The sounds of New Orleans have always been in Maria Muldaur's blood and catalog. Dr. John appeared on her first solo album back in 1974 and she arguably hit a career high point on her first full-fledged love letter to the city, 1992's Louisiana Love Call. She returns to the Crescent City for this 2011 release, employing veteran New Orleans keyboardist Dave Torkanowsky as musical director and "facilitator" and returning to the swampy "Bluesiana music" sound that includes heavy doses of gospel and blues along with touches of jazz, soul, and funk. This is a major shift from her past two acoustic jug band releases and plays to her sultry strengths as a vocalist who can convincingly sing any style of music she feels passionate about. Muldaur revisits a few tracks she has previously recorded (an earlier version of "As an Eagle Stirreth in Her Nest" was included on 1976's Sweet Harmony) but with a band that features guitarist Shane Theriot and Subdudes bassist Johnny Allen, they and the rest of the handpicked material boil with fresh enthusiasm.

Nick Cave launched his solo career in style with From Her to Eternity, an accomplished album mixing the frenzy and power of his Birthday Party days with a dank, moody atmosphere that showed he was not interested in simply continuing what the older group had done. To be sure, Mick Harvey joined him from the Party days, as ever playing a variety of instruments, while one-time Party guest Blixa Bargeld now became a permanent Cave partner, splitting his time between the Bad Seeds and Einsturzende Neubaten ever since. The group took wing with a harrowing version of Leonard Cohen's "Avalanche," Cave's wracked, buried tones suiting the Canadian legend's words perfectly, and never looked back. From Her to Eternity is crammed with any number of doom-laden songs, with Cave the understandable center of attention, his commanding vocals turning the blues and rural music into theatrical exhibitionism unmatched since Jim Morrison stalked stages.

On reflection, it's no wonder that so many artists were available for Total Lee: The Songs of Lee Hazlewood. Hazlewood occupies a position in posterity similar to that of the Velvet Underground–ignored by the world at large, but disproportionately adored by fellow musicians. Hazlewood's only glimpse of popular appeal occurred when Nancy Sinatra had a worldwide hit with his "These Boots Are Made For Walking"–a karaoke standard ignored by the 16 artists who appear on this tribute album. What is startling about this fine collection is that a lot of the artists here seem endearingly unable to separate their admiration for Hazlewood's songs from Hazlewood's myth: for most young men who've ever picked up a guitar, Hazlewood's life of meandering from town to town, girl to girl, bottle to bottle, has a certain aspirational quality, and may be the reason why every male artist on this album finds himself, consciously or not, adopting Hazlewood's signature consumptive drawl: The Webb Brothers, Jarvis Cocker and Richard Hawley, Calexico and Erlend Oye are more impersonation than interpretation, but nonetheless engaging.

Victim of your Father’s Agony is the fifth album from Trondheim’s finest prog band Arabs in Aspic. Originally released by the Italian label Black Widow Records in 2015, this album may be their most diverse to date, due to the large number of songwriters compared to the other records.

“Syndenes magi” was the sixth Arabs in Aspic album, and a turning point in their long career. After “Pictures in a Dream” and “Victim of your Father’s agony” the structure of “the new Arabs” was set. They had lots of songs ready to go, but after attending a spectacular King Crimson gig in Oslo they decided that their new material wasn’t up to par, and they had to do better.

The effects of the bebop revolution in jazz music are still being felt and explored. Of the half dozen true pioneers of the movement, pianist Bud Powell has remained somewhat in the shadows, although his work has become a major touchstone for true devotees of the music and a principal influence for most of jazz’s most explorative pianists.