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Music Reviews

Grab A Seat In The Studio With The Miles Davis Quintet

Freedom Jazz Dance: The Bootleg Series Vol. 5 provides listeners rare access to the Miles Davis Quintet's creative process. Veryl Oakland/Courtesy of the artist hide caption

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Veryl Oakland/Courtesy of the artist

Grab A Seat In The Studio With The Miles Davis Quintet

Freedom Jazz Dance, a new collection of outtakes from the Miles Smiles and Nefertiti sessions, shows us Davis as a productive professional — a contrast to the tortured genius seen on film lately.

Grab A Seat In The Studio With The Miles Davis Quintet

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In This Bobo Yéyé Box Set, Find The Creativity And Optimism Of A Lost World

Volta Jazz, also known as Orchestre Volta-Jazz, was one of the most prominent Bobo Dioulasso bands of the '60s and '70s. Sory Sanlé hide caption

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Sory Sanlé

In This Bobo Yéyé Box Set, Find The Creativity And Optimism Of A Lost World

The new release, Bobo Yéyé: Belle Époque in Upper Volta, contains music from a rich cultural moment in Burkina Faso just after it achieved independence from France.

In This Bobo Yéyé Box Set, Find The Creativity And Optimism Of A Lost World

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Review: Gillian Welch, 'Boots No. 1 The Official Revival Bootleg'

Gillian Welch, pictured here with partner Dave Rawlings, will release a new album, Boots No. 1 The Official Revival Bootleg, on Nov. 25. Henry Diltz/Courtesy of the artist hide caption

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Henry Diltz/Courtesy of the artist

First Listen

Review: Gillian Welch, 'Boots No. 1 The Official Revival Bootleg'

Welch and partner David Rawlings sift through their musical archives and select 21 tracks that document their early- to mid-'90s rise, before they emerged as leaders of an ascendant Americana scene.

Music Review: 'We Got It From Here... Thank You 4 Your Service,' A Tribe Called Quest

The group's new album — its first in 18 years — was recorded before the death of founding member Phife Dawg last March and was just released this month.

Music Review: 'We Got It From Here... Thank You 4 Your Service,' A Tribe Called Quest

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The Deceptively Simple Sound Of Scott And Charlene's Wedding

Fresh Air

Mid-Thirties Single Scene, the new album by the Australian group Scott and Charlene's Wedding, describes the thoughts and actions of a character who has just turned 34. Critic Ken Tucker has a review.

The Deceptively Simple Sound Of Scott And Charlene's Wedding

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A Tribe Called Quest Stands United, One Last Time

A Tribe Called quest performs at the 2013 SXSW music festival. Left to right: Jarobi White, Q-Tip, Phife Dawg and Ali Shaheed Muhammad. John Sciulli/Getty Images for Samsung hide caption

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John Sciulli/Getty Images for Samsung

The Record

A Tribe Called Quest Stands United, One Last Time

Two decades after splitting up, the pioneering rap crew released its final album Friday. We Got It from Here mines sounds from across hip-hop's history, but the content is bracingly of the moment.