Juan-Carlos Formell On JazzSet
Formell performs epic music and poetry, magical and real, about the Afro-Caribbean experience.
Music
How Musicians Helped Integrate The Silver Screen
America's first Freedom Riders may well have been the black musicians who, in the '30s and '40s, broke ground in Hollywood. Those could have been milestone moments, but the industry responded to provincial concerns and allowed Jim Crow markets to cut out integrated scenes.
A Veteran's Piercing True Story Leaps From Page To Stage
Iraq vet Brian Castner wrote a memoir of post-traumatic stress disorder and a difficult homecoming. His book, The Long Walk, got good reviews. But Castner never expected that it would get turned into an opera in New York City.
Guy Clark, Music's Master Craftsman, On Making Songs Last
A friend and inspiration to the likes of Townes Van Zandt, Lyle Lovett and Emmylou Harris, Clark creates songs with the same precision and attention to detail he uses when he's building guitars. NPR's Melissa Block visits the songwriting legend at his home in Nashville,n Tenn.
Carline Ray: A Pioneer For Women In Jazz Dies At 88
A pioneering musician, and the mother of jazz singer Catherine Russell, Carline Ray died July 18. In the 1940s, Ray found a home in the all-female band The International Sweethearts of Rhythm as a guitarist and vocalist. In 2012, Fresh Air spoke with Russell about her mother.
Encore: The Many Musical Careers Of Katie Crutchfield
Alabama-born singer-songwriter Katie Crutchfield broke through to a bigger audience last year by releasing an aching, bare-bones solo album. Her follow-up album came out in March.
Hüsker Dü's Timekeeper Finds A Lost Paradise
Grant Hart has had an enigmatic career since his days drumming for the influential punk trio. His latest project is an ambitious double album, based on an unpublished work by his friend, the late William S. Burroughs.
A Secret Folk Music Holds Firm In China's Badlands
One of China's hidden musical gems is to be found in the country's hardscrabble northwest, where farmers and the descendents of river boatmen belt out lusty, foot-stomping, knee-slapping folk songs.
Heavy Rotation: 10 Songs Public Radio Can't Stop Playing
Download new music from EDM star Pretty Lights, Bon Iver side project The Shouting Matches, hip-hop recluse Quasimoto, teenage sensation Lorde and many more.
Sylvester: 'Mighty Real' Disco Star Deserves A Modern Spotlight
A new collection of disco numbers, Mighty Real: Greatest Dance Hits, showcases the career of Sylvester. Music critic Milo Miles argues that Sylvester — an openly gay, superstar costume-wearer from the start — was not only a pioneer, but also someone with whom the times have finally caught up.