Music

Willis Conover, The Voice Of Jazz Behind The Iron Curtain

10:55am July 25, 2015

by Scott Simon

American broadcaster Willis Conover was known around the world in places like Prague, Moscow and Warsaw, but not so much at home. For more than 40 years, he hosted a jazz show on the Voice of America.

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A rehearsal for the first fully staged U.S. production of Ethel Smyth's 1904 opera The Wreckers at the Bard Music Festival in Annandale-on-Hudson, N.Y.

Music & Culture

One Feisty Victorian Woman's Opera Revived

3:30pm July 24, 2015

by Tom Huizenga

A skilled mountain climber who knew Tchaikovsky and Brahms, Ethel Smyth was a big personality whose politically charged opera The Wreckers gets its first fully staged production in the U.S.

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The new album The Other Side of Desire marks Jones' first original material in years, spurred on by a life-changing move to New Orleans.

Music & Culture

Leaving Los Angeles: Rickie Lee Jones Turns A Decade Into An Album

2:51pm July 22, 2015

by NPR Staff

The new album The Other Side of Desire marks Jones' first original material in years, spurred on by a life-changing move to New Orleans.

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Music & Culture

Reissue Of Thelonious Monk's 'Riverside Recordings' Shows A Star On The Rise

1:29pm July 22, 2015

by Kevin Whitehead

Jazz critic Kevin Whitehead reviews a reissue of The Complete Riverside Recordings of pianist Thelonious Monk. He says it's really the story of two men: Monk and late record producer Orrin Keepnews.

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Songwriter Wayne Carson Dies At 72

7:47am July 22, 2015

by Andrew Limbong

Wayne Carson was a prolific songwriter who hit the top of the country and pop charts. He was best known for songs that included "Always On My Mind," recorded by both Elvis Presley and Willie Nelson.

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Music & Culture

'Sonic Trickster' Miguel Blends Genres And Melodies On 'Wildheart'

9:48pm July 21, 2015

by Ken Tucker

Singer-songwriter Miguel mixes rock, pop, hip-hop, reggae and funk on his new album. Critic Ken Tucker says the musical slight-of-hand that results is "excitingly diverse and vivid."

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Theodore Bikel, Who Starred In Broadway's 'Fiddler On The Roof,' Dies

6:23pm July 21, 2015

by Lynn Neary

The actor and singer, who recorded 37 albums, has died at 91. Bikel took over the role of Tevye for more than 2,000 performances of Fiddler on the Roof.

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Springsteen Crashes The Show ... And No One Seems To Mind

4:16pm July 20, 2015

The Boss showed up, unannounced, at a bar on the Jersey Shore and played for nearly two hours.

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Music & Culture

Revisiting The Career Of Gospel-Singer-Turned-Hit-Maker Garnet Mimms

1:31pm July 20, 2015

by Ed Ward

All but forgotten today, Garnet Mimms was one of the early voices of soul. Now, Looking For You, a new collection of his records, is available on Kent Records. Rock historian Ed Ward has Mimms' story.

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On the new album Into The Deep, the seasoned instrumentalists of Galactic team up with a host of singers including Macy Gray and Mavis Staples.

Music & Culture

After 20 Years, New Orleans Band Galactic Lifts Off With New Voices

9:35am July 19, 2015

by Elizabeth Blair

The band might not have a permanent lead singer, but on the new album Into The Deep, the musicians show just how well they've learned to play with others.

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