Music

Music & Culture

Wadada Leo Smith Celebrates The Centennial Of America's National Parks

3:26pm October 17, 2016

by Kevin Whitehead

Five decades after Smith began recording, the trumpeter and composer is having his moment. Jazz critic Kevin Whitehead reviews America's National Parks, recorded by Smith's Golden Quintet.

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"A Song for You" was recorded at the sessions that produced Donny Hathaway's 1972 album Donny Hathaway Live, but it wasn't included on the original album. More than four decades later, it illustrates how Hathaway merged technique with pure emotion.

Music & Culture

One Transcendent Performance That Illustrates Donny Hathaway's Musical Genius

3:24pm October 17, 2016

by Emily Lordi

In an excerpt of a book dedicated to the classic soul album Donny Hathaway Live, author Emily Lordi looks at the ingredients that make Hathaway's cover of "A Song for You" such an achievement.

This week's mix includes the latest from Gigamesh.

Music & Culture

Metropolis: 10/15/16

11:59am October 17, 2016

Hear new tracks from Le Youth, Gigamesh, Gorgon City and more in this week's two-hour EDM mix from KCRW's Jason Bentley.

Dark Blue's new album, Start of the World, comes out Nov. 4.

Music & Culture

Songs We Love: Dark Blue, 'Bombs On The Beach'

11:46am October 17, 2016

by Maria Sherman

The Philly post-punk band's intimate story of war gets under the skin, cold and heavy.

Opera singer Joyce DiDonato created this video to go with her new album, In War and Peace: Harmony through Music.

Music & Culture

First Watch: Joyce DiDonato, 'Lascia ch'io pianga'

9:10am October 17, 2016

Opera star Joyce DiDonato does more than sing — she lends her voice to social causes. Watch her new video, a haunting depiction of a woman trapped in conflict.

LISTEN: Correspondent Don Gonyea's Campaign Homestretch Playlist

11:14am October 16, 2016

by Don Gonyea

To pass the time on the road, political correspondent Don Gonyea creates playlists curated to the story and state. With the campaign end drawing near, Don has his playlist for the final few weeks.

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Bon Iver performs in Saal 1 at the Funkhaus in Berlin during an unnamed festival dedicated to collaboration and creation of new music.

Music & Culture

Watching A Festival, And Its Music, Take Shape

8:00am October 16, 2016

by Laura Snapes

Earlier this month, musicians — invited by Bon Iver and The National — gathered at a former East German radio facility for an unconventional festival that pieced its story together as it went along.

Derek Brown Redefines The Notion Of A One-Man-Band On His New CD 'Beatbox Sax'

7:28am October 16, 2016

NPR's Mary Louise Kelly speaks with musician Derek Brown about his new album Beatbox Sax. Brown squeezes sounds out of his instrument that sound more like stand up bass, than saxophone.

Bob Dylan performed on the Late Show with David Letterman in 2015.

A Nobel In Literature For Bob Dylan, Whose Words Transcend Form

9:37pm October 15, 2016

by Scott Simon

When Bob Dylan won the Nobel Prize for Literature, many were surprised. But many novelists cheered, and performers of all kinds — from William Shatner to Kesha — have been inspired by Dylan's words.

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"I don't care about trying to show off," Devendra Banhart says, "and I don't care about presuming that there's such a thing as knowing a lot about music."

Music & Culture

Devendra Banhart On The Moment He Became A Songwriter

9:32pm October 15, 2016

by NPR Staff

He was nine, and his song horrified his family when he sang it for them. But the experience also showed the songwriter and musician what performance could make him feel.

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