Can cool actually die? Before diving into the richly layered, stylistically fluid terrain of The Death of Cool , it’s worth noting that Daphne Parker Powell isn’t simply introducing a new collection of songs—she’s delivering a statement shaped by resilience, introspection and a fearless willingness to strip away illusion. Creating and recording while undergoing treatment for breast cancer, the New Orleans-based singer/songwriter channels not hardship, but clarity and hard-won

When an ensemble builds an ongoing series around a single conceptual thread, their challenge with each subsequent recording is not simply to sustain that initial vision, but to deepen and develop it, allowing it to evolve in ways that feel organic rather than repetitive. With Kinesis, Volume 3 , the Athens-based Galan Trio does exactly that, expanding their ambitious exploration of “motion” into new sonic territories while preserving the restless, ever-shifting spirit that ha

In an era where so much music competes for immediate attention through density, melody or rhythmic insistence, Abby Fisher’s Continuous Interior offers something far more subtle—and ultimately more transformative. It is an album that doesn’t demand engagement so much as it quietly insists upon it, inviting those who partake in its unfolding artistry into an intricately constructed sonic environment where time stretches, perception shifts and the act of listening itself becom

There are artistic collaborations that cross stylistic and cultural boundaries—and then there are those rare, profoundly resonant works that dissolve boundaries altogether, reshaping not only how art is created, but who is invited into the creative process and whose voices are ultimately unleashed and heard. Through the Eye(s), the deeply moving and conceptually innovative project led by speaking percussionist Bonnie Whiting in collaboration with incarcerated writers and com

In an anxious time where so much of our energy is spent chasing meaning, validation and happiness somewhere beyond ourselves, the illuminating new single “Portrait Mode” offers a graceful, deeply resonant reminder to turn the lens inward. A vibrant, intricately rendered collaboration between multi-instrumentalist and acclaimed “sound painter” David Vito Gregoli and lyricist Lissa Coffey—featuring a luminous lead vocal by Windy Wagner—unfolds as a soulful, mid-tempo pop/rock m

As she invites listeners to journey from the shadowed, soul-searching depths of “Mountain” to the gently radiant, life-affirming glow of “The Joy in You,” pianist/composer Gina Leneé has something even more immersive and transformative in mind on Bloom , a thoughtful, exquisitely expressed set of originals that marks her first album in seven years. Born of deeply felt personal challenges and the hard-won wisdom gleaned from them, she offers an intimate and spiritually resona

While some artists present their songs—their creative children—as finished statements reflecting specific moments in their lives, Tom C. Reed approaches them as evolving ideas, living, breathing structures shaped as much by instinct, experimentation and revision as by melody and lyric. On his quirkily titled collection From the Basement Pipes , the veteran singer/songwriter continues a creative journey that’s been decades in the making, defined less by linear momentum than b

There’s a fine line between nostalgia and reinterpretation, and vocalist Jaana Narsipur walks it with a clear, playfully charming swirl of whimsy, reflection and purpose on The Re-Collection . Rather than simply revisiting familiar material from the ‘80s pop canon – a formative era for her early evolving musical sensibilities – the veteran NYC/Hudson Valley vocalist reshapes it from the inside out, finding new contours on a compelling Brit-centric slate of radio chestnuts (a

At a juncture in her extraordinary six decade career where many artists of her renown and caliber might settle into a comfortable, familiar vibe, the San Francisco legend long revered as “The Dynamic Miss Faye Carol” continues to expand her reach, bringing her commanding jazz, soul and blues steeped presence, deep musical intelligence, spirited phrasing and playful scat to Forever Dynamic , a two-disc set that feels both expansive and grounded in purpose. Rather than presenti

While much beloved SoCal vintage swing and timeless balladry maven Jack Wood devoted his last two albums Movie Magic and The Gal That Got Away to introducing his friend, premier Australian jazz stylist, Nichaud Fitzgibbon, to American audiences, he’s singing, swinging, styling and dreamily crooning with host of other dazzling, well-heed musicians on his latest eclectic set of standards, For Every Man There’s a Woman. On the first three gems, the sensual title track, a brisk s

The masterful blend of cool elegance and rapidly intensifying excitement on “Chrysalis” the high spirited opener on Benjie Porecki’s fascinatingly eclectic eighth album Faster Than We Know , captures everything about his peripatetic energy of his career to date. That is, to begin with, a tasteful versatility so renowned that it’s been tapped by everyone from Carlos Santana and Buddy Guy to Chaka Khan, Tom Scott and Chuck Brown. And then, there’s the way the track, while Lati

Considering the wildly eclectic professional resume composer/saxophonist Peter Furlan has amassed over the past 30+ years – Dizzy Gillespie, Aretha Franklin, Mahavishnu Orchestra, The Temptations, 10,000 Maniacs, et al – it’s hardly surprising that when he got around to leading a large top flight ensemble in a live setting, he’d make it a delightfully freewheeling blast of stylistically all over the map adventures. Leading this tightly knit group on Peter Furlan Project Live