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With a career that spans over four decades and 50 recordings, John Abercrombie is an established master of the jazz guitar. He says his new CD, The Third Quartet has the sound of 20th century classical music.

After 20 years and 11 albums, the Cowboy Junkies are looking inward. Their latest album focuses on the big events in their lives over the years — marriage, settling down and starting families of their own.

Writing "N.Y. Doll" from the perspective of a late New York Dolls bassist, Robyn Hitchcock opts not to copy the Dolls' pre-punk strut and roar. Instead, he sticks to what he knows, slowly stretching the guitar jangle until it ripples and pulses with the hum of psychedelia.

Much of Peder's music sounds like the eccentric score for an independent movie: On "Would You," the flat, plucked-out notes and ghostly piano sound like they await a Tom Waits vocal. Instead, Nino Moschella surfaces, his vocals bringing the longing in Peder's music out of the abstract.

Ola Podrida's lazily majestic "Jordanna" builds slowly, as bandleader David Wingo carefully engineers the placement of each individual element. People and scenes float in and out of focus, lending the song the feel of a scrapbook.

A new collection from Smithsonian Folkways brings together performances by Woody Guthrie, Pete Seeger, Leadbelly and other artists. The simple theme: money — fortunes made, fortunes lost and fortunes desired.

Finn has been writing charming, piano-driven pop and rock music for nearly three decades, both as a solo act and as leader of the new-wave/art-rock band Split Enz. Finn performs a concert from WXPN and World Cafe Live in Philadelphia.

Lap-steel guitar and hip-hop beats don't often mix, but Slo-Mo brings them together, straddling the lines separating hip-hop, Americana, folk and pop, with catchy hooks and breezy grooves. Slo-Mo performs a concert from WXPN and World Cafe Live in Philadelphia.

On "To Love Someone," the obscure Chicago group gives a sweet soul performance that easily holds its own next to anything other local groups (like the Impressions or Dells) could boast. Delivered in a striking falsetto, the truism "It's no good to love someone who don't love you" oozes heartache.

Amy LaVere's cathartic twang draws from influences as varied as Billie Holliday, Leonard Cohen, Joni Mitchell and Dolly Parton. Anchors & Anvils expands on the sounds and themes of her debut, while continuing to demonstrate her talent for luminous, accessible songcraft.