Music

Cedric Mangum (left) leads a shout band as a junior member looks on.

Music & Culture

Shout Bands Stir Up Tubular Fervor In Charlotte

1:42pm August 02, 2013

by John Burnett

In the Bible, Psalm 150 tells the faithful to praise the Lord with trumpet, harp, tambourine, stringed instrument and cymbal. In the United House of Prayer for All People, it's all about the trombones. No one knows exactly how trombones ended up in church, but it's an intensely vocal sound.

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The Wu-Tang Clan. Clockwise from left: Ol' Dirty Bastard, the GZA, the RZA, Inspectah Deck, Masta Killa, Raekwon and Ghostface Killah. Center, from left, Method Man and U-God.

Music & Culture

The Wu-Tang Clan's 20-Year Plan

2:26pm July 31, 2013

by Frannie Kelley

The group's 1993 debut was the opening shot of an audacious plan to open the music industry to hip-hop made way outside the mainstream.

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Adrian Younge (left) and Ghostface onstage at the Seattle stop of their tour last week.

Music & Culture

The Ghostface Killah Rises Again

2:26pm July 31, 2013

by Frannie Kelley

A high-concept collaborative album by a veteran rapper and a film composer knits together hip-hop and soul music.

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Dr. Dre (right) with Snoop Dogg, who played a starring role on Dre's The Chronic. Here they pose after a 1993 performance in Chicago.

Music & Culture

'The Chronic' 20 Years Later: An Audio Document Of The L.A. Riots

2:25pm July 31, 2013

by Frannie Kelley

Our series about rap's greatest year begins with the album that drew directly on cultural and social upheaval to make one of the most popular rap albums of all time.

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Maxwell's, in Hoboken, N.J., hosted Bruce Springsteen, Nirvana and the Replacements, to name a few.

Music & Culture

Maxwell's, The Beloved New Jersey Venue, Closes

5:32pm July 30, 2013

by Joel Rose

The club, which booked bands like R.E.M., the Replacements and Yo La Tengo before and after they hit the big time, is shutting down while "people still love us," says an owner.

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George Reid and Aluna Francis have become darlings of the European music festival circuit without releasing an album. Body Talk, their full-length debut as AlunaGeorge, is out Monday.

Music & Culture

AlunaGeorge Finds A Natural Groove, By Accident

3:54pm July 30, 2013

by NPR Staff

George Reid and Aluna Francis have become darlings of the European festival circuit, making soulful, beat-savvy music as AlunaGeorge. The two musicians first met to write material for Francis' old band, but soon found they had a chemistry all their own.

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Clarinetist Darryl Harper discovered jazz as a teenager in Philadelphia.

Music & Culture

'The Edenfred Files': Darryl Harper's Blues-Infused Jazz

3:41pm July 30, 2013

by Kevin Whitehead

On the clarinetist's latest album, the blues might be modernized or tweaked, but it's never far away. Fresh Air's jazz critic says The Edenfred Files is modest in a good way, like a musical chapbook or novella. The scale suits Harper's pointedly focused music.

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Thom Yorke of Radiohead and Atoms for Peace is one of many musicians concerned with Spotify's small royalty payments.

Music & Culture

Paying The Piper: Music Streaming Services In Perspective

4:31pm July 29, 2013

by NPR Staff

As more music becomes available for free online, concepts of music ownership start to break down. A musician, a songwriter and Spotify's director of Artist Services share their viewpoints on the ongoing controversy over royalty payments made by streaming services.

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Music & Culture

Piano Mastery, Trinidadian Trumpet, Singing Apes: New Jazz

10:26am July 29, 2013

by Patrick Jarenwattananon

This summer has seen plenty of worthwhile jazz, including a pianist who's been around since the '50s, a Caribbean jazzman, a band of deliberate melody, and a cover from The Jungle Book. Sample recordings from Harold Mabern, Etienne Charles, the band Black Host and Lauren Desberg.

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Juan-Carlos Formell and Johnny's Dream Club at the 2011 Monterey Jazz Festival.

Music & Culture

Juan-Carlos Formell On JazzSet

2:12pm July 25, 2013

Formell performs epic music and poetry, magical and real, about the Afro-Caribbean experience.

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