Feeling the Blues of the World
Nuru Kane arrives at his blues by way of Malian traditions, and blends it with his roots in Senegal, the traditions of the Gnawa people and his life in France. Playing guitar and the traditional Gumbiri three-stringed bass, he creates a musical journey that covers centuries, continents and many ways of thinking.
Read full story
Evan Dando and The Dears in Concert
A master of warm and colorful power-pop, Evan Dando recently re-formed his celebrated band The Lemonheads to record a new self-titled album. Dando performs a solo set live from WXPN and World Cafe Live, along with an appearance by the Canadian pop-rock band The Dears.
Read full story
Breaking Ground on a Modern Message Song
Years after breaking through as one of the most innovative and musically gifted acts in hip-hop, The Roots’ members return with Game Theory, another groundbreaking collection of stellar and often political material.
Read full story
Starsailor: A Flair for Graceful Drama
The English alt-rock band Starsailor has released three albums to widespread hype and critical acclaim, but it’s also had a tricky time staying in the spotlight. The new On the Outside finds Starsailor sounding refreshed after a period out of the limelight, while retaining the depth of emotion that attracted it so much attention in the first place.
Read full story
Shostakovich at 100: String Quartets
All week, Performance Today celebrates the centenary of Russian composer Dmitri Shostakovich. Today, cellist David Finckel of the Emerson Quartet helps look at Shostakovich’s set of 15 string quartets, often called the finest set in the repertoire after Beethoven’s.
Read full story
In the Hands of a Master, the Ukulele Is No Toy
Think the ukulele is just a cheap, plastic toy to be played under a palm tree? One listen to Jake Shimabukuro and you’ll change your mind. The Hawaiian-born virtuoso visits NPR to show what the tiny instrument can do.
Read full story
Fats Waller’s Playful Jazz Piano Legacy
Fats Waller was often dubbed the “clown prince” of jazz who delighted crowds with his playful stage antics — a reputation that overshadowed his gifts as a musician and songwriter. A new CD collection of his recordings focuses on the music behind the merriment.
Read full story
A Soul-Singing Dynamo Gets Her Day
Every month seems to bring another rediscovered talent from the golden age of soul music — someone who was little more than a footnote during the outbreak of amazingness that distinguishes that fertile era. What makes Lorraine Ellison’s case puzzling is the remarkable consistency of her work.
Read full story
Jazz and Pop Get Languid and Wistful
But “Like A Star” is a real find: Languid and wistful, mild in a weirdly appealing way, it’s a worshipful ode to a quarrelsome lover that’s meandering, tentative and hook-free. It shouldn’t sound nearly as good as it does, but Rae sells the song as if her life depended on it, uncovering new layers of longing and lust that probably weren’t on the page to begin with. As a songwriter, Rae isn’t fully developed, but as a rehabilitator of creaky jazz ballads, she’s already first-rate.
Read full story
Shoshakovich at 100: A Tormented Composer’s Lighter Side
A look at Dmitri Shostakovich’s lighter side, with comments from conductors Leon Botstein and Valery Gergiev, as well as music from the Iceland Symphony Orchestra, performing the Second Jazz Suite. Rumon Gamba leads the performance, in concert in Reykjavik.
Read full story