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The city of Detroit has long been a hotbed for jazz. In fact, many musicians would say Motown would not be what it is if not for the musical genre. 

Jazz legends like Marcus Belgrave, Kenny Burrell and Marion Hayden are just a few of the city’s prominent jazz musicians that helped shape the city’s music scene. But while jazz is still relevant in today’s music industry, it’s not a genre that most people associate with younger generations.

Robin Wilson, owner of Vesey Lane Goods in Detroit, is hoping to change that with her new children’s book, “Jazz-A-Bet: An Original Jazz Alphabet.” 

She joined The Metro on Tuesday to share more about her book — a bilingual flip book with one side printed in English and the other printed in Portuguese — and to discuss the importance of exposing kids to music at an early age.

Use the media player above to hear the full conversation.

More stories from The Metro on Tuesday, April 8:

• Detroit’s oldest choir has a new director
• Investigation probes unprecedented number of journalists killed in Gaza
• Fighting food waste with composting in metro Detroit

Listen to The Metro weekdays from 10 a.m. to noon ET on 101.9 FM and streaming on-demand.

What a dream to have percussionist and bandleader Daniel Villarreal live on WDET during In The Groove.

I was first introduced to Villarreal’s music via a friend in Chicago, where Villarreal and his band call home. After popping on my headphones, going for a long walk and listening to Villarreal’s excellent ‘Panamá 77’ album, I was hooked. The plot on how I could get him to Detroit to perform began!

Thankfully, our friends at Moondog Café solved that issue, booking Villarreal for a live set at their new venue.

And ahead of that performance in Detroit, Villarreal brought the band by the studio to perform a handful of tracks, including “Traveling With” (from his 2023 effort ‘Lados B’), the unreleased song “Bakers Dozen,” “Sunset Cliffs” (another ‘Lados B’ cut) plus “I Didn’t Expect That” from ‘Panamá 77.’

You’ll also hear an interview with Villarreal about his time playing in punk bands in Panama and how that translates to the abstract jazz he plays today.

Hear the performance and interview using the audio player above.

Keep up with Villarreal’s music at danielvillarrealmusic.com.

Listen to In the Groove with host Ryan Patrick Hooper weekdays from noon-3 p.m. ET on Detroit Public Radio 101.9 WDET or stream on-demand at wdet.org.