Music

Mavis Staples has been performing for more than six decades. One True Vine is her second album-length collaboration with Wilco frontman Jeff Tweedy.

Music & Culture

Gospel Legend Mavis Staples Comes 'Full Circle'

7:14pm June 26, 2013

by NPR Staff

The gospel legend, whose new album is titled One True Vine, has a career spanning more than 60 years. She says of the record, made in collaboration with Wilco's Jeff Tweedy, "I've gone from the strictly gospel to folk to country, and here I am right back at home where I began."

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Duke Ellington (1899-1974) at the piano at the Fairfield Hall, Croydon, during a British tour on Feb. 10, 1963.

'My Ellington': A Pianist Gives Duke Her Personal Touch

4:50pm June 26, 2013

by Kevin Whitehead

As a Japanese expatriate in Berlin, jazz pianist Aki Takase has an outsider's perspective on jazz and insider wisdom that comes from careful study. Her new album of Duke Ellington tunes reflects influences such as Thelonious Monk and Arnold Schoenberg, as well.

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Carla Bruni's new album, her first since her husband, former President Nicolas Sarkozy, left office, is titled Little French Songs.

Music & Culture

A First Lady No Longer, Carla Bruni Returns To Music

8:06pm June 25, 2013

by NPR Staff

The Italian-born songwriter and fashion model discusses her new album, Little French Songs, and why her husband — former French President Nicolas Sarkozy — is a tricky subject for songwriting.

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Chuck Leavell plays alongside Rolling Stones member Ronnie Wood.

Music & Culture

Chuck Leavell: The 'Fifth' Stone Speaks

11:10am June 25, 2013

by NPR Staff

The touring keyboardist has been playing with The Rolling Stones for more than 30 years.

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Bobby "Blue" Bland performs on stage at the New Orleans Jazz and Heritage Festival in New Orleans, in 1989.

Music & Culture

Remembering The Multidimensional Music Of Bobby 'Blue' Bland

6:10pm June 24, 2013

Bland's music is the kind that can school anyone about the incomprehensible depths of love, the importance of dignity and the promise of the kind of good life that really might be within reach.

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In his new memoir, Ahmir "Questlove" Thompson describes his life in music — and how he mimicked beats at just 10 months old.

Questlove's Roots: A 'Meta' Memoir Of A Lifetime In Music

4:55pm June 24, 2013

Ahmir "Questlove" Thompson, the co-founder of and drummer for the hip-hop band The Roots, has been a musician since he was a teen. In Mo' Meta Blues, he explains how his musician father groomed him for a life in show business from an early age.

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Violinist Amandine Beyer holds Mozart's own violin backstage at Boston's Jordan Hall on Monday.

Music & Culture

Playing Mozart — On Mozart's Violin

1:21pm June 24, 2013

by Anastasia Tsioulcas

Hearing — and holding — Mozart's own instruments is a thrill like no other. The great composer's violin and viola, which are only pulled out of storage in Salzburg about once a year, are in the United States for the very first time. And the magic they wield is undeniable.

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Jimmy Eat World's new album, Damage, is its eighth in 20 years together. Left to right: Rick Burch, Zach Lind, Jim Adkins and Tom Linton.

Music & Culture

Jimmy Eat World Finds The Fuel To Keep Going

1:20pm June 24, 2013

by NPR Staff

Perhaps best known for its 2001 hit, "The Middle," the band recently released its eighth studio album, Damage. Lead singer Jim Adkins talks about the band's evolution through two decades together.

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Graveola celebrates its hometown of Belo Horizonte, Brazil, in the song "Babulina's Trip."

Music & Culture

DJ Betto Arcos Spins The Latest From Brazil

5:02pm June 23, 2013

by NPR Staff

The host of KPFK's Global Village brings samba, reggae and more to weekends on All Things Considered.

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When played on the radio in 1963, songs like Big Joe Turner's "Shake, Rattle and Roll" were code to Birmingham youths, telling them to assemble.

Music & Culture

Shake, Rattle And Rally: Code Songs Spurred Activism In Birmingham

7:11pm June 21, 2013

by NPR Staff

In 1963, civil rights activists wanted to recruit more of the city's young people to the cause. The way to their hearts was often through DJs and music.

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