Search results for

Legendary soul singer Smokey Robinson talks with Farai Chideya about his new album, a collection of standard jazz tunes from his childhood.

Three years ago Alejandro Escovedo collapsed on stage during a performance. By all rights, the Texas-based singer-songwriter shouldn't be here. But he's back on the road, and speaks with NPR about illness, healing and his latest album, The Boxing Mirror.

Many contemporary listeners know Ry Cooder as the producer and guitarist behind Buena Vista Social Club, the 1997 project that revived the careers of long-forgotten Cuban ballad singers. Lost among his early works is an eclectic little under-loved gem: Boomer's Story.

Scottish sextet Camera Obscura crafts delicate, shimmering indie-pop that rewards repeated listens. Featuring the airy vocals and literate lyrics of Tracyanne Campbell, the songs convey a deceptive simplicity that belies their poignancy.

On "Come Out," tightly sequenced sounds and a rigid snare-drum beat provide a sturdy base over which 120 Days' members layer groaning drones, phased melodies and Adne Meisfjord's snotty vocals. The Oslo band eschews guitars on this nine-minute single, but it puts the "rock" in synth-rock.

From the final round of this year's JoAnn Falletta International Guitar Competition, runner-up Masao Tanibe performs the popular "Concierto de Aranjuez" by Joaquin Rodrigo. Falletta leads the Buffalo Philharmonic, in concert at Kleinhans Music Hall in Buffalo.

All week long, we've been telling tall tales from the concert hall. Today, we stop by Verizon Hall in Philadelphia to hear about a mishap involving cellist Yo-Yo Ma and a performance of the Beethoven Triple Concerto. And Dame Joan Sutherland talks about her reaction to an unusual concert disruption.

If You Got to Ask, You Ain't Got It is Sony Legacy's new 3-CD set of jazz-great Fats Waller's best music. Historians and music critics say no one has ever quite been able to fill Waller's shoes since his death in 1943.

The English alt-rock band Starsailor has released three albums to widespread hype and critical acclaim, but it's also had a tricky time staying in the spotlight. The new On the Outside finds Starsailor sounding refreshed after a period out of the limelight, while retaining the depth of emotion that attracted it so much attention in the first place.

Gladys Knight's latest CD is a collection of standards called Before Me. On the disc, Knight pays tribute to the women she looked up to as a young performer with her own versions of the songs they made famous.