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Music Reviews

Shabaka Hutchings' 'Black To The Future' Is A Showcase For Black British Music

Fresh Air

Bandleader and reed player Hutchings was born in London, but partly raised in Barbados. His new album with Sons of Kemet highlights the criss-crossing trajectories of African musical diasporas.

Shabaka Hutchings' 'Black To The Future' Is A Showcase For Black British Music

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On 'Sour,' Olivia Rodrigo Is A Lowercase Girl With Caps-Lock Feelings

Olivia Rodrigo's debut album, Sour, is out May 21, less than six months after she shattered streaming records with the breakthrough single "drivers license." Renee Klahr/NPR hide caption

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Editors' Picks

On 'Sour,' Olivia Rodrigo Is A Lowercase Girl With Caps-Lock Feelings

The debut album by the "drivers license" phenom plays like one bottled-up soliloquy after another, bursting from a quiet observer who has been paying closer attention than you think.

Sophia Kennedy's 'Monsters' Showcases The Method Of A Restless Experimenter

Fresh Air

For her second solo album, Kennedy's array of diverse songs — from thumping electronica to full-throated crooning — shows us she won't be pinned down

Sophia Kennedy's 'Monsters' Showcases The Method Of A Restless Experimenter

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St. Vincent, Builder Of Rock Futures, Takes Shelter In The Past

Daddy's Home (out May 14), Annie Clark's sixth album as St. Vincent, takes the sounds and sleaze of early-1970s New York as its aesthetic backdrop. Zackery Michael/Courtesy of the artist hide caption

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Zackery Michael/Courtesy of the artist

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St. Vincent, Builder Of Rock Futures, Takes Shelter In The Past

Fourteen years after her first album as St. Vincent, Annie Clark makes a sharp turn in time with Daddy's Home, a '70s rock revue that nails the sound, if not the spirit, of its influences.

Vincent Herring Infuses Jazz With Bold Strokes And Swagger On 'Minor Swing'

Fresh Air

Herring is an alto saxophonist with a dynamic sound and aggressive attitude. His new album features jazz with a big dollop of swing rhythm and blues feeling.

Vincent Herring Infuses Jazz With Bold Strokes And Swagger On 'Minor Swing'

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Composer Bernard Herrmann Showcases His Range On 'PostClassical Ensemble'

Fresh Air

Herrmann composed some of the best-known film music ever written — especially the scores he wrote for Alfred Hitchcock. Now a new CD shows another side of Herrmann that's equally memorable.

Composer Bernard Herrmann Showcases His Range On 'PostClassical Ensemble'

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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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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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