Category: good to hear

goodnews october 2025 – good to hear

Hermeto Pascoal & Grupo – ao vivo Belo Horizonte 2022

Hermeto Pascoal
The Brazilian composer and multi-instrumentalist Hermeto Pascoal Oliveira da Costa left us on 13 September. “The distinction between entertainment and art was as absent from his work as the contrast between popular culture and avant-garde. In the work of this Brazilian genius, everything came together in counterpoint… The man, who wore a shoulder-length ponytail and an almost equally long bushy beard in his old age, was born in Alagoas in north-eastern Brazil in 1936 as a child with albinism. His white skin gave him a special status. While other children had to work in the fields, Hermeto was apparently allowed to stay at home, where he studied the songs of birds and played around on his father’s accordion.” (Neue Zürcher Zeitung)
NPR Music

Mix Destellos

Los Destellos
Los Destellos (Spanish for “the Flashes”) are a legendary peruvian cumbia band formed in Lima, Peru in 1966 by Enrique Delgado Montes. “In their early releases, Los Destellos popularized the sharp sound of the electric guitar and bass in the context of a cumbia ensemble. By replacing the horns and accordion with the strings, they played a key role in developing the genre that later became known as Peruvian cumbia, influencing bands such as Los Mirlos, Los Ecos, and Los Diablos Rojos. The band’s style bears influence from psychedelic and surf rock as well as cumbia and local Peruvian genres.” (Wikipedia)
Masterboy

Hard Times Never Last

Kokoroko 
Kokoroko is a British London-based septet, led by Sheila Maurice-Grey and Onome Edgeworth playing a fusion of funk and highlife. “Tough Times Never Last is a spirited collection of songs servinfg as an optimistic reminder to tightly hold and embrace the many dualities that occur in life. Overf the course of the 11-song suit, the album explores togehtherness, community, sensuality, childhood, loss,a nd above all, perseverance. All tracks are written by Sheila Maurice-Grey, Onome edgeworth. Duane Atherley, Tobi debaike-Johnsson, Yohan Kebede, Ayo Kebed.” (Bandcamp) The aertwork for the album was convceivedby the acclamined illustrator Luci Pina,
Kobaltå

Saving Grace (with Suzi Dian)

Robert Plaant
Robert Anthony Plant (1948)was born and raised in the Wesrt Midlands area of England, and after leaving grammar school, he briefly trained as a chartered accountant before leaving home at 16 years old to concentrate on singing with a series of local blues bands. He was the lead singer and lyricist of the rock band Led Zeppelin from its founding in 1968 until their breakup in 1980. Since then, he has had a successful solo career, sometimes collaborating with other artists. Regarded by many as one of the greatest singers in rock music, he is known for his flamboyant persona, raw stage performances and his powerful, wide-ranging voice.
Es Paranza Recordings

Tiny Desk

Fito Paez
“What an honor to host Fito Páez, one of the pioneers of Argentine rock, at the Tiny Desk for the start of Latin Music Month. In 1984, Páez released his debut solo album one year after a brutal dictatorship, joining the swell of Spanish language rock and roll that was growing in Argentina. His lyrical insight was poignant then and resonates now. In this set, his beloved storytelling is on full display as well as his connection to the audience. Páez reaches back to early ’90s classics, including “A Rodar Mi Vida” and “Mariposa Tecknicolor,” but also features the retrospective new song “Sale el Sol.” The closing feels like a homecoming with a rendition of “Circo Beat” that wildly transitions into the reference-heavy “Tercer Mundo,” which gets a few lyrical updates for 2025.” Felix Contreras
NPR

goodnews september 2025 – good to hear

Tiny Desk Concert

Eddie Palmieri
Eduardo Palmieri (1936 – 2025) who passed away this month, was the founder of the bands La Perfecta, La Perfecta II, and Harlem River Drive. “Known as one of the finest pianists of the past 60 years, Eddie Palmieri was a bandleader, arranger and composer of salsa and Latin jazz. His plying skilfully fuses the rhythm of his Puerto Rican heritage with the complexity of his jazz influences: Thelonious Monk, Herbie Hancock, McCoy Tyner as well as his older brother, Charlie Palmieri.”
NPR Music

yingtuitive blue – from the album Letters to Self

Hannah Chia
Born in Singpore and ooted in classical training yet shaped by Southeast Asian traditions and the pulse of UK club culture, Chia says this about her music: ”I wouldn’t really consider myself a singer, so it really surprised me that this track ended up taking such a vocal turn. Most of my music is never really written with an end goal in mind, it’s often a process of letting different ideas come together in building an ecosystem, that then ends up taking on a life of its own.”
Third Place

Boleros Psicodélicos I live at Grand Performances in Los Angeles

Adrian Quesada 
Grammy-winning and Academy Award nominated producer Adrian Quesada is an adventurous musician best known as the co-founder of the 7-time Grammy-nominated psychedelic soul band Black Pumas. He grew up in the border town of Laredo, Texas and listened to punk, hip-hop and Text-Mex as a child, only becoming fully aware of thhis Latin roots in college.
Apple Music

Everybody laughs – from the album Who is the Sky?

David Byrne
The Scottish Amercian David Byrne recorded this studio album with Ghost Train Orchestra. Reflecting on his creative process, the founding member of Talking Heads, solo artist, writer, visual artist, and filmmaker said, “At my age, at least for me, there’s a ‘don’t give a shit about what people think’ attitude that kicks in. I can step outside my comfort zone with the knowledge that I kind of know who I am by now and sort of know what I’m doing.”
Matador Records

John Wilson with Festmusik of the City of Vienna

Onyx Brass
Founded in 1993, Onyx Brass has been a leader in cementing the place of the brass quintet as a medium for serious chamber music. The group has commissioned and performed the world premières of more than 200 new works with many more in the pipeline for performance and recording. Their new album combines pieces for the ensemble’s core quintet with works for extended brass forces, plus piano in the case of Florence Price’s Octet for Brasses and Piano. The majority of the pieces here receive their first commercial recording.
Transatlantic

goodnews august 2025 – good to hear

Dreams

Bliss Looper
There’s one single person behind the slow, electronic, ambient, world inspired soundscapes of Bliss Lopper, the Bansky of music. Nobody know who it is other that they are based in Nevada City, CA. Bliss Looper have evolved their own distinctive sound, which has been described as a mix of ambient and grounded rhythm fusion. This piece is brand new, and there’s a lot more to be discovered. Collaborations have brought them together with Ruby Chase and Equanimous. Who is this enigmatic musician?. (SGS)
High Vibes Records

Erotic Chacha – from the album Sweet Talk

Laurent Ferlet
“A complete musician, Laurent Ferlet, 48, has built his artistic personality on a solid classical foundation. A student of Pierre Sancan at the Paris Conservatory, he holds diplomas in concert performance, analysis, and harmony from the École Normale Supérieure de Musique de Paris. He perfected his musical education in the United States at the prestigious Berklee School of Music in Boston, where he explored all repertoires, from jazz to world music.” (UC2)
Switch Productions

Thema – from the album Aldeia

Ysmiruá Vakaynu
Little is known about the artist, who sings in the tradition of healing songs (icaros) associated with ayahuasca, but gives them a more modern twist. He describes himself as a prayer singer, music therapist, servant and a child of the living God, sings in Portuguese, mixed with Indigenous languages, and seems to hail from an Afro-Brazilian tradition.
Sipó Discos

So Long

Wavves
Wavves is an American rock band based in San Diego. Formed in 2008 by singer-songwriter Nathan Williams (born June 12, 1986), the band also features Alex Gates (guitar, backing vocals), Stephen Pope (bass guitar, backing vocals) and Ross Traver (drums and backing vocals). the band has always been built to feature the best parts of the indie and alternative scene with lyrics and music that is impactful and true to the spirit of a generation. And some of the catchier beats have also toyed with a pop-punk and surf rock spirit that could only come out of California. A decidedly psychedelic sound.
Ghost Ramp

Trail Mix Session

Trevor Hall
Trevor Hall, known for his mystical blend of folk, reggae and roots, returns to the sacred landscape of Red Rocks — this time for a beautiful and moving Trail Mix session set in the quiet serenity of the Trading Post Backyard. Joined by sarod virtuoso Manik Khan, this special collaboration bridges Eastern and Western musical traditions in a way that is both grounding and transcendent.
Red Rocks

goodnews july 2025 – good to hear

 

Lily Seabird
Trash Mountain
Since 2023, Vermont songwriter Lil Seabird’s life has been in perpetual motion, spending nearly half of that time on the road performing her own music and as a tournig bassist with Greg Freeman, Lutalo, and Liz Cooper. While she thrives in transit, back home she in anchored by “Trsah Mountain,” a ink house surrounded by other artists and creators situated on a decommissioned landfill site as the back of Burlington’s Old North End. Here, Seabird has found belonging, friendship, and inspiration.
Macro Sound

Jethro Tull
Aqualung
One of the iconic band of the seventies, Jehtro Tull is back on the road, Ian Anderson showing that the flute is as suited to Rock ‘n Roll as any instrument. “Frontman Ian Anderson has wielded the instrument – a favorite among middle-school-band girls and wandering minstrels for almost a thousand years – like a madman onstage, aggressively blowing solos usually reserved for guitars or saxophones. But paired with the band’s era-spanning brand of prog-folk music – expertly displayed on 1971’s breakthrough ‘Aqualung’ album – the flute has become a weapon of mass destruction in Anderson’s hands.”  More here.
Chrysalis Island

Country Orchestra Christina Brunner
Fahre (Travelling)
Kristina Brunner (1993) studied cello with a focus on folk music and Schwyzerörgeli (swiss arcordeon) with Markus Flückiger at the Lucerne School of Music. Since 2019, she has been teaching Schwyzerörgeli at music schools in the Gürbetal region and the city of Lucerne. She also performs regularly in concerts, primarily in duos with Evelyn Brunner and Albin Brun. Kristina Brunner’s roots lie in traditional Swiss folk music. After eight unique works by male composers, Kristina Brunner is the first woman to be commissioned to write a piece for the traditional “Stuberte am See” (Lake Session). The same piece newly available here.
Global Sounds

Shouse
Collective Ecstacy
Shouse is Ed Service and Jack Madin from deep in the colony of Melbourne/Naarm Australia. They are two best friends who like to hang out tinkering on drum machines and synths making weirdo-house. From time to time they get the local choir together to make a global anthem. Sometimes they lead choirs of thousands in a cathedral into ‘communitas’, rituals of transcendence. Shouse is all about collective effervescence, communal ecstasy, singing, dancing, musiking, together as one. Check out the far out visuals on their website here.
Smooch

Wet Leg
CPR
“Since Wet Leg emerged three years ago, its trajectory into indie-rock stardom has been a series of alm,ost absurd feats. Pals from the Isle of Wight, England — a far reach from a musical hot spot — the group saw its self-titled debut LP explode, a chart-topper in the United Kingdom that also earned two Grammys. “Chaise Longe” perhaps history’s catchiest track about a grandfather’s upholstered chair, had vocal fans in Elton John, Lorde and Dave Grohl; seemingly overnight. Wet Leg ascended from dingy clubs to stadiums, opening for Foo Fighters and Harry Styles.” (The New York Times)
Domino

goodnews june 2025 – good to hear

The Heliocentrics
Gaswerk Music Days. Live from Berlin
The Heliocentrics, who remind me of Pharaoh Sanders, are an English musical collective out of London, combining funk, jazz, psych and influences. (Librarymusic means some of it is sampled from other musicians and payed for, which mainly saves time.) The group revolves around drummer and producer Malcolm Catto, bassist Jake Ferguson, guitarist Adrian Owusu, and multi-instrumentalist Jack Yglesias. Since 2007, they have released eleven studio albums, their last being Telemetric Sounds (2020). They are recognized as an important jazz influence, and so far highly underrated.
Berta Berlin

Ara Malikian
Intruso
“With Intruso  Ari Malikian (1968), a Lebanese violinist of Armenian descent) redefines the boundaries of classical music. By fusing elements of popular und workd music with his violin virtuosity, he creates a unique and avant-garde soound that challenges convention. More than just a music album, Intruso  is an artistic statement that addresses universla thees such s identity, belonging, and the search for a sense of commkunity. Through collaborations with artists from diverse cutures, Malikian invistes us to reflect on our role in the world and to build bridges between different societies. Intruso is a call for unity and mutual understanding in an increasingly divided world.
Grey coda

Fito Páez
Sal e Sol
Fito Páez o is a true rock ‘n rock rebel with an authentic voice: “In a world that is only concerned with stifling imagination, instilling the gene of domestication, and poisoning the vitamins of rebellion, this is my new message in a bottle.” Rodolfo Páez, born 1964, popularly known as Fito Páez, is an Argentine rock and roll musician and filmmaker. He was member of the “Trova Rosarina” and is known as “The Troubadour of Argentine Rock”, and is considered an important figure in Argentinian rock music. He formed Staff, his first band, when he was 13.
Sony Music

Beatie Wolf, Brian Eno
Suddenly
Beatie Wolfe is a British-American conceptual aritst and musician, known for being “a weirdo”, but this tender collaboration with Brian Eno isn’t weird at all. Beatie writes: “Music is about making feelings happen.Some of those feeling are familiar, while others may not be – or may be complex mixtures of several different feelings.There are many beautiful words for such feelings in other languages and cultures – words that don’t exist in English. By giving a feeling a name, we mke that feeling more likely to be felt, and more tangible.”
Verve Records

Cypress Hill, London Symphony Orchestra
I Ain’t Goin’ Out Like That (Live)
In 1996, one of the most-watched TV shows in the world, The Simpsons, joked that Cypress Hill had accidentally booked a gig with the London Symphony Orchestra while under the influence. Now, the running joke that has turned into countless hopeful moments for fans of Cypress Hill and The Simpsons, is becoming an exciting, dynamic reality… One of hip hop’s biggest ever acts, Cypress Hill soundtracked a generation and continue to inspire artists and audiences alike.” (London Symphony Orchestra)
Columbia

goodnews may 2025 – good to hear

Jackie Venson
Young Jam from The Love Anthology
I’ve just been introduced to Jackie Venson by a chance aquantance on a restaurant terrace: if there ever was a female Prince, here she is! Born in 1990 in Austin, Texas, she graduated from Berklee College in 2011 and went on to become a notable singer-songwriter and guitarist, realizing has released five studio albums to date. “Steering away from familiar Southern blues-funk tropes,. Venson copped a bit of Prince’s sexy synch swagger, a welcome addition that kept the music sounding fresh. Another element she borrowed from Prince is a sense of casual virtuosity.” (Rolling Stone)
Venson Records

Mrozu
Featuring DGE – Poligon
Time for a bit of funk now that the weather is warmer: Łukasz Błażej Mróz (born July 22, 1986) better known under the stage name Mrozu, is a Polish singer, composer and producer from Wroclaw. As a vocalist, and a keyboarder, he performs music of type described as “on the border of pop and R&B”. He’s a big star in his country and sings in several idioms: listening to Mrozu reminds us that good music is good in any language!
Mystic Productions

Coco Jones
The 1st TERRELL Show Concert (Full Show)
Coco Jones has captivated the world with her timeless artistry, sensjal voice and emotive songs t become R&BR’s breakout artist. Raised in Nashville, TN by a mother who wa also a singer, and a father who played in the NFL, she learned early the importance of folowing one’s dreams and began recording at the age of nine. In 2024, she was nominated for five Grammy Awards. Her visibility has made nher a role model for beautiful and talented dark-skinned Black women.
Def Jam

3YOONI
Said
The 3 in 3YOONI refers to the Arabic letter ع “ayn”, which like an inverted 3. 3YOONI translates to “my eyes”. Identity, language, racism and orientalism: these are topics that Yassin Mahdi, who was born in Baghdad and grew up in the Swiss canton of Grisons, critically examines in his music project 3YOONI (pronounced ayuni). Yassin Mahdi was born in the Iraqi capital Baghdad. Due to the war, his parents fled Iraq with him and his little sister and came to Switzerland. His music is classified as “alternative electronic”.
Irascible Music

Asaf Avidan
Filmed Concert (Live at the Acropolis)
Asaf Avidan is an Israeli singer and songwriter born in Jerusalem. He was raised in Jamaica, and currently resides in Europe. From 2006 to 2011, he was part of the band Asaf Avidan & the Mojos, independently releasing three studio albums. Saf Avidan has released 7 studio albums which receibed multiple Gold and Platinum awards. He has headlines the largest festivals in Europe and sold out his own tours over the past decade. What an extraordinary voice!
Telmavar Records

goodnews april 25 – good to hear

Artemis
Arboresque
Fresh off their 2nd consecutive win for “Jazz Group of the Year” in the Downbeat Readers Poll, ARTEMIS returns with their third Blue Note album ARBORESQUE  An all-female jazz combo, made up in its present formation of clarinetist Ahat Cohen, saxophonist Melissa Aldana, basist Noriko Ueda, trumpeter Ingrid Jensen and Renee Rosnes (director and pianist). I found them in the New York Times and on their homepage.
BlueNote

Miguel Gonzalez x Javier Olguin
Luna Llena
Rancho Humilde, founded by CEO Jimmy Humilde alongside co-founders JB and Roque in the dynamic streets of Venice in 2011, has emerged as a trailblazing force in Latin music. With over 60 acts under its banner, the label in dedicated to reshaping the regional Mexican music tradition. Coined as “corridos tumbadis” or “trap corridors,” Rancho Humilde defies conventions, mergng gritty narratives with contemporary rap influneces. Musicians Gonzslez & Olguin represent this tradition.
Rancho Humilde

Lucy Dacus
For Keeps
Lucy Elizabeth Dacus, born May 2, 1995, is an American singer-songwriter, a guitarist, and record producer. Originally from Richmond, Virginia, Dacus first gained fame following the release of her debut album, No Burden, released in 2018 to critical acclaim. her third studio album, was released in 2021, but she has just dropped new material. It remains to be seen, which of her new songs will become a video. Her sound carries and, thanks to her extraordinary voice, fills the air with warmth and longing.
Geffen

Alison Krauss & Union Sation
Looks Like The End Of The Road
Alison Maria Krauss (born July 23, 1971) is an American bkuegrass-country singer, fidler andmusic producer. She entered the music industry at an early age, competing in local contests by the age of eight and recording for the first time at 14. She signed with Rounder Records in 1985 and released her first solo album in 1987. She was invited to join Union Station, releasing her first album with them as a group in 1989 and performing with them ever since.
Rounder Records

Doechii 
Anxiety
Jaylah Ji’mya Hickmon (born 1998) known professionally as Doechii  is an American rapper, singer, and songwriter. Her father and uncle were both rappers, and her father recorded professionally. She has younger twin sisters and has described her upbringing as Christian. She planned to become a professional choral singer until a friend encouraged her to produce and release her music online as an independent artist. Doechii has described her style of music as alernative hip hop.
Capitol Records

goodnews march 2025 – good to hear

Nathy Peluso
Tiny Desk Concert
Natalia Beatriz Dora “Nathy” Peluso (born 1995) is an Argentine, Spanish and Italian singer and songwriter who mostly grew up in Spain. Known for her extravagant stage presence and genre-bending music, a mix of soul, world music and hip-hop, she began performing at an early age. Having become a well-known presence in Spain, she worked on her international career and won the Latin Grammy Award for Best Alternative Music in 2021.She currently resides in Barcelona.
NPR Music

Danny Ocean x Kapo
Imagínate
Daniel Aejandro Morales Reyes (born 1992), known by his stage name Danny Ocean, is a Venezuelan singer, songwriter and record producer. He began his professional music career in 2009 with the creation of his YouTube channel. He’s actually a global phenomenon, reaching an important milestone in his musical career with 1 billion streams on Spotify of his hit “Me Rehúso”, the most listened song of the last decade in Latin America while Its music video surpasses 1.4 billion views. His is mostly feel-good music  between salsa, hip-hop and trap.
Dead Oceans

Netón Vega x Luis R Conriquez
El Plumas
Luis Ernesto Vega Carvajal, known professionally as Netón Vega, is a Mexican singer-songwriter from La Paz, Baja California Sur. He is known for his songwriting on “Rubicon” and “La People”, taken from Peso Pluma’s album Génesis (2023), and for collaborating with Luis R. Conriquez on the 2024 single “Si No Quieres No”. Luis Roberto Conriquez was born in Caborca, Sonora, Mexico.
Kartel Music

Sierra Ferrell
American Dreaming
“Sierra Ferrell is the May Queen of American roots music — no matter what month it is.” (Ann Powers) Born in West Virginia in 1988, her music combines elements from Bluegrass, Gypsy Grass, Folk, Tango and Calypso. Afteng outdoors. She played the clarinet and sang in the school choir, finally also learning to play the guitar. As a street musician, she struggled with addiciton until she decided to change her life for the better. She’s known for her many collorations.r her parent’s divorce, she spent a large part of her childhood in a trailer camp, meani
Runa Music

Kelela
In the Blue Light
Kelela (Mizanekristos), born 1983, is a second-generation Ethiopian American who makes alternative R&B, electronic and R&G music. She has released two albums, Cut 4 Me and Take Me Apart, and collaborated with artists like Solange, Gorillaz and Bok Bok. She made her debut in the music industry in 2013. She grew up in Mryland and learned to play the violin in fourth grade and sang in her school’s choir. In 2015, she announced the release of her first EP, Halluicinogen. In the Blue Light was released on 11 February 2025.
Warp

february 25 – good to hear

Ziska von Crayen & PURA
Stiimmenfeuer (Vocal Fire)
The music of Swiss vocalist and performer Ziska von Crayen and her groups PURA reveals itself as international, spiritual and vibrant. With imaginative rhythms and invented languages, the reinterpretation of traditional melodies is the strength of the all female band. Ziska and her sister musicians Annie Mumford (percussion and drums), Stefanie Hess (contrabass, Moog & voice) and Sara Käser (cello & voice) are bound to appear at many more festivals. All their albums are available on the Stimmenfeuer website (and through the usual channels).
Ziska Music

Japanese Breakfast
‘Orlando in Love’ from the album For Melancholy Brunettes (and sad women)
Author, composer, songwriter, musician and singer Michelle Zauner is the lead vocalist of the indie-band from Philapdelphia, which she started in 2013. She moved back to Eugene, Oregon, where she ws born, the following year, to take care of her mother, whose death led to a first album, Psychopomp. Her memoir, Crying in the H Mart spent 60 weeks on The New York Times’ hardcover non-fiction bestseller list. This is her 5th album. Zauner and her fellow musicians have won a number of awards.
Dead Oceans

Thandiswa Mazwai
Tiny Desk x globalFEST
Thandiswa has been one of the most influential post-Aprtheid singer in South Africa. She began her career in 1996 msuic group Jack Knife and Bongo Maffin, one of the pioneering bands in South Africa in the dance music genre Kwaito. Her latest album Sankifa (2024) inlcudes songs produced by Meshell Ndegeocello and Tandai Shoko. Recorded in Johannesburg, Dakar and New York, it combines archival Xhosa music field recordings, jazz and west African music.
NPR

Deva Runa & Bird Tribe
Dreamdancer
Deva Runa presents as an Earth Guardian, Ceremonialist, Wisdom Keeper, Song Carrier, Multi-Instrumentalist, as well as the co-founder of Birdtribe Music.Crafted through the lens of sacred plant medicine journeys, this album “offers a profound ‘sonic voyage’ that fosters deeper alignment with the Divine and one’s Higher Self. It’s a spiritual odyssey, intended to bring people closer to their truest potential, fostering healing, authenticity, and service aligned with the cosmic blueprint.” (Reality Sandwich)
Runa Music

Bad Bunny
Debi tirar más fotos
Bad Bunny has had a big impact on the music scene by being incredibly cool and authentic, all the while playing with different looks, styles and ways of being. Known as the “King of Latin Trap”, Bad Bunny (born 1994 in Veja Baja, Puerto Rico is credited with helping Spanish-language rap music achieve mainstream popularity in the worldwide market. Although primarily considered to be a Latin trap and reggaeton artist, his music also incorporates various other elements from other genres such as pop, hip-hop, rock, electronic, dancehall, reggae, Latin, soul and R&B.
Rimas

january 25 – good to hear

Leny Andrade 
Cantor da noite
Leny de Andrade Lima (1943-2013) can hold her own with any jazz great. She was recently praised in the New York Times as an exceptional singer who is not well enough known here. And her music makes you happy. So here is something for your soul right at the beginning of the year. Leny was born in Rio (where else?) and often had hits in the Brazilian charts. She sang in clubs, also abroad, with stops in Mexico, the United States and Europe. Toniy Bennett called her “the Ella Fitzgerald of Brazil”.
Albatroz

São Paulo Underground
Olhaluai, from their 5th album Cantos Invisívels
The multi-national, multi-ethnic, multi.musical São Paulo Underground are a great example of the new vanguard in music. Rob Mazurek leads in contemporary jazz and forward-looking rock, and Guilherme Granado, Mauricio Takara and Thomas Rohrer in updating and modernizing Brazilian musical forms. In a fascinating mixture of Sun Ra-esque cosmic noise and rhythms and phrasing we also find elements from samba, maracatu, rock and free jazz traditions.
Cuneiform Records

Elis Regina
At the Montreux Jazz Festival
There are few more accomplished vocalists than Brazil’s Elis Regina Carvalho Costa (1945-1982), whose warm and sonorous voice conveyed a wide range of musical content. Here we see her with the famous keyboardist Hermeto Pascoal. She made her appearance at the 13th Jazz Festival in 1979 legendary in the twinkling of an eye by virtuously singing three songs by Carlos Jobim in three different keys. Elis Regina was born in Porto Alegre and started performing as a child. Her death at the age of 36 from a combination of alcohol and cocaine shocked the nation.
Studio Luna Azul

Liniker e os Caramelos
Tiny Desk Concert
Here we segue into the present with Liniker (de Barros Ferreira Campos), born in 1995 and also from São Paul, two generations later, but with the same kind of voice, capable of anything. Liniker identifies as they/them and gives a sublime soft jazz performance here with their Brasilian as well as international friends. Liniker’s way of being smooth, laid-back and sincere is both professional, in the sense of well-practiced, and heart-felt.
NPR

Billie Eilish
Tiny Desk Concert
Billie Eilish, no doubt one of the great singer-songwriters of her generation, shows us an intimate side of herself. Her voice is beautifully clear and pure; and she always works in collaboration with her brother Finneas O’Connor who mostly doesn’t use, or need, his last last. For those of you who don’t know that she’s a mega star, Billie Eilish Pirate Baird O’Connell, born 2001 in Los Angeles, broke out at age fourteen with the original song “Ocean Eyes”.  A steep international career followed.
NPR

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