Barber-Q-Records

<img src='https://npr.brightspotcdn.com/dims3/default/strip/false/crop/1920x1080+0+0/resize/1920x1080!/?url=http%3A%2F%2Fnpr-brightspot.s3.amazonaws.com%2Ff2%2F02%2F18f464794e2cb360ab34a6327620%2Fsnl-thumb-1.jpg' alt='Mustafa in a quiet moment from the video for "SNL," a single from his album <em>Dunya</em>.'/><p>On the aching <em>Dunya</em>, the artist stands at an east-west crossroads, trying to resolve a young striver's years of trauma with a folklorist's drive to preserve what's left.</p><p>(Image credit: Courtesy of the artist)</p><img src='https://media.npr.org/include/images/tracking/npr-rss-pixel.png?story=g-s1-26454' /><br /><br /> <a href="https://www.npr.org/2024/10/08/g-s1-26454/mustafa-dunya-poet-toronto-review" target="_blank" style="font-style: italic">* This article was originally published here</a>

<p>Many music lovers consider Ives, who died in 1954, to be the first truly great American composer. A new recording by pianist Donald Berman is a major addition to the Ives discography.</p><img src='https://media.npr.org/include/images/tracking/npr-rss-pixel.png?story=g-s1-26737' /><br /><br /> <a href="https://www.npr.org/2024/10/07/g-s1-26737/150-years-after-his-birth-composer-charles-ives-remains-a-maverick" target="_blank" style="font-style: italic">* This article was originally published here</a>

<p>Dylan's 40-show 1974 tour with The Band produced a live double-album later that year. Now, the music available from that tour has increased dramatically with the release of a new 27-CD set.</p><img src='https://media.npr.org/include/images/tracking/npr-rss-pixel.png?story=g-s1-25431' /><br /><br /> <a href="https://www.npr.org/2024/09/30/g-s1-25431/some-of-bob-dylans-most-raucous-rock-comes-to-life-on-the-1974-live-recordings" target="_blank" style="font-style: italic">* This article was originally published here</a>

<img src='https://npr.brightspotcdn.com/dims3/default/strip/false/crop/3107x3108+0+0/resize/3107x3108!/?url=http%3A%2F%2Fnpr-brightspot.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fcb%2F4b%2F0eb2808f45779195910e55824b6d%2Fll-cool-j-passion-press-photo-photo-credit-cory-grimes.jpeg' alt='LL Cool J's 2024 album <em>The FORCE</em> finds the rapper looser and more agile than he's sounded in years, assisted by eclectic production from Q-Tip.'/><p>On surprising new albums, '80s trailblazers LL Cool J and MC Lyte sound thrillingly revitalized, thanks to sharp production choices and a willingness to bend their signature styles toward the moment.</p><img src='https://media.npr.org/include/images/tracking/npr-rss-pixel.png?story=g-s1-23940' /><br /><br /> <a href="https://www.npr.org/2024/09/28/g-s1-23940/ll-cool-j-mc-lyte-review" target="_blank" style="font-style: italic">* This article was originally published here</a>

<p>Born Sept. 27, 1924, Powell helped set the style for jazz piano after WWII. While earlier pianists played busy bass patterns, he helped establish a more fragmented, punctuating role for the left hand.</p><img src='https://media.npr.org/include/images/tracking/npr-rss-pixel.png?story=g-s1-24655' /><br /><br /> <a href="https://www.npr.org/2024/09/26/g-s1-24655/marking-the-centennial-of-jazz-pianist-bud-powell" target="_blank" style="font-style: italic">* This article was originally published here</a>