Search results for

With so much emphasis on virtuosity in jazz, artists who pare their musical arsenals down to the soul-baring essentials usually prove the most alluring. Such is the case with Gretchen Parlato, who taps into Wayne Shorter's adventurism with her thoughtful lyrics, which touch on the joys of inward search.

Varttina features three female singers, six male acoustic musicians and lyrics rooted in ancient poems from Finland's Karelia region. Mari Kaasinen and Janne Lappalainen tell Liane Hansen about their music and their tenth CD, Miero.

The audaciously offbeat New York trio Yeah Yeah Yeahs has just released what some critics are calling the year’s best rock album. Hear the band in a full concert, recorded live from Washington, D.C.

While countless bands have tried to claim the throne left vacant by The Grateful Dead, Widespread Panic has made a strong case for itself. Its rootsy Southern jam-rock, informed by jazz and blues idioms, lends it credibility.

Lead singer and songwriter for The Kinks, Ray Davies started The Kinks in 1964 with his brother, Dave. They are said to be the pioneers of the rowdy garage band genre of rock music. Davies is now 61 and on tour for his first solo album, Other People’s Lives.

Ska Cubano's music merges Jamaican ska and Cuban mambo and son. Born from a "what-if" that erases the 1959 Cuban revolution, the music reimagines musical history.

After more than 40 years as the Kinks' lead singer and primary songwriter, Ray Davies has released his first solo studio recording, Other People's Lives. Despite the album's title, the music is really about him. The 61-year-old says the characters that he sings and writes about are a reflection of who he is.

At Sunday's Tony Awards, fans will focus on actors, writers, directors and designers. But hundreds of others, whose names are less prominently displayed on the playbill, are a crucial part of the Broadway scene.

Cellist Jan Vogler and violinist Mira Wang are accomplished soloists. And both are married — to each other. They discuss the challenges of juggling independent careers, marriage and parenthood. They also perform three selections.

The Minus 5 began in 1993 as an offshoot of Scott McCaughey's band Young Fresh Fellows. Now, its has released a mature alternative rock record that is slightly less bubbly than previous Minus 5 output, but still diverse and engaging.