Louis Thomas Hardin, known professionally as Moondog, was an American composer, musician, performer, music theoretician, poet and inventor of musical instruments. Largely self-taught as a composer, his prolific work widely drew inspiration from jazz, classical, Native American music which he had become familiar with as a child, and Latin American music. His strongly rhythmic, contrapuntal pieces and arrangements later influenced composers of minimal music, in particular American composers Steve Reich and Philip Glass.
Charles Edward Haden was an American jazz double bass player, bandleader, composer and educator whose career spanned more than 50 years. Building on the work of predecessors such as Jimmy Blanton and Charles Mingus, Haden helped to revolutionize the harmonic concept of bass playing in jazz, evolving a style that sometimes complemented the soloist, and other times moved independently, liberating bassists from a strictly accompanying role, to allow more direct participation in group improvisation.
Grown Backwards is the seventh studio album by musician David Byrne, released on March 16, 2004.
Diamonds & Rust is the sixteenth studio album by American singer-songwriter Joan Baez, released in 1975. The album covered songs written or played by Bob Dylan, Stevie Wonder, The Allman Brothers, Jackson Browne and John Prine. Diamonds & Rust, however, also contains a number of her own compositions, including the title track, a distinctive song written about Bob Dylan, which has been covered by various other artists.
Marissa Nadler is an American singer-songwriter. Active since 2000, she is currently signed to Sacred Bones Records and Bella Union, and released her ninth full-length studio album, The Path of the Clouds, in October 2021. Her music has been characterized as blending "traditional folk, Gothic Americana, and dreamy pop into an original musical framework". Her music "is rooted in old-school country and folk but brings in elements of experimental and black metal". Sometimes the term "dream folk" has been invoked to describe her work.
Unforgettable … with Love, also known as simply Unforgettable, is the twelfth studio album by American singer Natalie Cole. Released on June 11, 1991, the album includes covers of standards previously performed by her father, Nat King Cole. It was also her debut for Elektra Records, after being given her release from EMI Records.
"Vocalise" is a song by Sergei Rachmaninoff, composed and published in 1915 as the last of his 14 Songs or 14 Romances, Op. 34. Written for high voice with piano accompaniment, it contains no words, but is sung using only one vowel of the singer's choosing. It was dedicated to soprano singer Antonina Nezhdanova. It is performed in various instrumental arrangements more frequently than in the original vocal version.
Gershwin's World is a studio album by the American jazz pianist Herbie Hancock.
A Place in the World is the sixth studio album by American singer-songwriter Mary Chapin Carpenter, released by Columbia Records on October 22, 1996. It rose to No. 3 on the Billboard's Country Albums chart and No. 20 on the Billboard 200, with four of its tracks reaching the Hot Country Songs chart: "Let Me into Your Heart", "I Want to Be Your Girlfriend", and "Keeping the Faith".
Brian Carpenter is an American musician, songwriter, composer, arranger, producer, and radio host. He is the lead singer and songwriter for the Boston, Massachusetts band Beat Circus. In 2011, he formed Brian Carpenter & The Confessions and released its debut album in 2015. He is also a founder and musical director of Ghost Train Orchestra in Brooklyn.
Spillane is an album by American composer and saxophonist/multi-instrumentalist John Zorn, composed of three "file-card pieces", as well as a work for voice, string quartet and turntables.
Easy Come, Easy Go is a studio album of cover versions by English singer Marianne Faithfull, which was released in the EU on 10 November 2008. The album is produced by Hal Willner and features guest appearances from a variety of musicians. It was released as both a standard 10-track CD and a special 18-track edition with a DVD documentary by Anne Rohart under Jean-Baptiste Mondino's artistic direction, with both Faithfull and Wilner commenting on the song selection. A collectible 2-disc vinyl pressing is also available. The album was recorded with Pro Tools in NYC at the Sear Sound Studio.
When Love Speaks is a compilation album that features interpretations of William Shakespeare's sonnets – some spoken, some set to music – and excerpts from his plays by famous actors and musicians, released under EMI Classics in April 2002. The original idea came from Joy Gelardi who proposed the album as a fund raiser for Shakespeare’s Globe Theatre. When that plan fell through, Joy and Michael Kamen, together with Alan Rickman, co-produced it in support of RADA. Alan chose the title, which alludes to a speech in Love's Labour's Lost – "And when love speaks, the voice of all the gods make heaven drowsy with the harmony." – which is, however, not on the album.
Songs of the Civil War is a compilation album, released in 1991 by Columbia, that presents an assortment of contemporary performers recording period pieces and traditional songs, most of which date back to the American Civil War.
The Art of the Song is an album by jazz bassist Charlie Haden and his Quartet West, released in 1999. It reached number ten on the Billboard Top Jazz Albums chart.
At This Time is an album by American pianist, composer and music producer Burt Bacharach, released in 2005 through Columbia Records. Guests include Elvis Costello and Rufus Wainwright. In 2006, it won a Grammy Award for Best Pop Instrumental Album.
Hard Knocks is the twenty-first and penultimate studio album by Joe Cocker, released on 1 October 2010 by Columbia Records in Europe. It features nine new songs produced by Matt Serletic plus Cocker's version of the Dixie Chicks number "I Hope", which was produced by Tony Brown. Apart from a regular CD release, the album was also released on vinyl.
Ghost Train Orchestra is a Brooklyn-based jazz and chamber ensemble led by Boston-based musician Brian Carpenter. The band formed in 2006 when an historic theater in Boston commissioned Carpenter as musical director for its 90th year celebration. For the commission, Carpenter transcribed and arranged a set of overlooked music from late 1920s Chicago and Harlem and formed a side project from his regular band Beat Circus to perform it. The following year the group started performing under the name Ghost Train Orchestra.
Long Time Passing is a 2020 album by Kronos Quartet celebrating the music of Pete Seeger. The album was commissioned by the FreshGrass Foundation and released on the Smithsonian Folkways label. This release follows 2017's Folk Songs, which saw the Kronos Quartet teaming with a variety of folk musicians.
Folk Songs is a 2017 studio album by American string quartet Kronos Quartet, featuring classical and roots musicians Sam Amidon, Olivia Chaney, Rhiannon Giddens, and Natalie Merchant. It has received positive reviews from critics and was followed in 2020 by Long Time Passing, a collection of Pete Seeger songs by the Kronos Quartet.
