The finest honky-tonk songs have always understood one of country music’s enduring paradoxes: heartbreak often sounds best with a danceable backbeat. Tears mingle with twanging steel guitar, loneliness rides buoyant shuffle rhythms, and life’s hardest lessons somehow become invitations to fill the dance floor. Marley’s Ghost embraces that timeless tradition with remarkable authenticity on Honky Tonk, a joyful, lovingly crafted collection of country classics that celebrates th

Throughout his multi-faceted, nearly three decade long career, Miami-based producer, composer and keyboardist Jason Klein has explored a remarkable range of electronic music—from dancefloor-ready productions and Billboard-charting remixes for Mariah Carey, Ricky Martin and Earth, Wind & Fire to the immersive chill, trip-hop and cinematic soundscapes he’s crafted more recently under the Monster Taxi moniker. His latest single “Healing” continues that evolution with a deeply at

There are countless albums inspired by surfing, the California coast and life by the ocean, but few capture the culture with the vivid poetic detail, emotional authenticity and adventurous musical spirit of Stephen Jacques’ Les Surfeurs de Santa Cruz. Rather than relying on familiar beach-party nostalgia, the veteran singer/songwriter crafts an immersive collection of richly drawn character studies and cinematic snapshots, blending Americana, roots rock, jangling folk, gritty

Throughout a recording career spanning nearly two decades, guitarist Ronny Smith has cultivated a singular expansive voice that artfully incorporates the sophisticated improvisational language of straight-ahead jazz and the irresistible buoyant grooves of contemporary urban jazz. On his 13th full length release Velvet Vibe, he brings those parallel passions into perhaps their most fully realized balance yet, creating a multi-faceted album whose title perfectly captures the es

Three years after exploring the more intimate side of his artistry on his Solo Piano release, veteran pianist, composer and arranger Steve Rawlins returns to a dynamic full-band format for the first time in four decades with “It’s Cool,” the irresistible, infectiously grooving lead single from his forthcoming ensemble album Word on the Street. If this buoyant opener is any indication, the project promises to be a joyful celebration of melodic jazz, first-rate musicianship and

The most compelling interpreters of contemporary classical music don’t simply conquer formidable scores - they illuminate the architecture beneath the notes, revealing the ideas, tensions and human truths that give technically demanding works their lasting resonance. That gift is abundantly evident throughout Impulses, an ambitious and thoroughly engaging recital by pianist Walton Lott, who intriguingly pairs Frederic Rzewski’s Four Pieces for Piano (1977) with John Harbison’