Music

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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When Gene Krupa's orchestra was cast in 1941's Ball of Fire, trumpeter Roy Eldridge's presence was not negotiable.

How Musicians Helped Integrate The Silver Screen

12:28pm July 25, 2013

by John McDonough

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.

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The Long Walk, Brian Castner's memoir of PTSD and a difficult homecoming, will soon be an opera.

A Veteran's Piercing True Story Leaps From Page To Stage

6:26pm July 23, 2013

by Quil Lawrence

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.

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Born in Texas and settled in Nashville, Tenn., Guy Clark has mentored generations of artists, including Rodney Crowell, Lyle Lovett and Steve Earle — all of whom cite his keen editing skills and prize his stamp of approval.

Music & Culture

Guy Clark, Music's Master Craftsman, On Making Songs Last

6:16pm July 23, 2013

by Melissa Block

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.

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Carline Ray, who sang with The International Sweethearts of Rhythm and Mary Lou Williams died on July 18 at the age of 88.

Carline Ray: A Pioneer For Women In Jazz Dies At 88

2:56pm July 23, 2013

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.

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Music & Culture

Encore: The Many Musical Careers Of Katie Crutchfield

8:04am July 23, 2013

by Daoud Tyler-Ameen

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.

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Grant Hart has had an enigmatic career since his days drumming with the influential punk trio Hüsker Dü.

Music & Culture

Hüsker Dü's Timekeeper Finds A Lost Paradise

5:58pm July 21, 2013

by NPR Staff

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.

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Zhang Junmin (second from right) and his band perform the Lao Qiang music special in northwest China's Shaanxi province. The character behind the stage means "drama"; Lao Qiang music used to accompany puppet plays and includes a strong storytelling compon

Music & Culture

A Secret Folk Music Holds Firm In China's Badlands

6:12pm July 19, 2013

by Anthony Kuhn

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.

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