Music

Windy Farrell is a jazz singer from California.

It Don't Mean A Thing If It Ain't Got That Senegalese Swing

8:39am March 27, 2016

by Ofeibea Quist-Arcton

As a teenager in Senegal, Amadou Koly Niang fell in love with jazz. Over 40 years later, he's started a jazz festival to bring the music to his countrymen — with a Senegalese twist, of course.

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Jazz pianist Erroll Garner was well-loved in the 1950s and '60s for his energetic playing. Thanks to the Erroll Garner Jazz Project, much of his music is being restored.

Music & Culture

The Erroll Garner Jazz Project Restores A 'Profound Cultural Gift'

8:38am March 27, 2016

by Tom Vitale

"We came together to invigorate Erroll's musical legacy," says Susan Greenberg, who inherited Garner's archive. The project will restore and release unheard material from the pianist and composer.

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Don Cheadle stars as Miles Davis in the film Miles Ahead, which he also wrote, produced and directed.

Music & Culture

What Does Genius Look Like?

9:26pm March 26, 2016

by NPR Staff

Cheadle wrote, directed and stars in the new film Miles Ahead, which sees a late-career Miles Davis struggles to reconnect with his muse. Read his extended conversation with Michel Martin.

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Music & Culture

Music Streaming Takes Dominant Role In Industry

6:35pm March 26, 2016

by Anastasia Tsioulcas

The latest numbers from the Recording Industry Association of America show that streaming music brought in more money than digital downloads and physical releases for the first time last year.

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Mick Jagger performs at Ciudad Deportiva in Havana, Cuba, on March 25, 2016.

The Rolling Stones Rock Cuba

5:38pm March 26, 2016

by James Doubek

Rock 'n' roll was banned for decades in Cuba. But in a sign of changing times, the legendary band played a two-hour show for hundreds of thousands in Havana.

In his barn, Bertoia would play his sculptures for small invited audiences, or by himself late at night. His sculptures are in the barn where he left them when he died in 1978.

Sound Sculptor Harry Bertoia Created Musical, Meditative Art

10:48am March 26, 2016

by Joel Rose

Designer and sculptor Harry Bertoia spent the final decades of his life creating mesmerizing "sonambient" music out of big metal objects. An 11-CD collection of his recordings has just been reissued.

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The Camerata Romeu rehearses at the Basilica of St. Francis of Assisi in Havana in November 2015.

Music & Culture

Meet Cuba's All-Female Orchestra

10:37am March 26, 2016

by Anastasia Tsioulcas

Forget the stereotypes of machismo and mambo. Havana's all-female string orchestra, the Camerata Romeu, offers a completely different Cuban musical experience.

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Lucius performs on the SXSW 2016 Radio Day Stage.

Music & Culture

Watch Lucius Perform At SXSW

9:00am March 26, 2016

by Bruce Warren

Watch the Brooklyn band play new songs from Good Grief at the 2016 Radio Day Stage in Austin.

The Rolling Stones To Play First Concert In Havana

4:26pm March 25, 2016

A historic week in Cuba will be capped by yet another historic visit to the island. The Rolling Stones will play in Havana for the first time ever.

Music & Culture

Songs We Love: The Field, 'Reflecting Lights'

3:49pm March 25, 2016

by Piotr Orlov

On the closing track from his new album, The Follower, shoegaze techno producer Axel Willner deviates from the romantic trance norm and lets his subconscious gaze wander.