Rapp on Jazz

In jazz, the rhythm section is more than just backup—it’s the engine, the compass, and the canvas for improvisation.

Visit southcarolinapublicradio.org/rapponjazz for full transcripts.

If you’re learning jazz—or want to know the tunes musicians call at every jam session—there are 10 jazz standards everyone should know.

Visit southcarolinapublicradio.org/rapponjazz for full transcripts.

Improvisation may sound spontaneous, but jazz musicians spend countless hours preparing for that freedom.

Visit southcarolinapublicradio.org/rapponjazz for full transcripts.

Jazz musicians continue to expand the canon with modern tunes that have become new standards. 

Visit southcarolinapublicradio.org/rapponjazz for full transcripts.

Jazz standards are the songs every jazz musician knows—the shared language of the genre. But those standards didn’t all come from jazz.

Visit southcarolinapublicradio.org/rapponjazz for full transcripts.

From the jump, jazz and dance have been inseparable—born in the same spaces of joy, resistance, and rhythm.

Visit southcarolinapublicradio.org/rapponjazz for full transcripts.

During Hollywood’s Golden Age—from the 1930s to the 1950s—jazz didn’t just play in the background. It shaped the mood, style, and swagger of American cinema.

Visit southcarolinapublicradio.org/rapponjazz for full transcripts.

Jazz is alive in modern cinema—shaping stories with its soul, swing, and spontaneity.

Visit southcarolinapublicradio.org/rapponjazz for full transcripts.

Jazz has always danced with mystery—on stage, in the music, and even in its history.

Visit southcarolinapublicradio.org/rapponjazz for full transcripts.

If you’ve ever heard a jazz tune that sounds familiar—but not quite—there’s a good chance it’s a contrafact.

Visit southcarolinapublicradio.org/rapponjazz for full transcripts.