Music

Pianist and composer Dave Burrell was an important part of the free jazz scene of the 1960s, recording with Pharoah Sanders, Marion Brown, Archie Shepp and others. His new CD with his Full-Blown Trio, Expansion, marks Burrell's first recording for a U.S. label in almost 40 years.

While on tour for her album, Over and Even, Shelley stopped by WHYY to play some of her songs along with accompanist Nathan Salsburg. She tells Fresh Air's Sam Briger she's always wanted to perform.

Rock critic Ken Tucker offers up his top 10 lists of the best albums and singles of 2008.music. Here's his look at some of his own favorites.

The Late Late Show host talks about belting out songs with celebrities like Elton John, Steve Wonder and Adele. He tells Fresh Air's Terry Gross he doesn't know what he did to deserve this great gig.

Rock historian Ed Ward says that musicians in Düsseldorf, Germany, including Klaus Dinger of the band Neu!, helped start a new German pop movement in the 1970s and '80s.

The energetic lead singer for The Dap-Kings spoke to Fresh Air in '07 and again in '16, after she'd been diagnosed with pancreatic cancer. "I want to perform," she said in July. Jones died on Nov. 18.

After a cancer diagnosis, and treatment soul singer Sharon Jones has returned to performing. She's the subject of a new documentary Miss Sharon Jones! by academy award winning film maker Barbara Kopple.

Born in 1916, Christian died when he was just 25 years old. Jazz critic Kevin Whitehead calls him "the single greatest influence on a signature 20th-century instrument."

Maxwell creates an atmosphere of free-floating sensuality on his new album. Critic Ken Tucker says the record is "dreamy and roomy enough to accommodate a wide array of emotions."

Much of the music on Cray's new album stems from a year he spent teaching at the University of Nevada in Reno. Critic Kevin Whitehead says Outside In is a reminder of the power of open spaces.

The young singer-songwriter has described herself as "half-Japanese, half-American, but not fully either." Critic Ken Tucker says her fourth album, Puberty 2, has an impressively wide range of sounds.

The singer-songwriter brings a fluid sense of musical boundaries to her first major-label album. Critic Ken Tucker says Hero features "very good, state-of-the-art pop country" music.

The New Orleans-based musician completed recording his final album a month before he died last November. Jazz critic Kevin Whitehead calls American Tunes a "fond last look" at Toussaint's talent.

After starring in Broadway shows like The Music Man and Candide, Cook struggled with addiction, then staged a successful second career as a cabaret singer. Her new memoir is Then and Now.

Did you know that a hard-luck band from California changed the rock-and-roll scene in London by being in the right place at the right time? Rock historian Ed Ward has the story of Eggs Over Easy.

Singer-songwriter Glaspy plays a variety of instruments, but concentrates mainly on guitar on her new album. Critic Ken Tucker says Emotions and Math blends complexity with "deceptive directness."

Wilson, who has been leading bands for 20 years, rounds up many of those players on his new tribute album. Critic Kevin Whitehead says Big Happy Family is full of humor and heart.

Bell, who had his first hit in 1961 with the song "You Don't Miss Your Water," brings his trademark compassion and tenderness to his new album. Critic Ken Tucker calls This Is Where I Live a triumph.

Herman's Hermits hit the American pop charts 22 times in the 1960s and early '70s. Now, a new anthology compiles 66 of the Hermits' tracks. Rock historian Ed Ward considers how the music has held up.

Rock historian Ed Ward remembers Jamaican singer Desmond Dekker, who died last week at the age of 64. His 1969 hit "Israelites" was for many Americans the first reggae they'd ever heard.