Known for his work in New Klezmer Trio, clarinetist Ben Goldberg has just released two new albums for different quintets: Subatomic Particle Homesick Blues and Unfold Ordinary Mind.
Franklin found her voice in songs such as "I Never Loved a Man" for Atlantic Records in the 1960s. Before Atlantic, however, Franklin recorded for Columbia, and in those early recordings you can hear the legend just beginning to emerge.
The debut album from the New York trio Guards is big on atmospherics, but also features a grandness of intent that connects the group to acts as varied as U2, Arcade Fire and The Beach Boys.
The singer-songwriter often writes songs about his complex relationships with women. On his new Electric, Thompson is still coming to terms with the sources of his frustrations, which ought to give him material for many years to come.
The saxophonist and his quartet cross-pollinate Indian classical music and vintage Captain Beefheart to create complicated rhythms and solos reminiscent of jazz-rock fusion.
Four of the Brazilian singer-songwriter's classic records are being re-released this week. Critic Will Hermes says that, while the music is steeped in a political climate of the past, they still resonate with the present.
The indie-rock favorite's new album, Fade, demonstrates that the group is all grown up but not at all stuffy. The album's music and words add up to pure affirmation of life and living.