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Music Reviews

The Lost Recordings Of Hasaan Ibn Ali Reveal A Legend Just Getting Started

Hasaan Ibn Ali. Larry Fink/Courtesy of Omnivore Recordings hide caption

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Larry Fink/Courtesy of Omnivore Recordings

The Lost Recordings Of Hasaan Ibn Ali Reveal A Legend Just Getting Started

Nearly half of the Philadelphia-based pianist's recorded work had gone unheard for decades, until now.

The Lost Recordings Of Hasaan Ibn Ali Reveal A Legend Just Getting Started

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Carsie Blanton's Open-Hearted Protest Album Is Equal Parts 'Love & Rage'

Fresh Air

Blanton describes many of the songs on her new album as "anti-fascist anthems." Critic Ken Tucker says Love & Rage doesn't sound like typical protest music — which makes it all the more effective.

Carsie Blanton's Open-Hearted Protest Album Is Equal Parts 'Love & Rage'

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Tribute Album 'Law Years' Captures Ornette Coleman's Happy Bounce

Fresh Air

Coleman, who died in 2015, had a knack for writing catchy melodies in a distinctive voice. Saxophonist Miguel Zenón loves Coleman's music and put together a quartet to play some.

Tribute Album 'Law Years' Captures Ornette Coleman's Happy Bounce

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Newly Unearthed 1965 Album Represents Hasaan Ibn Ali's Posthumous Vindication

Fresh Air

The jazz pianist only recorded two albums, the second of which was long believed to be lost. Now, the rediscovery of Metaphysics: The Lost Atlantic Session is cause for renewed celebration.

Newly Unearthed 1965 Album Represents Hasaan Ibn Ali's Posthumous Vindication

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Erwin Helfer Helps 'Celebrate The Journey' With The Chicago Boogie Ensemble

Fresh Air

For Helfer, vintage piano dialects are living traditions, not museum exhibits. The 85-year-old Chicago musician helps keep those traditions alive — and passes that knowledge on — with a new album.

Erwin Helfer Helps 'Celebrate The Journey' With The Chicago Boogie Ensemble

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Elizabeth King's Gospel Sound Transports Believers And Non-Believers Alike

Fresh Air

King made some recordings in the 1970s, but then quit the music business to raise her children. Now in her late 70s, she's released her first full-length solo album: Living in the Last Days.

Elizabeth King's Gospel Sound Transports Believers And Non-Believers Alike

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Music Lists

'Couch By Couchwest': Standouts Of SXSW's All-Digital Music Festival

The 2021 SXSW Music Festival was an all-digital affair — which left All Songs Considered host Bob Boilen with lots of streaming concerts to watch. He picks standouts from the 130 shows he saw.

'Couch By Couchwest': Standouts Of SXSW's All-Digital Music Festival

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From Norway With Horsepower: Soprano Lise Davidsen Is Conquering Opera

Norwegian soprano Lise Davidsen's voice has been called one-in-a-million. James Hole /Decca Records hide caption

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James Hole /Decca Records

Deceptive Cadence

From Norway With Horsepower: Soprano Lise Davidsen Is Conquering Opera

The young, late-comer to opera is turning heads in the classical world with a powerful voice that can rocket over huge orchestras or pare down to a silvery thread.

From Norway With Horsepower: Soprano Lise Davidsen Is Conquering Opera

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Armand Hammer Raps From Another Dimension. It's On Us To Catch Up

Across Haram, an Islamic term meaning "forbidden," the rappers billy woods and ELUCID dissect all things taboo, and how, ultimately, those commodities are still ubiquitous across cultures. Alexander Richter/Courtesy of the artist hide caption

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Alexander Richter/Courtesy of the artist

Editors' Picks

Armand Hammer Raps From Another Dimension. It's On Us To Catch Up

For nearly two decades, billy woods and ELUCID have established themselves as cult figures in hip-hop. The duo's new album, Haram, is their most approachable, even if the rhymes are still intricate.

Converging Across Generations To Clear A Space For New Sounds

Pharoah Sanders and Sam Shepherd (a.k.a. Floating Points) in the studio making Promises. Eric Welles-Nyström/Courtesy of the artist hide caption

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Eric Welles-Nyström/Courtesy of the artist

Editors' Picks

Converging Across Generations To Clear A Space For New Sounds

WBGO

The avant-garde jazz musician Pharoah Sanders and the electronic composer Sam Shepherd, who records as Floating Points, have created a gorgeous, gemlike new album with the London Symphony Orchestra.

A Cult-Classic Sondheim Flop Gets An Essential New Recording

Even after brutal reviews for the short-lived Anyone Can Whistle, Stephen Sondheim continued to create provocative and form-shattering musicals. Stephen Lovekin/Getty Images hide caption

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A Cult-Classic Sondheim Flop Gets An Essential New Recording

An updated recording of Anyone Can Whistle, a now-celebrated musical by composer-lyricist Stephen Sondheim, has some surprises, even for the completist.

A Cult-Classic Sondheim Flop Gets An Essential New Recording

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Benoit Delbecq's 'Weight Of Light' Shows How Mysterious Prepared Piano Can Sound

Fresh Air

The French pianist is known for inserting pieces of wood between strings to produce new sounds. Delbecq's technique — as showcased on his new album — can make him sound like he has an extra hand.

Benoit Delbecq's 'Weight Of Light' Shows How Mysterious Prepared Piano Can Sound

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Julien Baker Chronicles Her Own Path To Redemption On 'Little Oblivions'

Fresh Air

Baker supplies nearly all of the guitars, drums, synthesizers, banjo, and mandolin on her new album. It's a confessional and frequently beautiful record about mental distress and addiction.

Julien Baker Chronicles Her Own Path To Redemption On 'Little Oblivions'

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