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A veritable superstar in his native Nigeria, Femi Kuti is the standard bearer for Afro-beat, the blend of American jazz and funk with African percussion and vocals pioneered by his father, Fela Kuti in the 1970s. Hear Femi Kuti recorded live in concert from Washington, D.C.

Doe just released A Year in the Wilderness, and recently sat down in the studio to play a few of his new songs. In between performances, he talks about the mythic qualities of the American West, as well as the differences between song lyrics and poetry.

Violinist Anne-Sophie Mutter has been making her way through all of Mozart's major violin works. She stopped by the studio, with her longtime pianist and collaborator Lambert Orkis, to play selections from Mozart's Violin Sonatas.

Mando Diao departs from rock 'n' roll formula on "Good Morning, Herr Horst," adopting haunting chord progressions punctuated by klezmer rhythms. Below the song's whimsical melody and rhythm lies a dark message about the opportunities that come with squalor.

Dino Saluzzi, a master of Argentina's tango music, has been quietly building a legacy since the mid-1980s with his accordion-like bandoneon. Critic Tom Terell tells us about the man, the music and his latest CD, Ojos Negros.

How much of Bob Dylan's staying power comes from his signature craggy voice? And how much comes from the poetry of his songs? It can be hard to separate the two, so it's intriguing to hear his songs covered by the likes of Bryan Ferry.

Mitchell's work took an unexpected turn with Mingus, her streaky and often brilliant 1979 collaboration with jazz bassist Charles Mingus. After it, she sounded wiser and hipper, a jazz sophisticate whose melodies came bunched in waves and bursts of scat-singing capriciousness.

Prince caused a stir in the U.K. recently when he gave away nearly 3 million copies of his new album, Planet Earth, with a British newspaper. The album is now being released in the U.S.

JuJu B Solomon is a singer-songwriter and former textile export merchant living in India. Now back in the USA, he reflects on his time abroad as a newcomer, an outsider, and a witness. His songs document this passage from immigrant to returnee and the nebulous territory in between.

The muted beat that opens Rose Kemp's "Tiny Flower" is nothing but modern: It sounds like feet crunching in snow, but had it been mixed higher, it might have sounded like something unleashed by hip-hop producer Timbaland. Then, in swoops the voice.