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Marc Silver Marc Silver edits NPR's global health blog.
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Tuesday

Killian Mansfield's Optimistic Ukulele

Before his death at 16 last summer, Killian Mansfield realized his dream of completing his debut album. courtesy of the artist hide caption

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Review

Song Of The Day

Killian Mansfield's Optimistic Ukulele

A ukulele's plucky strum kicks off a buoyant new version of the 1926 classic "Blue Skies." The musician is Killian Mansfield, whose innate optimism didn't fade when he began fighting cancer at age 11. Five years later, he died of the disease, but the gifted string musician lived long enough to fulfill a dream: recording a CD whose proceeds would benefit the integrative therapies he embraced.

'Blue Skies' by Killian Mansfield

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Friday

Hiromi: Pachelbel's Canon, Reinvented

Using unconventional means, pianist Hiromi Uehara turns a classical chestnut inside-out. courtesy of the artist hide caption

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Review

Song Of The Day

Hiromi: Pachelbel's Canon, Reinvented

Pianists have long played Pachelbel's stately Canon, but Japanese jazz player Hiromi Uehara stands out for her treatment of this classical chestnut. While maintaining respect for its structure and charm, she still finds a way to turn the piece inside-out.

'Pachelbel's Canon' by Hiromi

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Thursday

Laurent Korcia's Improbable 'Mission Impossible'
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Review

Song Of The Day

Laurent Korcia's Improbable 'Mission Impossible'

An insistent accordion sets a slightly nervous beat. A double bass adds a bit of depth. Then in comes a 290-year-old violin. It's the theme from Mission Impossible, performed by Korcia as it's never been heard before, without a trace of the usual drums, horns and flute.

'Mission Impossible' by Laurent Korcia

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Wednesday

Sharon Jones: 'No Chimneys In The Projects'
courtesy of the artist

Review

Song Of The Day

Sharon Jones: 'No Chimneys In The Projects'

When Jones was a little girl, she used to wonder how Santa could pile toys under her tree when there "ain't no chimneys in the projects." Now, the soul singer has turned her lament into a sensational seasonal song of the same name.

'Ain't No Chimneys in the Projects' by Sharon Jones and The Dap-Kings

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Tuesday

Rey Fresco: Harping On A Lost Love
Scott Soens

Review

Song Of The Day

Rey Fresco: Harping On A Lost Love

At first, "Roll Your Dice" sounds like a typical Top 40 song of longing. Then comes a sound infrequently heard in popular music: a percussive arpeggio on a 36-string Veracruz harp. The stringed instrument serves as the centerpiece of "Roll Your Dice," by the multicultural quartet Rey Fresco — Spanish for "King Cool."

'Roll Your Dice' by Rey Fresco

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Monday

Diane Birch: An Imaginary Friend, Revisited
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Review

Song Of The Day

Diane Birch: An Imaginary Friend, Revisited

Semi-bluesy, slightly countrified independent female singer-pianists are everywhere these days. Is a mad scientist cloning them in the basement of a music school? That said, Diane Birch knows how to set herself apart. Funny, punchy and a little weird, her song "Valentino" makes a quick but deep impression; once you hear it, it's hard to forget.

'Valentino' by Diane Birch

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Tuesday

Smokey Robinson Takes Us Back
Nick Spanos

Review

Song Of The Day

Smokey Robinson Takes Us Back

The 12th and final cut on Smokey Robinson's new album, Time Flies When You're Having Fun, isn't even mentioned on the CD jacket. Why the secrecy? The song is Robinson's take on The Jackson 5's first hit, "I Want You Back"; he recorded it a year ago but decided not to list its title, so he wouldn't seem to be capitalizing on the death of the man he calls his "little brother."

Smokey Robinson

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Friday

Brandi Shearer: In A 'Glad,' Romantic Mood
courtesy of the artist

Review

Song Of The Day

Brandi Shearer: In A 'Glad,' Romantic Mood

Shearer's voice remains soft and gentle throughout "How Glad I Am," as her guitar strums the major chords that function as the melody's stepping stones. As the song builds in intensity, her voice gathers strength and fake strings chime in, courtesy of a keyboard. But Shearer's dark side emerges, too.

'How Glad I Am' by Brandi Shearer

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Friday

Review

Song Of The Day

Paul Burch: Blown Off By 'Honey Blue'

Thank goodness for Burch's fumbling fingers: The latter-day honky-tonk artist accidentally erased the finished take of his song "Honey Blue," so he put an earlier version on his new album, Still Your Man. As a result, the track has an earthy, impromptu feel, as if a bunch of talented musicians just wandered into a studio and began jamming.

'Honey Blue' by Paul Burch

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Wednesday

Review

Song Of The Day

Kate Schutt: In Pursuit Of 'Second Kisses'

In "Take Me With You," young Canadian singer Kate Schutt (who comes from the same indie-folk/jazz/soul school as Norah Jones) sings a come-on in glassily clear and glossily sweet tones: "Take me with you when you want to / Take me with you when you don't."

'Take Me With You' by Kate Schutt

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Tuesday

Monday

Review

Song Of The Day

Levon Helm: Still Keening After All These Years

"Stuff You Gotta Watch" is a good match for Levon Helm's roughed-up tenor. An upbeat Muddy Waters blues song, the tongue-in-cheek "Stuff" offers a warning for guys who date bad women — the kind who'll "spend your dough and drink your gin."

'Stuff You Gotta Watch' by Levon Helm

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Thursday

Review

Song Of The Day

Ruthie Foster (Quietly) Tells The Truth

"I Really Love You" finds Foster singing to a guy who isn't that into her, pleading, "If you could only feel all the love I have for you." But she's not hitting him over the head with a gutbucket blues growl. Her warm and grainy voice is utterly conversational, totally natural and effortlessly charming.

'I Really Love You' by Ruthie Foster

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Monday

Review

Song Of The Day

John Scofield: A Guitarist's Fingers 'Fly Away'

Guitarist John Scofield has given birth to a new musical genre: country-gospel-jazz. (Maybe call it "co-go-ja" for short?) As proof, just listen to his reinvention of the 1929 Christian classic "I'll Fly Away."

'I'll Fly Away' by John Scofield

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Monday

Review

Song Of The Day

An Old Song For A New Depression

Pianist Marcus Roberts is sinking his talented fingers into the familiar melody of "Ain't Misbehavin'." His instrumental take is a highlight of his new album, New Orleans Meets Harlem, Vol. 1, which salutes the great pianists of the past.

'Ain't Misbehavin' ' by Marcus Roberts

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