Concerts

It's astonishing to watch Sultana's fluidity on her instrument, like a natural extension of her body. She also plays bass, saxophone, trumpet, flute and more, but kept it "simple" for the Tiny Desk.

Monday night's presentation of the 2017 NEA Jazz Masters fellowships, coming under the shadow of a proposed presidential budget that would eliminate the NEA outright, mixed politics with grace.

Dee Dee Bridgewater, Dr. Lonnie Smith, Dave Holland, Dick Hyman and Ira Gitler are recipients of the Jazz Masters award — the highest honor the U.S gives to a jazz musician or advocate.

The power of language to penetrate a difficult subject, and the power of performance to share that language, are the gifts Noname brought to the Tiny Desk.

Hana Elion and JJ Mitchell's vibrant vocal harmonies are set against an electronic backdrop that feels spacious and refreshing.

Lydia Ainsworth, Phoebe Bridgers, L.A. Salami, Valerie June, Let's Eat Grandma and others sing us quiet songs on hotel beds and in art installations during SXSW.

In the Optic Obscura installation at SXSW, Hakim sings some psychedelic soul music for outer-space performed in a room that looks like outer-space.

This fierce and lyrical guitar player writes playful instrumental music led by hooky vocals — but there is no voice, just the human-like twang of a glass slide on a guitar.

Vocalist and producer Georgia Anne Muldrow's interpretive tribute to Charles Mingus aligns with the Afrocentric current that flows through underground hip-hop, avant-R&B and psychedelic soul.

Surrounded by long-hanging optical fibers, Ainsworth sings a stripped-down version of the slow-burning "Afterglow" accompanied only by an upright bass and light percussion.