Music

Music critic Anthony DeCurtis has written a new biography of Lou Reed who was also his friend.

Critic Kevin Whitehead says Abrams, who died last week, was "steeped in jazz, but eager to take on a wider world." Abrams was a co-founder of the Association for the Advancement of Creative Musicians.

Freire plays tribute to the noted German composer on his new album. Music critic Lloyd Schwartz doesn't always love Brahms, but he loves this recording.

A new nine-disc set chronicles the music Dylan made between 1979 and 1981 during his so-called "born again" period, which saw him turn to evangelical Christianity as a theme.

Rainey plays on Jason Stein's Lucille! as well as on his own quintet's record, Flat Upstream. Critic Kevin Whitehead says the albums demonstrate the range and glory of jazz counterpoint.

The Nashville-based singer-songwriter has a new album that explores the joys of long-term commitment. Rock critic Ken Tucker says the collection is her most personal and accessible to date.

Jazz critic Kevin Whitehead reviews Sonic Temples (GM) the new recording by jazz pianist Ran Blake.

The jazz legend would have turned 100 today. Critic Kevin Whitehead says Monk's music is "universally beloved, by jazz musicians across the stylistic spectrum who might agree about little else."

A new collection mashes-up Jamaican dancehall, soca, hip-hop and polyrhythms from Ghana and Nigeria. Critic Milo Miles says Afrobeats Hot Hits is a "seductive invitation to dance."

The Rhode Island quartet is back with two new albums, titled Deer Tick Vol. 1 and Deer Tick Vol. 2. Critic Ken Tucker says first is largely acoustic, while the second features a louder electric sound.

Mabern has worked as a pianist for more than half a century. Now he brings brings his confident style and sense of musical history to his latest album, To Love And Be Loved.

Sweet recalls the time just before rock 'n' roll became self-consciously "rock" on his first album of new songs in six years. Critic Ken Tucker calls the music on Tomorrow Forever "wholly unironic."

Nearly 30 years ago, Hersch was among the first jazz musicians to come out as both gay and HIV positive. His memoir looks back on that time, as well as the time he spent in a medically induced coma.

In 1966 he joined L.A. rock band Buffalo Springfield; they split up three albums later due to inter-band fighting and their lack of commercial success. Young then meandered from band to band, including "Crosby, Stills, Nash, and Young," while doing a lot of solo work as well. He's been called the "Godfather of Grunge," and "The king of punk."

Iyer studied physics and mathematics before becoming a professional musician in the 1990s. He composes music for an ensemble of interdisciplinary composers and jazz academics on his new album.

The singer-songwriter mostly recorded this album in a cabin in Sweden. You can hear that intensity and obsessiveness in his attractive, eccentric pieces, which sometimes sound like works-in-progress.

Six albums the British songwriter recorded between 1982 and 1990 are being reissued in remastered versions. Critic Ken Tucker singles out Party of One as being among Lowe's finest works.

Cook, who starred in Broadway shows like The Music Man and Candide, died on Tuesday. She spoke to Fresh Air in 2016 about her struggle with addiction and her second career as a cabaret singer.