Music & Culture

Cellist, conductor — and alleged billionaire — Sergei Roldugin (left) with Vladimir Putin at Russia's St. Petersburg Music House in 2009.

Music & Culture

Cellist And Conductor Allegedly Helped Russians Move Billions Of Dollars

7:33pm April 04, 2016

by Anastasia Tsioulcas

Russian musician Sergei Roldugin's name has emerged in the massive data leak known as the Panama Papers. He is allegedly at the center of his country's offshore banking activities.

Music & Culture

World Cafe Next: Birds Of Chicago

5:26pm April 04, 2016

Hear two songs by the ecstatic folk-gospel band, which is built around Allison Russell and JT Nero.

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Music & Culture

Across the Blue Ridge - New Takes On Old Music

5:02pm April 04, 2016

by Paul Brown

This week's Across the Blue Ridge treats us to field and studio recordings of historic musicians from the 1920s to the 1990s; contrasts between old and new renditions of classic tunes. Our fe

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Music & Culture

Music Review: 'Trade Winds: Cuba,' Matt Geraghty Project

5:00pm April 04, 2016

by Tom Moon

Tom Moon reviews an album chronicling some unscripted jam sessions from a variety of Cuban musicians.

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Almost famous, Seventies singer, Jobriath (born: Bruce Wayne Campbell). The latest episode of HBO's Vinyl has introduced a character seemingly based on his career.

Gay Glam Comes To HBO

4:34pm April 04, 2016

by Ann Powers

Is Vinyl's latest fictionalized New York music character a tribute to Jobriath, the post-Bowie 'space clown' who was rock's first openly homosexual performer?

Music & Culture

Watch Parquet Courts Perform 'Berlin Got Blurry' Live In The Studio

3:10pm April 04, 2016

by Jim Beckmann

The Brooklyn garage-rock band plays a sharp, smart song from its upcoming album live for KEXP.

Music & Culture

PWR BTTM: Tiny Desk Concert

2:19pm April 04, 2016

by Bob Boilen

The queer, glammy, wildly dressed duo has a keen sense of mischief and a gift for honest, punk-infused, tongue-in-cheek pop gems. Watch PWR BTTM perform four songs in the NPR Music offices.

This week's episode of Metropolis features several songs by Kraak & Smaak.

Music & Culture

Metropolis: 4/2/16

12:12pm April 04, 2016

KCRW's Jason Bentley spins music by Robyn, Anohni, SNBRN, Cut Snake and more in a two-hour EDM mix.

In the span of a decade, saxophonist Gato Barbieri went from playing with the likes of Don Cherry and Carla Bley to composing the Last Tango In Paris soundtrack.

Music & Culture

Grammy Winner, Sax Legend Gato Barbieri Dies At 83

12:07pm April 04, 2016

by NPR Staff

Known for his ever-present black fedora, Barbieri could never be pinned down. "My music is the same. I play Gato," Barbieri once told The Tavis Smiley Show.

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Music & Culture

Songs We Love: Ronnie Spector, 'I'd Much Rather Be With The Girls'

10:25am April 04, 2016

by Alison Fensterstock

It was originally written for The Rolling Stones and has made its way through several covers, but Spector's big, sexy, sweet-and-tough voice brings this song home.