Charlie Puth turned the Tiny Desk into a jazz club for four songs

Charlie Puth walked into the Tiny Desk on 4 August 2026 and made it a jazz club. NPR's Ashley Pointer, who produced the session, described him working less like a hitmaker and more like a bandleader, shaping dynamics in real time as he guided the players through each song.

We Don't Talk Anymore opened on a colourful vamp before unfolding into what Puth jokingly called the version he wishes had come out, trading the glossy pop production for richer harmony and room to breathe.

Attention followed, leaning into an early 1990s groove Puth traced to Michael Jackson, with the outro extended into a jam rather than cut where the record cuts it.

The biggest change was See You Again. Introducing it, Puth talked about how much of his music comes out of church. The arrangement that followed swelled into something close to worship music, a long way from the version that soundtracks the Furious 7 tribute to Paul Walker.

He closed with Changes from his most recent album, Whatever's Clever!. Across four songs the set made an argument about what he actually does: an artist deeply fluent in harmony, groove and collaboration, rather than a pop songwriter and producer alone.

The band was Darek Cobbs on keys as music director, Jan Ozveren on guitar, Brandon Brown on bass and Cedric Thompson on drums, with Olivia Tapia, Blakley and Lorea Turner on backing vocals. Other sets from the series in our coverage include Audrey Hobert and Flea with the Honora Band. More is on the pop hub.