In the summer of 2023, this jazz funk groove bounced into my ears and fixed itself on a loop.

It's called Watermelon Man by jazz legend Herbie Hancock.

And it's actually a reimagination of Herbie's original version,

a hard-bop standard you may recognize as this.

Both versions of Herbie Hancock's Watermelon Man are highly influential jazz recordings, and they sent ripples of change throughout American music in the 20th century.

As a music lover and a DJ, they're timeless sounds that visit me often, popping up in the hot summertime or when I

accidentally blow into an empty beer bottle. It's a rhythm that comes and goes often, like a passing

breeze. But this time around, I just couldn't shake watermelon man.

Music It all started when I traveled to Chicago in 2023. I was on the heels of reporting an audio folk story about the Black Republican Cherry, and I was in the Windy City for the

James Beard Media Awards.

My entire experience chasing the story of these cherries affirmed my belief in the power of

storytelling. I developed a deep awareness that folk stories hold our history and reveal our

shared humanity.

Music our history and reveal our shared humanity. I was deep in my feelings when I went to Chicago.

While I was in town, I paid a visit to my long-distance cousins who live on the south side.

My Chicago family hadn't seen me since I was a little girl they called Button Nose,

and they wanted to host me and celebrate the nomination of my fruit story.

I went over to my cousin, Shiree Troxler's house, where all my cousins

gathered, and while catching up over cake and mimosas, we captivated each other with fruitful

fascinations. Shiree shared that during the long and brutal Chicago winters, she looked forward

to the summertime when the family could get

together and enjoy a refreshing watermelon. Here's how she recounted it recently.

...