Music Reviews

Eleven-year-old Jaron "Bear" Williams practices trumpet before marching in his first Mardi Gras season. The Whole Gritty City follows young student marching bands as they prepare for coveted spots in the New Orleans parade.

Arts

In 'Whole Gritty City,' Marching Bands Vie For Coveted Mardi Gras Spots

4:51pm February 13, 2014

by David Bianculli

"New Orleans buries too many of its young," Wynton Marsalis says in the documentary's introduction. The Whole Gritty City, airing Saturday on CBS, follows young students who take refuge in New Orleans marching bands.

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Album Review: 'Sun Structures,' By Temples

8:00pm February 12, 2014

by Tom Moon

Listening to Temples, a four-piece band from England, one might be reminded of another British iconic band — The Beatles. But on their debut album, Sun Structures, the group does not create copycat music. Critic Tom Moon says the Fab Four's inspiration lives on in surprisingly creative ways in the music of Temples.

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Music & Culture

In Session: Frank Wess' 'Magic 201' Offers One Last Lesson

12:35pm February 12, 2014

by Kevin Whitehead

There's something tender and specific about the ways elders like Frank Wess shaped their notes.

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Music & Culture

Hangin' Tuff: Eric Church Takes A Chance On 'The Outsiders'

1:41pm February 10, 2014

by Ken Tucker

Church uses the power he's accrued from hit records to make exactly the kind of album he wants.

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Music & Culture

Before He Joined Congress, A South African Janitor's Disco Past

5:12pm February 06, 2014

by Milo Miles

Penny Penny put down his broom and picked up a mic for his 1994 debut, now reissued.

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Music & Culture

Too Much Of A Good Thing? Jane Ira Bloom's Beautiful Ballads

4:08pm January 31, 2014

by Kevin Whitehead

On Sixteen Sunsets, the soprano saxophonist varies and honors melody like Billie Holiday.

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Music & Culture

Don't Pigeonhole Me, Bro: New Country Albums On The Borderline

4:20pm January 29, 2014

by Ken Tucker

Both Jon Pardi and Jason Eady have to confront the dilemma of all young country musicians: how to navigate the pop current that keeps country music commercially viable while connecting to a past that fewer and fewer listeners are aware of.

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Music & Culture

On 'Hard Working Americans,' Songs For The Ordinary Joe

4:39pm January 23, 2014

by Ken Tucker

Todd Snider, Widespread Panic's Dave Schools and Duane Trucks perform in a new band that specializes in covering working-class songs.

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Linnea Olsson's debut album is called Ah!

Music & Culture

A Gifted Cellist Sails Beyond Sweden, Across 'Fields Of Love'

8:01pm January 22, 2014

by NPR Staff

Linnea Olsson grew up listening to ABBA and Bjork, but her debut album, Ah!, is a creation all her own. Her music is largely based in improvisation, with lyrics that resemble fanciful fairy tales.

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Music & Culture

Lafayette Gilchrist: An Old Soul, At Ease In A Modern World

1:57pm January 20, 2014

by Kevin Whitehead

On Gilchrist's The View From Here, go-go dance beats inform his piano the same way freight-train boogie-woogie does.

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