“Sh-Boom” (“Life Could Be a Dream“) is an early doo-wop song by the R&B vocal group The Chords. It was written by James Keyes, Claude Feaster, Carl Feaster, Floyd F. McRae, and William Edwards, members of The Chords, and published in 1954. It is sometimes considered the first doo-wop or rock ‘n’ roll record to […]
Willie King
Willie King was an American blues guitarist and singer, known for shunning fame and playing at a local bar in Mississippi. King was born in Prairie Point, a community in Noxubee County, Mississippi near the Alabama border. Prior to recording, he worked as a sharecropper, moonshine maker and travelling salesman; just a few of his […]
Descartes a Kant
Equal parts Punk, Metal, Pop, Shoegaze and Cabaret, the critically-acclaimed underground sextet, Descartes a Kant (Guadalajara, Mexico) have made a real name for themselves as an otherworldly, unpredictable theatrical live act. So much so that even the Wall Street Journal chimed to say that “trying to describe their music is to do it a disservice. […]
Grace Kelly
Grace Kelly (born Grace Chung) is an American jazz musician, composer, and arranger. Kelly has produced and released recordings of her own, scored soundtracks, and tours with her band. She briefly played clarinet and classical piano before finding her voice on the saxophone. Kelly stated, “Saxophone reminds me of the human voice. And I always […]
Hiromi
Hiromi Uehara, known professionally as Hiromi, is a Japanese jazz composer and pianist. She is known for her virtuosic technique, energetic live performances and blending of musical genres such as stride, post-bop, progressive rock, classical and fusion in her compositions. Uehara was born in Hamamatsu, Japan. She started learning piano at the age of six […]
Arabesque
An Arabesque is a type of music which uses melodies to create the atmosphere of Arabic architecture. The term and themes are borrowed from the art term arabesque, rather than stemming from Arabic music. It is a highly ornamented style. The name has origins in the middle of the seventeenth century, it is derived from […]
Sona Jobarteh
Sona Jobarteh, who was born in London, is a member of one of the five principal kora-playing (griot) families from West Africa, and the first female member of such a family to rise to prominence on this instrument. The playing of this 21-stringed harp-like instrument was exclusively passed down from father to son. The instrument […]
Oblivion
Oblivion is an instrumental work by Astor Piazzolla. He spent many of his formative years in the Italian neighbourhoods of New York City, where he learned to play the bandoneón (a button accordion of Italian origin, now associated most often with the Argentine tango). After moving to Buenos Aires and receiving a formal music education, […]
Jalousie
Jalousie is a tango written by Danish composer Jacob Gade in 1925. Its full title is Jalousie “Tango Tzigane” (Jealousy “Gypsy Tango”). It soon became popular around the world and is today a classic in the modern songbook. The work consists of two themes – the first “a temperamental theme in D minor”, followed by […]
Julee Cruise
Julee Cruise was an American singer and actress, known for her collaborations with composer Angelo Badalamenti and film director David Lynch in the late 1980s and early 1990s. In 1985, Badalamenti was composing the score for David Lynch’s Blue Velvet, as well as serving as the vocal coach for the film’s star, Isabella Rossellini. When […]