Music

Jim Cummins' photo of Jimi Hendrix performing at Madison Square Garden in 1969 was used by Life magazine the following year for the guitarist's obituary.

The Forgotten Pictures Of A Music Photography Pioneer

8:20pm May 12, 2014

by Andrea Shea

Jim Cummins was one of the few African-American photographers working in superstar rock, shooting everyone from Jimi Hendrix to Sonny & Cher. Along the way, he forgot about more than 2,500 negatives.

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Music & Culture

Atmosphere's Seventh Album: Representing 'Southsiders'

9:03pm May 11, 2014

Hip-hop pair Atmosphere has a new album out called Southsiders. NPR's Arun Rath talks with MC Sean Daley, aka Slug, who's led the duo for nearly 20 years.

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Rodrigo Y Gabriela's latest album is 9 Dead Alive.

Music & Culture

In The Studio With Rodrigo Y Gabriela

5:05pm May 11, 2014

by NPR Staff

The Mexican-born, metal-gone-acoustic duo speaks with NPR's Arun Rath and performs songs from the new album 9 Dead Alive.

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Sam Baker's new album is titled Say Grace.

Music & Culture

Sam Baker: Finding Grace In The Wake Of Destruction

1:34pm May 06, 2014

In 1986, a bomb planted by the Peruvian terrorist group Shining Path exploded in the luggage rack above Sam Baker. Somehow, during his long recovery, songs focused on empathy started coming to him.

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Sri Lankan Opera Singer Followed Her Dream To American Stage

12:32pm May 06, 2014

A Sri Lankan soprano is shattering stereotypes. Tharanga Goonetilleke tells NPR's Scott Simon about being an opera singer and the first Sri Lankan woman accepted to The Juilliard School.

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Music & Culture

Composer Elliot Goldenthal's New Work In An Odd Key

12:31pm May 06, 2014

NPR's Arun Rath speaks with composer Elliot Goldenthal about the upcoming world premiere of his "Symphony in G-sharp Minor," and some of his recent work in classical and film music.

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Music & Culture

tUnE-yArDs: Ain't Nothing Like The Real Thing

1:43pm May 05, 2014

by Ken Tucker

On Nikki Nack, Merrill Garbus worries over the notion that she's just an accumulation of her influences, and she fights back wonderfully.

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"Jazz improvisation is supposed to be the highest form of communication," Sonny Rollins says, "and getting that to the people is our job as musicians."

Music & Culture

Sonny Rollins: 'You Can't Think And Play At The Same Time'

6:27pm May 03, 2014

by NPR Staff

"Jazz improvisation is supposed to be the highest form of communication," says the 83-year-old sax legend, who is about to release the third volume in his prized Road Shows series.

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Music & Culture

The Animals: The British Invasion That Wasn't

2:35pm May 01, 2014

by Ed Ward

Largely ignored today, the rough-and-tumble quintet from Newcastle-Upon-Tyne gets reassessed in a new box set, titled The Mickie Most Years & More.

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Music & Culture

Album Review: 'Everyday Robots'

2:28pm May 01, 2014

by Tom Moon

Tom Moon reviews the solo album by Blur and Gorillaz frontman, Damon Albarn. The new album, called Everyday Robots, examines the human toll of our ever-present technology.

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