Mac ‘Dr. John’ Rebennack has been at the heart of New Orleans funk and R&B since the 1950’s so when he paid a visit to the KPLU/Jazz24 studio for a solo piano/vocal performance, we were sure we’d get a good dose of The Crescent City. We certainly did.

When Lee came into the KPLU/Jazz24 studios on an unseasonably cool August afternoon, he arrived with a rhythm section hot enough to raise Seattle’s temperature a few degrees: drummer, Will Kennedy and bassist, Melvin Davis. Together, they laid down three delightful tracks; Water’s Edge, L.P.—For Les Paul, and Freddie Hubbard’s composition, Povo (watch the video below).

PASCO, WA (N3) -

"My name is Rochelle Walchli, and we have Hermiston Melon Company out of Hermiston, Ore. The easiest and best way is to pick the melon up and hold it in your hand and use the flat of your hand and cup the melon and tap it. If you feel a vibration all the way through the melon and not a thud, then that's a solid melon."

SOUND: Tap, tap, thud

"Hear the difference? The higher pitched melon is going to be a solid melon, once you cut it, it will be a perfect cut."

When blues singer, Shemekia Copeland performs live, it's almost guaranteed to be an electrifying experience. In this session, recorded in KPLU's Seattle studios, we get a rare opportunity to hear Shemekia's voice in an intimate performance context. Instead of bringing her whole band, Shemekia arrived with just her guitar player, Arthur Neilson.  See the slideshow and video of her performance.

Kids in Pierce County are confronting the community's violent reputation. The county has seen mass arrests of gang members, many of them teens, and is too often in the news as the scene of tragic shooting deaths. A coalition of local groups has embarked on a multi-year effort to provide kids alternatives to violence.

Their work is aimed at involving and empowering local youth to help lead the campaign and carry it forward. Dominique Lewis, who is 19, says the problem for his fellow teenagers usually begins at home.

A sun-washed Summer evening in the Seattle Art Museum's Olympic Sculpture Park provided a perfect setting for the infectious Brazilian music of Jovino Santos Neto for the Art of Jazz Concert this month. The concert was recorded for broadcast and will air Sunday, August 22 at 1 PM (PDT) on Jazz Northwest, 88.5, KPLU.

Programs aimed getting adults to quit smoking are continuing to pay off. That's the word from state officials who say Washington now has the third-lowest smoking rate in the nation.

Over the years the state's thrown just about every possible resource at helping smokers quit, according to Tim Church with the Washington's Department of Health.

"Programs in schools, programs in local communities, a quit line, and a large advertising campaign."

This week the 4th Stryker Brigade from Lewis McChord made international headlines. It's the last full combat brigade to leave Iraq though 50,000 U-S troops will remain. Lt. Steven DeWitt spoke with NBC news as the convoy sped toward Kuwait.

NBC News Clip: "This is a war that has been burned into the American mindset for the last seven years And here driving out we're showing the end of it."

The Auburn All-Stars will take the field Friday for one of the biggest games of their lives. The group of 11 and 12-year old baseball players has made it to the Little League World Series.

It's the first time a team from Auburn has ever been to the tournament.

Right off the bat, the Auburn All-Stars will have to show their stuff. The team is first up in the series against Fairfield, Connecticut.

That's the only rival they know for sure. After that, they could face off against teams from as far away as Japan or Mexico.

Several major grocery chains in Washington say if you shopped there, you don't need to worry about salmonella from tainted eggs. Officials from the Food and Drug Administration said they don't have detailed information about the distribution of the recalled eggs and wouldn't confirm the report. But representatives of Albertsons, Safeway, Fred Meyer and QFC say none of the bad eggs were carried by their stores. The FDA says consumers should check their egg cartons to see if they're on recall lists to be certain.