Presenting new and significant music
and the artists who create it.
Highlight of the Week
Hear the rising jazz-folk singer Lizz Wright in an interview and performance from WXPN.
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Justin Townes Earle: Living 'The Good Life'
Named for both singer-songwriter Townes Van Zandt and his father, Steve Earle, Justin Townes Earle makes music that's a credit to his roots. The Good Life references a wide array of musical influences with a style that sounds at once old and new.
Recently on World Cafe
The Black Crowes: Smearing the 'Warpaint'
On Warpaint, the band reunites after a string of solo efforts and concert tours on the jam-band circuit. The sound remains the same (swaggering rock with Southern-fried soul), but now the band sounds like professionals who've honed an otherwise ramshackle style of music.
Ersi Arvisu: From the Ashes of El Chicano
Best known as the lead singer of El Chicano — a '70s rock group that mixed jazz, R&B;, and Latin rhythms from East L.A. — Arvizu released her first-ever solo album, Friend for Life, this week. It exists in large part due to the influence of musician and producer Ry Cooder.
k.d. lang's 'Watershed' Moment
Offered up with confidence and honesty, k.d. lang's deeply personal narratives invite listeners into an intimate world. Her glorious voice fuses country, jazz, and even Brazilian rhythms, and in a session on World Cafe, she plays songs from her new album, Watershed.
Marco Benevento: Indie-Rock Meets Jazz
Better known as the "keys half" of the Benevento/Russo Duo, Marco Benevento developed Invisible Baby from a batch of compositions that didn't fit the duo format. Here, he plays jazz piano backed by spot-on rhythmic textures and powerful crescendos.