Box Set Looks Back On Pioneering '5' Royales
With the release of the 131-track collection Soul and Swagger: The Complete "5" Royales, the group has finally gotten the recognition they deserve.
Music
In 10 Songs, A Pair Of Brothers Beat Tracks Across History
Ethan Johns' sophomore album, The Reckoning, follows the tale of two brothers as they travel across the 1850s American frontier.
Two Tenors Inspired By A Saxophone Colossus
Fresh Air critic Kevin Whitehead reviews two albums by Thelonious Monk jazz competition winners: Melissa Aldana and Joshua Redman.
Album Review: 'Beware The Fetish'
Fifteen different musicians from five different ethnic groups have gathered to create music under the name Kasai Allstars. Banning Eyre reviews Beware the Fetish, the latest album from the collective, which hails from the Democratic Republic of Congo.
At 74, Outlaw Billy Joe Shaver Is Still An Outlier
Billie Joe Shaver has just released his first new studio album in six years, called Long in the Tooth.
Fifty Years Of 'Farmer John': A Hit That Opened The Door For Chicano Rock
Before the summer of 1964, major labels had little interest in Mexican-American bands. Then came The Premiers.
'Soft Suicide' And Other Southern Troubles In 'Roses'
Christopher Denny's music can be described as Arkansas soul. He talks with NPR's Lourdes Garcia-Navarro about a new album that fuses rock, folk and gospel, called If the Roses Don't Kill Us.
In Hip-Hop, Collaboration Can Lead To Greater Success
More and more hip-hop artists are rising to fame with the support and mentorship of hip-hop collectives. Ozy.com's Melissa Pandika explains that if you want to be a brand, it helps to have a team.
Jaki Byard, A Post-Bebop Pianist Who Was A Master Of Stride Piano
On The Late Show, a set of previously unheard solo music from 1979, the jazz pianist employs techniques like suspenseful dropouts. He had a rare ability to sound archaic — and way ahead of his time.
A Label Paramount To Early Blues And Jazz
Between 1917 and 1932, the label released thousands of records. Jack White's Third Man Records has joined with the reissue label Revenant to release the first of two packages documenting Paramount.