Music Interviews

Ambrose Akinmusire's latest album is the imagined savior is far easier to paint.

Music & Culture

Ambrose Akinmusire: 'Music Can Tell You What It Wants To Be'

11:02am March 18, 2014

by NPR Staff

One of the most talked-about names in jazz, the 32-year-old trumpeter is more auteur than star. In an extended interview, he explains why it's crucial to let his collaborators think for themselves.

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Music & Culture

A Fresh Vocalist From The Same School As Adele, Winehouse

11:32am March 15, 2014

Zara McFarlane is a young jazz singer from the U.K. who has been compared to Nina Simone. NPR's Jacki Lyden speaks with Zara about her unusual voice technique.

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Music & Culture

Rapper, Mother, Superstar: Ana Tijoux Finds Her Words

6:33pm March 14, 2014

In her latest album, French-Chilean rapper Ana Tijoux finds inspiration in the birth of her child and the complexities of womanhood. She shares her thoughts on making music that's universal.

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Music & Culture

Thundercat On Making Music Outside The Lines

7:41pm February 24, 2014

by Frannie Kelley

Session musician Stephen Bruner has played bass in other people's bands for more than a decade. He can play metal, R&B, hip-hop, jazz. With his second album, he's stepping to the front of the stage.

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Members of The Beatles play in the snow outside Washington, D.C.'s Coliseum where they were scheduled to perform before a sell-out audience in 1964.

Music & Culture

Fresh Air Celebrates The 50th Anniversary Of The Beatles' Arrival

3:33pm February 07, 2014

On Feb. 7, 1964, the Beatles touched down at JFK airport. To mark the day, we'll listen back to a 1995 interview with Ringo Starr and a 2001 interview with Paul McCartney.

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Music & Culture

Pete Seeger Remembers Guthrie, Hopping Trains And Sharing Songs

2:48pm January 28, 2014

Seeger believed songs were a way of binding people to a cause. He talks about fellow folk music icon Woody Guthrie and jumping railroad cars in an archival interview from 1985.

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In spite of the robotic persona they've cultivated for years, Thomas Bangalter and Guy-Manuel de Homem-Christo elected to make the latest Daft Punk album in a real studio, with real musicians.

Music & Culture

Daft Punk On 'The Soul That A Musician Can Bring'

12:00pm January 27, 2014

by NPR Staff

In spite of the robotic persona they've cultivated for years, Thomas Bangalter and Guy-Manuel de Homem-Christo elected to make their new album, Random Access Memories, in a real studio, with real musicians. Hear the elusive electronic duo in conversation with All Things Considered's Audie Cornish.

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David Crosby's new solo album, his first such release in two decades, is called Croz.

Music & Culture

David Crosby: 'Serve The Song,' Not The Self

6:20pm January 26, 2014

by NPR Staff

A prolific collaborator, Crosby says a good song is better off shared than strategically set aside. His new solo studio album, Croz, is his first such release in two decades.

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Choreographer Bill T. Jones at an appearance earlier this year.

Music & Culture

Schubert's 'Winterreise' Paints Bleak Landscape For Bill T. Jones

7:55pm January 21, 2014

by NPR Staff

The choreographer and dancer says that music "helps us bear the pain through sheer beauty and intensity."

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David Dondero performs at D.G.'s Tap House in Ames, Iowa.

Music & Culture

'Made For This': The Rootless Life Of A Roving Musician

11:35am January 18, 2014

by Clay Masters

Guitarist and songwriter David Dondero has been touring the world and putting out records for nearly two decades. He's a favorite among critics and other musicians, but he's barely making a living — and he seems fine with that.

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