Big bands were built in the 1920s and ’30s to blast young dancers with layers of rhythm, but creative composers seeking a larger canvas have kept the form alive. Hear 12 big selections. By Giovanni ...

Havana in the 1950s was an exotic suburb of Las Vegas. How the Cuban capital became the playground of American tycoons, celebrities and hustlers is a long and sordid story. Here's the short version: ...

In the mid-1950s, Quincy Jones was part of the Dizzy Gillespie Big Band at a time when the U.S. State Department sent them on a goodwill tour around the globe. It was during the Cold War, and ...