Music Reviews

Jazz saxophonist Coleman, who is almost 85, rarely makes records any more. In New Vocabulary, he joins up trumpet and drums — and peppers his solos with his signature catchy and earthy pet phrases.

The singer-songwriter usually follows in the story-song tradition of his forebears Townes Van Zant and Guy Clark. But in Happy Prisoner he brings enthusiastic curiosity to covers of bluegrass greats.

Chris Stein's photos in Me, Blondie and the Advent of Punk Rock document a city that is barely recognizable today.

Bob Dylan's new album casts the folk icon in an unusual role: Shadows in the Night features 10 songs previously recorded by Frank Sinatra.

Named after the mosquito-borne disease, LA's band Dengue Fever combines psychedelic rock with Cambodian pop. For over a decade, the six member band have managed to stay relevant by sticking to this offbeat idea and introducing new sounds.

Womack, who had the hit "I Hope You Dance," hasn't released a new album since 2008. The sound of her new album The Way I'm Livin' is different from the country music dominating the industry.

On his new album, Lily-O, the folk musician approaches the genre with a sense of adventure, not reverence. In the process, he makes parts of our musical past viscerally present to us.

The Metropolitan Opera will be celebrating New Year's Eve with Franz Lehar's The Merry Widow in a new production starring soprano Fleming. But its greatest incarnations have been on film.

Steven Ellison has built an impressive reputation among critics and fans in the know for mixing hip hop, jazz and electronica into something original. But even for the aforementioned followers, the new album from Ellison — better-known as Flying Lotus — is a surprise. It's all about death, not as something to be mourned but as a journey to be anticipated.

Hall and Haden performed as a duo at a concert in Montreal in 1990. Plans to release the album, Charlie Haden - Jim Hall, were in place before both artists passed away within the last year.