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American Routes
American Routes is a weekly two-hour public radio program produced in New Orleans, presenting a broad range of American music — blues and jazz, gospel and soul, old-time country and rockabilly, Cajun and zydeco, Tejano and Latin, roots rock and pop, avant-garde and classical. Now in our 15th year on the air, American Routes explores the shared musical and cultural threads in these American styles and genres of music — and how they are distinguished.
This week on American Routes, we’re celebrating the long-running New Orleans Jazz and Heritage Festival with songs and interviews from the performers that make the festival happen. We hear from longtime local favorites, like chanteuse Topsy Chapman and funk drummer Herlin Riley, as well as perennial visitors and jazz titans, McCoy Tyner and Sonny Rollins. We’ll delve into the archives to remember the late Cuban songstress Celia Cruz and revisit our interview with saxophonist Lee Konitz, who made his Jazz Fest premier in 2017.
