Search results for

Given four days to record a couple of songs for a film, Marketa Irglova and The Frames' Glen Hansard made a full-length record. The result is 10 quietly brilliant songs, each built around piano, acoustic guitar, violin, cello and the two headliners' soft, sweet voices.

Sasha Dobson carries on in the jazz tradition of past greats like Ella Fitzgerald, with a sultry voice and extensive performance experience, but she remains unconventional . Now 26, Dobson has been performing professionally since she was 16, in the process crafting a unique fusion of worldly jazz.

Sasha Dobson has spent the last ten years crafting a unique fusion of Brazilian and American jazz. Her sultry voice and extensive performance experience foretells success, especially with Modern Romance, which includes genre-bending covers of Duke Ellington and the Yeah Yeah Yeahs.

Gorka's music demonstrates an easy melodic sensibility: Nothing is contrived or overproduced. His work is built around little more than his unmistakable voice and the simple, clean sounds of his guitar. Gorka performs a solo set from WXPN and World Cafe Live in Philadelphia.

As Stephanie McKay belts out harrowing scenes of teen pregnancy and black-on-black gun violence, she sounds like a woman on the verge of a nervous breakdown. Yet as incendiary and forceful as her gripping voice remains, her wails and cries never overheat into a melismatic mess.

Fred Thomas' brooding voice in his solo record, Flood, is a departure from the uplifting indie rock of his other musical project, Saturday Looks Good To Me. Flood shows Thomas has a tremendous range as an artist, with a mix of quieter songs that are captivating and deeply personal.

It's somehow fitting that The Whigs' members reside in Athens, Ga., the flashpoint of '80s indie-rock. The trio's debut, Give 'Em All a Big Fat Lip, is a great and goofy exercise in nostalgia that combines the gravelly rock of The Replacements with the off-kilter pop of Guided by Voices.

Lorraine Hunt Lieberson's "My love, if I die and you don't--" offers a clear-eyed tribute to everlasting love. But it's hard not to be moved listening to the late singer's gorgeous, smoky voice, as well as her unsentimental approach to music that already aches with yearning and loss.

The homemade solo country-noir of Gibson's debut gets fleshed out by a real band, featuring pedal steel, cello, trombone and guitar work from members of Baroness and Brokeback. Remaining front and center, though, is Gibson's voice, which remains as dark and thick as blackstrap molasses.

With each new album, the Oberlin-educated, Idaho-born singer-songwriter continues to develop his singular voice. So Runs the World Away, which can be heard here until its May 4 release date, defies categorization as much as it creates its own.

If you have a little one at home, there's a good chance you've heard the joyful voice of Elizabeth Mitchell. Mitchell has released some of the most uplifting kids music out there, and so it's appropriate that her new record is called Sunny Day.

Producer T Bone Burnett found a surprisingly good fit when he matched wispy-voiced bluegrass vocalist Alison Krauss with hard-rock belter Robert Plant (of Led Zeppelin fame). Their new CD, Raising Sand, has a relaxed, intimate feel.

From the vaults comes "Let's Just Get Together," a phenomenal, never-before-released David Sea song. The track showcases his powerful voice and roots in gospel singing, but his impassioned vocals are practically drowned out by the guitar playing counterpoint, almost in competition with Sea.

Joan Baez's sterling voice, the songs she sings and her commitment to society's underdogs have had a profound influence on American culture. Baez talks about her new record, Day After Tomorrow, and performs songs from the album at NPR's New York studio.

Dan Reeder's mixture of folk, blues and early rock and roll — combined with his do-it-yourself approach to his music and his sympathetic voice — has led him to a new stage in his life, touring with singer/songwriter John Prine and releasing a second album.

One of the most impressive jazz singers to emerge from the '90s, Karrin Allyson continues to wow audiences with her expressive voice. Her latest album, Footprints, earned her a Grammy nomination for Best Jazz Vocal Album. Hear an interview and performance recorded by KPLU.

Pope Francis is in Myanmar where he voiced support for ethnic minorities, but did not mention the persecuted Muslim Rohingya by name. This, in comments to leader Aung San Suu Kyi, disappointed rights activists seeking support for the hundreds of thousands of Rohingya who have fled violence.

Republican Sen. Jeff Flake, a critic of President Trump, called out the president during his announcement that he won't see re-election in 2018. He's adding his voice to others in his party who are speaking out about Trump. But what is the impact?

Prophet has described his new album, Temple Beautiful, as a "love letter to San Francisco." Rock critic Ken Tucker says you don't have to be a Bay Area native to enjoy Prophet's melodies.

"People don't realize how much we need to see these kids," says a teacher, noting teachers are often the first to see signs of child abuse or food insecurity. The problem spans rural and urban areas.