Music Interviews

Prince performs in New York in 1981, on tour behind his third album, Dirty Mind.

'His Music Does The Talking': Manager Owen Husney On Prince's Legacy

8:37pm April 21, 2016

by NPR Staff

"I saw who he was, and there was a mystery about him even then," says Husney, who managed Prince at the very beginning of his career. The iconic musician died Thursday at 57.

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Jack DeJohnette (center) is pictured with Ravi Coltrane and Matt Garrison, who join him on the new album In Movement.

Music & Culture

Jack DeJohnette: A Drummer Who Stays 'In Movement' By Keeping Good Company

4:00pm April 21, 2016

by Robert Siegel

DeJohnette has been playing jazz long enough to have jammed with two generations of Coltranes. He speaks with Robert Siegel about staying fresh after 50 years behind the kit.

The Black Lillies' latest album is called Hard to Please.

Music & Culture

The Appalachian Inspiration Of The Black Lillies

2:27pm April 21, 2016

by NPR Staff

The Knoxville band's regional roots are at the center of its sound. Members Cruz Contreras and Trisha Gene Brady explain how the mountains inspire their music.

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Woods' new album, City Sun Eater In The River Of Light, is out now.

Music & Culture

How The Music Of Woods Comes Together

5:38am April 20, 2016

by NPR Staff

Singer-guitarist Jeremy Earl talks through the influences behind one song on the psychedelic folk band's latest album, City Sun Eater In The River Of Light.

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Jazz artist Diana Panton's new album, I Believe In Little Things, is her first made for children.

Music & Culture

In Children's Music, Diana Panton Finds A Few Lessons For Adults

6:05pm April 19, 2016

by NPR Staff

"The way a child thinks is a good model for us sometimes," Panton says. Though I Believe In Little Things is her first album for kids, the jazz musician says she hardly changed her approach.

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Music & Culture

Sense Of Place North Carolina: Squirrel Nut Zippers

2:54pm April 19, 2016

Hear a 1996 session featuring the Chapel Hill swing-revival band, which had a huge hit with "Hell."

James Brown performs at the Philharmonie in Cologne, Germany in 2003.

The Lonely Side Of James Brown

5:58am April 19, 2016

by NPR Staff

When James McBride, a National Book Award winner for his fiction, decided to write an entire book about James Brown, he wanted to push beyond the hype and racism he says haunts Brown's legacy.

Henry Threadgill calls his Pulitzer-winning piece, In for a Penny, In for a Pound, "an epic."

Music & Culture

Henry Threadgill Wins Music Pulitzer For 'In For A Penny, In For A Pound'

9:02pm April 18, 2016

by Patrick Jarenwattananon

The saxophonist, flutist and beyond-jazz composer says the epic work frees up a method he'd developed over 15 years with his working ensemble Zooid.

Andrew Bird's new album, Are You Serious, is out now.

Music & Culture

On Andrew Bird's Latest, Real Life Takes The Reins

5:15pm April 17, 2016

by NPR Staff

"All my songs are personal on some level; it's just a matter of how much that personal thing is buried." Bird says that on the new album Are You Serious, his private world has bubbled to the surface.

My bubba is Guðbjörg "Bubba" Tómasdóttir and My Larsdotter.

Music & Culture

On 'Big Bad Good,' My Bubba Finds A Way To Be Quiet In A Loud World

8:45am April 16, 2016

by NPR Staff

"We wanted to explore that quality of a newly born song and try to catch it," My Larsdotter says of the new album, which blends the duo's Scandinavian heritage with bluegrass, country and blues.

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