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Music Reviews

Too Much Of A Good Thing? Jane Ira Bloom's Beautiful Ballads

Jane Ira Bloom. Johnny Moreno/Courtesy of the artist hide caption

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Johnny Moreno/Courtesy of the artist

Too Much Of A Good Thing? Jane Ira Bloom's Beautiful Ballads

Fresh Air

On Sixteen Sunsets, the soprano saxophonist varies and honors melody like Billie Holiday.

Too Much Of A Good Thing? Jane Ira Bloom's Beautiful Ballads

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Angélique Kidjo Shouts Out Africa's Women With Funk And Fire

Angélique Kidjo's 10th album, Eve, is dedicated to the women of Africa. Pierre Marie Zimmerman/Courtesy of the artist hide caption

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Pierre Marie Zimmerman/Courtesy of the artist

Angélique Kidjo Shouts Out Africa's Women With Funk And Fire

Kidjo's latest album, Eve, started when she was swept into a group of singing women in Kenya. She then took her music to Benin, traveling its width and breadth and recording nine different choral groups to back up her own lead vocals.

Angélique Kidjo Shouts Out Africa's Women With Funk And Fire

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Don't Pigeonhole Me, Bro: New Country Albums On The Borderline

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Courtesy of the artist

Don't Pigeonhole Me, Bro: New Country Albums On The Borderline

Both Jon Pardi and Jason Eady have to confront the dilemma of all young country musicians: how to navigate the pop current that keeps country music commercially viable while connecting to a past that fewer and fewer listeners are aware of.

Don't Pigeonhole Me, Bro: New Country Albums On The Borderline

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On 'Hard Working Americans,' Songs For The Ordinary Joe

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James Martin /Courtesy of the artist

On 'Hard Working Americans,' Songs For The Ordinary Joe

Fresh Air

Todd Snider, Widespread Panic's Dave Schools and Duane Trucks perform in a new band that specializes in covering working-class songs.

On 'Hard Working Americans,' Songs For The Ordinary Joe

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A Gifted Cellist Sails Beyond Sweden, Across 'Fields Of Love'

Linnea Olsson's debut album is called Ah! Tammy Karlsson/Courtesy of the artist hide caption

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Tammy Karlsson/Courtesy of the artist

A Gifted Cellist Sails Beyond Sweden, Across 'Fields Of Love'

Linnea Olsson grew up listening to ABBA and Bjork, but her debut album, Ah!, is a creation all her own. Her music is largely based in improvisation, with lyrics that resemble fanciful fairy tales.

A Gifted Cellist Sails Beyond Sweden, Across 'Fields Of Love'

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Lafayette Gilchrist: An Old Soul, At Ease In A Modern World

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Leo H. Lubow

Lafayette Gilchrist: An Old Soul, At Ease In A Modern World

Fresh Air

On Gilchrist's The View From Here, go-go dance beats inform his piano the same way freight-train boogie-woogie does.

Lafayette Gilchrist: An Old Soul, At Ease In A Modern World

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Troubadour Radio: 'Jam Band' Releases A New Album For Kids

Lucky Diaz and Alisha Gaddis, the brains behind Lucky Diaz and the Family Jam Band, won the Latin Grammy for Best Latin Children's Album in 2013. Matt Harbicht/Courtesy of Sugar Mountain hide caption

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Matt Harbicht/Courtesy of Sugar Mountain

Troubadour Radio: 'Jam Band' Releases A New Album For Kids

Husband and wife duo Lucky Diaz and Alisha Gaddis are the act behind Lucky Diaz and the Family Jam Band. The Latin Grammy winners have released a new album, and it comes in the form of a radio show. Kids music reviewer Stefan Shepherd says that this couple has demonstrated they're not afraid to reinvent their sound.

Troubadour Radio: 'Jam Band' Releases A New Album For Kids

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The Soul Singer Who Never Quite Made It

James Govan (left) with producer and engineer Mickey Buckins in the studio. Courtesy of Ace Records hide caption

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Courtesy of Ace Records

The Soul Singer Who Never Quite Made It

There was a time when people in the know in Memphis described James Govan as Otis Redding's natural successor. A new compilation collects some of his unreleased recordings.

The Soul Singer Who Never Quite Made It

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Uneven But Vital, Bruce Springsteen Has 'High Hopes'

Bruce Springsteen's 18th album is titled High Hopes. Danny Clinch/Courtesy of the artist hide caption

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Danny Clinch/Courtesy of the artist

Uneven But Vital, Bruce Springsteen Has 'High Hopes'

Fresh Air

His 18th album is a mixed-bag assortment of covers and originals brimming with undimmed eagerness.

Uneven But Vital, Bruce Springsteen Has 'High Hopes'

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Review: Against Me!, 'Transgender Dysphoria Blues'

Against Me!'s Transgender Dysphoria Blues comes out Jan. 21. Ryan Russell/Courtesy of the artist hide caption

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Ryan Russell/Courtesy of the artist

First Listen

Review: Against Me!, 'Transgender Dysphoria Blues'

The bracingly political Florida punk band's new album can't help but feel like a debut: It's the group's first album since singer Laura Jane Grace came out as a woman.

Review: Against Me!, 'Transgender Dysphoria Blues'

Audio for First Listens is no longer available after the album is released.
Rosanne Cash: Seeking A 'Thread' Through Southern History

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Clay Patrick McBride/Courtesy of the artist

Rosanne Cash: Seeking A 'Thread' Through Southern History

Fresh Air

Ken Tucker says The River & The Thread is a travelogue; a timeless work of comfort and quiet joy.

Rosanne Cash: Seeking A 'Thread' Through Southern History

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Peter Gabriel's Favorite Artists Remake His Music From 'Scratch'

Peter Gabriel's 2010 covers album Scratch My Back is complemented this year by a multi-artist tribute album, And I'll Scratch Yours. Michele Turriani/Courtesy of the artist hide caption

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Michele Turriani/Courtesy of the artist

Peter Gabriel's Favorite Artists Remake His Music From 'Scratch'

On the 2010 album Scratch My Back, Gabriel covered songs by the musicians he loves. For the follow-up, he invited those artists — who include Arcade Fire, Randy Newman, David Byrne, Regina Spektor, Lou Reed, Bon Iver and more — to cover his own material.

Peter Gabriel's Favorite Artists Remake His Music From 'Scratch'

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When Memphis Made A Move On Nashville's Country Monopoly

Label for Warren Smith's "Ubangi Stomp" on Sun Records. Courtesy of the artist hide caption

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Courtesy of the artist

When Memphis Made A Move On Nashville's Country Monopoly

A new nine-hour box set, titled Sun Country Box: 1950-1959, collects Sun Records' country output.

When Memphis Made A Move On Nashville's Country Monopoly

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Luscious Jackson Hits A Sweet Spot With New Children's Album

Luscious Jackson released a children's album, Baby DJ, last month. Doug Seymour /Courtesy of the artist hide caption

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Doug Seymour /Courtesy of the artist

Luscious Jackson Hits A Sweet Spot With New Children's Album

After more than a decade apart, the '90s band reconvened for a new album, Magic Hour. But along with it, the trio — all mothers — released a children's album called Baby DJ. Reviewer Stefan Shepherd says Baby DJ played a role in Luscious Jackson getting back together.

Luscious Jackson Hits A Sweet Spot With New Children's Album

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Michele Rosewoman Goes Back To Afro-Cuban Jazz's Future

Michele Rosewoman (bottom right) is joined by batá percussionists in performance with her New Yor-Uba Ensemble in 2013. Tom Ehrlich/Courtesy of the artist hide caption

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Tom Ehrlich/Courtesy of the artist

Michele Rosewoman Goes Back To Afro-Cuban Jazz's Future

Fresh Air

You could look at Rosewoman's New Yor-Uba band as reuniting cousins who've drifted apart: jazz and folkloric Cuban music with its own family ties to the slave coast of West Africa.

Michele Rosewoman Goes Back To Afro-Cuban Jazz's Future

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