "Nefertiti."

In 1951, Jimmy Smith began playing the Hammond organ. Within a few years, he was considered to be THE master of the instrument. Smith also was one of the founders of the "hard bop" funk school of the 1950s. Smith's talents, including his quick agility with organ peddles, come through on this album.

Recorded in 1977, Weather Report's Heavy Weather successfully integrates several genres of music. The track "Palladium," for example, combines acoustic and electronic jazz with Afro-Cuban Santeria rhythm. Don't miss the jazz standard, "Birdland."

In the Harlem "rent party" tradition, jazz artists would compete on piano in an apartment for listeners who paid a quarter each to get in. According to many, Fats Waller could outdo all comers. Known for his comic touch, Waller also pioneered the use of the pipe organ in jazz.

The 1953 album Jazz at Massey Hall contains the only jazz composition sung by a United States president while in office. The song is "Salt Peanuts," performed by Jimmy Carter at the White House Jazz Festival. Jazz at Massey Hall also documents one of the rare moments when Dizzy Gillespie, Charlie Parker, Bud Powell, Max Roach, and The Quintet recorded together.

Known as "Mr. Swing," Red Norvo became a jazz star while playing an unconventional instrument –- the jazz xylophone. He later switched to vibraphone, and recorded with such legends as Benny Goodman and Dizzy Gillespie. On The Savoy Sessions, Norvo teams with bassist Charles Mingus and guitarist Tal Farlow.

The L.A.-based Dakah Hip Hop Orchestra is breaking new musical ground and expanding audiences. The group presents hip-hop in symphonic form, with a wide variety of musicians from various segments of the Southern California music scene. Fawnee Evnochides reports.

Argentinian pianist Pablo Ziegler has spent his career experimenting with tango, fusing it with jazz and bebop. Ziegler's album Bajo Cero ("Below Zero") is considered by many to be a contender for a Grammy next year. Reese Erlich reports.