Kevin Whitehead

[upbeat music] [sings]

Coming up, jazz historian Kevin Whitehead has an appreciation of Cassandra Wilson, the jazz singer, songwriter, and producer who died earlier this month.

We'll also play an interview with her from our archives.

I'm David Bianculli, and this is Fresh Air.

She first attracted attention in the 1980s singing tricky songs by jazz composers Henry Threadgill and Steve Coleman.

Soon, she was recording albums of her own, where she featured a wide variety of material and became one of jazz music's breakout stars, performing on screen in the movies Junior and The Score.

Jazz historian Kevin Whitehead surveys Cassandra Wilson's 30-year recording career.

[singing] Skylark, have you seen the valley green with spring? Where my heart can go a journey.

John Coltrane's centennial is September 23rd.

Jazz historian Kevin Whitehead will have an appreciation of Coltrane closer to that date.

Tomorrow on Fresh Air, how big tech companies, including Google, Apple, and Microsoft, have been donating equipment, holding conferences, and are offering workshops for educators and students.

So how much are they influencing how schoolchildren learn and what they learn? We'll talk with New York Times reporter Natasha Singer, author of the new book Coding Kids: Big Tech's Battle to Remake the Schools.