Lovers had a great year in 1973: war was over in Vietnam, so mankind could concentrate on bedroom action to the strains of Marvin Gaye ("Let's Get It On"). On "You're So Vain," Carly Simon had a word t …

Those of you who believe that the blues is the exclusive preserve of men with a fistful of booze 'n' women troubles, think again. These ladies rank among the genre's greatest ambassadors, from the grea …

Who better to begin with than the immortal Billie Holiday, whose sultry vocals straddled the ever-blurry jazz-blues line? Holiday's co-composition "God Bless the Child" showcases her at her best, while …

Now that its final note has been written, we can look back at the 20th century and try to make sense of what often seemed chaotic or strange . . . but always promising, and relentlessly new. Just as th …

No survey of the past century's music would be complete if it ignored the advent of electronics and the rise of technological developments that changed the manner in which at least some of the recent p …

It's all about the improv; that's what distinguishes jazz from most other pop music. And you can pick your fave instrument for solos: guitar, sax, horn, keyboards, even bass. There are ensembles and so …

Brazil may be the fifth-largest country in the world - spanning three time zones, it shares a border with every South American country save Ecuador and Chile - but that hasn't stopped us from scouring  …

Welcome to Brazilian Deep Cuts, where beloved rockers Os Mutantes employ their anything-goes approach for the playful avant-pop of "Panis Et Circenses." And, in a marvelous, mind-boggling mash-up, new- …

The line between pop, rap, rock, and R&B wasn't just blurred in 2010 - it was tossed out the window by tracks that were as scatterbrained as the Twitter and Facebook feeds that trampled our computer sc …