This week’s Winter Jazzfest seems to be a kind of turning point — for the festival, and maybe for jazz in New York City. What started 10 years ago as a one-night showcase under one roof has expanded to five days at 10 venues, featuring more than 90 groups in a vast array of styles.

The underground edge is still there, but this year’s acts include multiple Grammy winners, beyond-jazz acts such as singer Keren Ann, and three midweek marquee concerts. One show teams star pianists Robert Glasper and Jason Moran to celebrate the 75th anniversary of Blue Note Records.

Still, much of the festival’s excitement still resides in its signature two-night marathon this Friday and Saturday, where acts perform in quick succession in neighboring Greenwich Village nightclubs. For the price of a single ticket, concertgoers can choose — or try to choose — between groups, which range from Balkan and New Orleans brass to Latin and straight-ahead jazz. The 18-piece orchestral pop ensemble Mother Falcon, with cello and glockenspiel, will also appear.

At WBGO HD2 we’ll stream a mix of all 92 groups at this year’s Winter Jazzfest around the clock to prepare for these new sounds. (For more insights, check out the conversation between WBGO’s Josh Jackson and NPR Music’s Patrick Jarenwattananon on our weekly new-music magazine, The Checkout.) Here are five of the acts performing in this year’s WJF marathon, and a rundown of what they plan to perform.

Click here to learn more about the 5 must-see projects.

By Tim Wilkins
Originally published at NPR.org