Reviews music

The pianist captures the essences of small works by Leonard Bernstein and Aaron Copland as sensitively as she does songs and pieces by Irving Berlin, Duke Ellington and Howard Arlen.

The Furious Seasons’ ‘Look West’ manages to convey a broad range of emotions with a limited number of tools.

‘Excuses Not to Sleep’ is defined by tight rhyming and impeccable delivery.

On the surface, you might think that limiting the songs of a band that thrived on the interplay between various parts – most importantly the lead and rhythm guitars of Jerry Garcia and Bob Weir – wouldn't work, but you’d be mistaken. There is power and subtlety in these reinterpretations that I think Garcia would have admired, as his own personal tastes seemed to range to the more subdued and authentic soul of acoustic performances.

From the sonic exuberance of “Dancin’ Fool” and “Tell Me You Love Me” to the funky dissonance of “You Are What You Is” and “Joe’s Garage” to the bathroom-humor excellence of “Don’t Eat The Yellow Snow” and “Titties and Beer,” this album will give you just as much of a “taste” for Frank Zappa’s music as his son’s "Zappa Plays Zappa" did for me some eight years ago.

The Route 91 Harvest Country Music Festival brought joy, country music, fun and surprises to the Las Vegas Strip, September 30 to October 2. The three-day event provided excitement each day, taking place at the MGM Resorts Festival Grounds, giving it the feel and experience of a traditional music festival like Stagecoach but enabling you to sleep in a Vegas hotel instead of your camper.

Bonamassa and his band fire on all cylinders on this live 2-CD or 2-DVD set. Recorded, amazingly, at a single sold-out Los Angeles concert in 2015, the selections pay tribute to the three "Kings" of the blues: Freddie King, Albert King, and Bonamassa's mentor B.B. King.

Back when the term "Americana" just meant pioneer-era antiques, the Nitty Gritty Dirt Band was bringing American folk music into the pop-music mainstream. To celebrate half a century of making music, the group is releasing a live album of 18 favorite tunes recorded at Nashville's famous Ryman Auditorium, many featuring guest artists from the pantheon of folk, Americana, and country music.

If you’re not a fan of the band but want to experience one of the more potent albums to come from the wave of bands labeled as “emo” during the last decade, then you should definitely consider this landmark release from My Chemical Romance.

Alt-country singer-songwriter Lydia Loveless is poised to hit mainstream success with her fourth album, 'Real.'