I've long known that Artie Shaw was outspoken, mercurial and blunt. As a boy wonder in the band business in the 1930s, Shaw was also temperamental and didn't tolerate boredom or repetition for long.

On the upcoming 100th anniversary of Artie Shaw's birth, Fresh Air remembers one of jazz's greatest clarinetists and big-band leaders with excerpts from a 1985 interview. In the 1930s and '40s, the ...

“Everytime I change the toilet paper, I think of Artie Shaw.” This quote comes courtesy of Evelyn Keyes, the actress best remembered by noir enthusiasts for her turn as a femme fatale in “The Prowler” ...

Outspoken, manipulative, independent thinking and oftentimes controversial, Artie Shaw (1910-2004) was one of the most popular stars of the Swing Era, who famously broke the color barrier by hiring ...