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The flute is one of the oldest known instruments, but it gets little respect. It's mostly known for schmaltzy concert recordings and one particular comedic movie reference. Luckily, the sheer virtuosic force of many jazz artists has lent a cool factor to the much-maligned instrument. Here are five of jazz's best flutists in action.

It's not easy being related to a musical star: Even if your gifts rival those of your sibling, it's presumed that as the less-famous family member, you must be second-rate or a coattail surfer. Especially in the world of soul music, some overshadowed sisters and brothers have proven as compelling as their kin.

NPR Music ended 2008 the way the previous 29 have for NPR and its jazz partner WBGO: with live jazz, all night long. Toast of the Nation features jazz groups welcoming the new year across the country, from New York to Los Angeles, Boston to New Orleans. Here's a preview of the night's artists.

For all the accusations of misogyny that face hip-hop artists, no musical genre shows more reverence to the mother figure. Tupac's "Dear Mama" may be the most easily identifiable example — if not the pinnacle — of the mama meme, but many great rappers have taken a few minutes to honor the women who brought them into the world. Here are five more songs for and about your mom.

This week's Take Five skips from the provinces of Quebec and Ottawa over to British Columbia, featuring a jazz legend, a world-famous vocalist/pianist and a few Canadian musicians who are gaining wider recognition outside their home country. Listen to five songs below.

Martin Luther King Jr. opened the 1964 Berlin Jazz Festival with these words: "Jazz speaks for life." The 1960s civil-rights movement inspired blues and jazz songs about the setbacks, hardships and hard-won victories that moved (and that continue to move) America closer to racial equality.

New music from Bruce Cockburn; Norah Jones' songwriter Jesse Harris; Dreamy Brazilian pop from Celso Fonseca; Violin virtuoso Andrew Bird; New bluegrass from Blue Highway and more.

Barbershop like you've never heard before: The Gas House Gang; music on a leaf from The Kronos Quartet; another great unknown: Dromedary; a dreamy instrumental from The Frames and more.

Down With Wilco and The Minus Five; Latvian violin virtuoso Gidon Kremer; Celtic country bluegrass from Ponticello; South African pianist Abdullah Ibrahim; Folk rock adventurer Patty Larkin and more.

Sleepwalking with Santo and Johnny; the child prodigy Debashish Battacharya; Fernando, a great unknown artist and more.