Bill Barber, a musician who helped refashion the jazz tuba from its predictable oompah passages to suit the complex melodies and rhythms of Miles Davis and other postwar jazz modernists, died June 18 ...

In the 1960s and '70s, Johnson, who died Jan. 11, played on recordings by Charles Mingus, McCoy Tyner and Carla Bley. He also led his own ensembles, including Gravity. Originally broadcast in 1984.

The CJO welcomes tubist Velvet Brown and composer/pianist Ellen Rowe to share an evening of music and memories. A new commission from Ellen Rowe will be premiered. Velvet Brown enjoys a career as ...

He helped to find a new role for a notoriously cumbersome instrument in a wide range of musical settings, including the “Saturday Night Live” band. By Giovanni Russonello Howard Johnson, who set a new ...

Traditional jazz band Tuba Skinny was set to go into the studio in April — until, you know, all this stuff happened. The band decided to postpone recording its new album, which would have been its ...

On a hot, humid afternoon, Bob Stewart has called a rehearsal at his Harlem apartment. Six musicians are in a circle in the living room — on one side, trumpet and trombone; on the other, cello, viola ...

The tuba in jazz is like the appendix. It is an evolutionary artifact that once played an integral role in the operation of the jazz orchestra but has largely fallen into disuse in favor of other ...

Theon Cross can still vividly remember when the instrument that’s taken him around the world was more of a liability than an asset. “Playing the tuba didn’t make me cool when I was at school,” the ...

The tuba, like the banjo and the accordion, has sometimes had an image problem during the past century. While it has had an important role in classical music and early New Orleans jazz, the tuba has ...

The New Orleans Jazz and Heritage Festival begins Friday, and music fans from all over the world will flock to the city's racetrack for seven days of music. A lot of things make New Orleans a one-of-a ...

This is FRESH AIR. I'm David Bianculli, in for Terry Gross. Today, we're going to remember tuba player Howard Johnson, who, through his own skill and determination, carved a place for tuba in ...