WHEN LISTENING TO electroacoustic folk duo Drug Rug, somehow it sounds as if one’s revisiting the bygone (and honestly, too-much fussed over) era of Woodstock.The exception is that, instead of listening to reheated covers from the likes of Bob Dylan,The Mamas and The Papas or late-1960s Beach Boys, what you hear are completely original songs. The elements from that time, however, are all there: a bass guitar connected to an antique-sounding fuzz box, trippy keyboards, weirdly timed percussion and, of course, acid-tinged lyrics and vocals. Read more Read it in print

Rapper-turned-acoustic troubadour Lorenzo Chrerubini (best known as Jovanotti) might be a giant star who fills stadiums back in his native Italy, but here in the U.S. he is following an indie musician Read more

The Latin Alternative Music Conference—the annual showcase for Latin artists who don't play salsa—is celebrating its 10th anniversary this year with concerts at venues like Central Park S Read more

For as long as I can remember, the Lower East Side has always been a hotbed for creative minds, even during the dark (some would say glorious, but that is debatable) days of squats and heroin addicts. Read more

In the spring of 1994, a jazz aficionado named Mitch Borden started the West Villagebased Smalls Jazz Club, an after-hours basement where musicians and fans came together to celebrate the music they loved. Read more Read it in print

The four days of debauchery of Carnaval might be well behind us, but there is really no specific time to enjoy samba, Brazil’s best-known musical beat. A genre in constant reinvention, it has influenced and inspired generations of songwriters and interpreters around the world: The list includes Ary Barroso, Ella Fitzgerald, Antonio Carlos Jobim, guitarist Charlie Byrd, saxophonist Joe Henderson and countless others. Read more

During his lifetome, until his untimely death from Lou Gehrig’s disease in 1979, Charles Mingus was a well-respected bassist, bandleader, activist and prolific composer who released several albums of original work ovr a short period of time. In 1959 alone, he made three albums (Mingus Ah Um, Mingus Dynasty and Blues and Roots) that are today regarded as the most important of his career. Read more Read it in print

On her self-titled major-label debut, Esperanza Spalding demonstrates that she is an artist who keeps an open mind, avoiding the trappings of niche genres. She skillfully takes on a diverse array of styles ranging from samba, Latin, hard-driving jazz and R&B. Read more Read it in print

When Willie Nelson and Wynton Marsalis first shared the stage at The Allen Room in Jazz at Lincoln Center almost exactly two years ago, the concert was billed as Willie Nelson Sings The Blues as part of a vocalist-centered series. At the time, there was no hint that music history was about to be made: One of the most controversial singers in the history of country music would be paired with the man who is arguably the most recognizable living name in contemporary jazz. Fortunately for those of us who couldn’t get tickets for what turned out to be two amazing nights, the tapes were rolling (everything was recorded digitally), and the result appears on the CD Two Men With The Blues, which I consider to be one of the overall best discs released in 2008. Nelson and Marsalis, Jazz at Lincoln Center’s artistic director, are revisiting that partnership with two nights at the Rose Theater, which are already sold out. Although Nelson has done plenty of collaborations throughout his career, on paper it would seem remote at best that he’d ever team up with Marsalis for an entire gig. However, they seemed to have found much common ground, especially because of their shared Southern roots and mutual admiration for each other. Read more Read it in print

One of the greatest surprises of last year's Latin Alternative Music Conference (an international showcase of Latin music that does not include salsa) was Brooklyn's Zigmat, which stole the show with sets at The Mercury Lounge and at SOBs—not an easy task with so many new bands vying for the spotlight. Read more