The alto saxophonist Matana Roberts does experimental jazz that travels from Africa to the American south to Chicago, following her family’s trajectory. Her latest album, "The Chicago Project," was produced by pianist and composer Vijay Iyer and drummer John McEntire. Matana joins us to talk about it.

Tony Trischka says he didn’t choose to play the banjo -- it chose him. But during his 40-year career, he’s inspired a generation of bluegrass musicians to pick up the instrument. On his Grammy nominated CD "Double Banjo Bluegrass Spectacular," he collaborates with banjoists ranging from Bela Fleck to comedian ...

Singer and songwriter Natalia Zukerman seems to support any claim that there's a genetic predisposition for music. Her parents are the classical musicians Pinchas and Eugenia Zukerman and her sister, Arianna, is an opera singer. She joins us to share her latest album, "Brand New Frame," which reveals her considerable ...

Brooklyn-based band Via Audio scored a top-notch producer the old fashioned way: they pressed a CD into the palm of Spoon drummer and producer Jim Eno. Via Audio's new album is called "Say Something." They play live in the studio.

The Brooklyn based folk-rock group Hymns packs together Pavement, Neil Young and Wilco in a country-fried Flying Burrito. They join us for a live performance of songs from their new album, "Travel in Herds."

Keyboardist Marco Benevento earned his chops as one half of the hard-touring, jammy Benevento-Russo Duo. In 2007, he drew praise for his three-CD set of live performances recorded at the now-shuttered nightclub Tonic. Benevento joins us to perform songs from his first solo studio album, "Invisible Baby."

Malian guitarist Habib Koité descends from a line of griots -- traditional troubadours -- and his music is all about his continent. But Koité mixes those native sounds with Western influences, enlisting help from people like American saxophonist Pee Wee Ellis, known for his work with the James Brown band. ...

After its release in 2006, Peter Bjorn and John's catchy hit "Young Folks" seemed to be everywhere, including TV shows "Gossip Girl" and "Grey's Anatomy" and ads for Target and a Samsung mobile phone. Even though the group toured almost constantly for two years, member Peter Morén somehow managed to ...

Like other members of his family, guitarist and singer James Petralli nearly pursued a career in baseball. Instead, he’s hitting home runs as the frontman of White Denim, an Austin, Texas-based rock trio that roars like a hyperactive, artier version of The Stooges. They play live for us.

White ...

Minneapolis musician Craig Minowa finds musicians playing boring to watch. So his band, Cloud Cult, performs with visual artists who create paintings onstage. And we’ll see how that works for real, when we get a live performance.

Cloud Cult perform Fri. Apr. 18 at Bowery Ballroom at 8pm.

Cellist and composer Dana Leong is all about melting-pot. He is of both Chinese and Japanese descent. And his music mixes jazz with funk, hip-hop and electronica. He brings his band for a live performance in the studio.

Dana Leong performs a free concert with his band at Dizzy's ...

Imagine a woman running for the American presidency, with an black man as her running mate. A look into the future? Not quite. The opera "Mrs. President" tells the story of Victoria Woodhull, who ran for president in 1872 with Frederick Douglass as her running mate. Composer and conductor Victoria ...

Rupa was born to Indian parents, was raised in the US, India and Southern France. Her music mixes French nouvelle vague, Latin alternative, Gypsy, Indian ragas… and medicine. Besides being a songwriter and bandleader to The April Fishes, Rupa is also a physician and often finds inspiration from her patients. ...

Sweden is exporting so many pop stars at the moment, it’s a wonder the country has time to produce any Volvos or Saabs. Singer-songwriter Anna Ternheim’s breathy vocals and moody pop sound is already nabbing award nods inside her native country. She's releases her American full-length debut, “Halfway to Fivepoints,” ...

They’ve rocked you for 25 years. Now, they’re coming for your kids. The band They Might Be Giants has a new CD and DVD called “Here Comes the 1 2 3s,” and they’ll join us for a live performance.

They Might Be Giants performs Sun. Apr. 20 at

Two years ago, Minneapolis-based indie group Tapes n Tapes scored a hit with their debut, "The Loon," often drawing comparisons to Pavement and the Pixies. The group explains how they approached rock music's most arduous task: the sophomore album. And, they play songs from "Walk It Off" live in our ...

New Orleans Cultural Ambassador and trumpeter Irvin Mayfield was about to record an album when Katrina struck. The offices of his record company where destroyed by the floods, but thanks to his iPod – where he saved the original mixes – the music wasn’t lost. Mayfield joins us to talk ...

Belizean singer and guitarist Andy Palacio put his culture of Garifuna - a mix of West African and native Central American peoples – on the world music map last year. When he died suddenly last January, he was about to tour with the group Umalali. Umalali join us to talk ...

Brazilian guitarist Carlos Barbosa Lima started playing the guitar when he was seven and recorded his first album when he was 12. Fifty years later, he's one of the world’s leading guitar masters. He joins us for a live performance in our studio.

Brooklyn-based ensemble My Brightest Diamond is the brainchild of singer-songwriter Shara Worden. The group’s second album, “A Thousand Shark’s Teeth,” features more than 20 players and influences ranging from Tricky to composer Maurice Ravel. It’s a classical, string quartet affair for the experimental indie set. The group joins us for ...