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Music Features

Friday

Thursday

At the Rothko Chapel, Tyshawn Sorey explores sound — and silence

Composer, conductor and multi-instrumentalist Tyshawn Sorey leads a rehearsal of his Monochromatic Light (Afterlife) at the Rothko Chapel in Houston on Feb. 18. Scott Dalton/DACAMERA hide caption

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Scott Dalton/DACAMERA

Deceptive Cadence

At the Rothko Chapel, Tyshawn Sorey explores sound — and silence

Invited to write a new work for Houston's Rothko Chapel, the composer and multi-instrumentalist Tyshawn Sorey created a work that is both intimate and vast, like those Mark Rothko paintings.

At the Rothko Chapel, Tyshawn Sorey explores sound — and silence

Listen · 7:46
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From 'Milkshake' to veggies, Kelis and Ron Finley share their farm journeys
NPR

Food

From 'Milkshake' to veggies, Kelis and Ron Finley share their farm journeys

Grammy-nominated recording artist and chef Kelis talks to urban gardener Ron Finley about growing your own food, the relationship between Black people and the land, and how to handle a mean rooster.

From 'Milkshake' to veggies, Kelis and Ron Finley share their farm journeys

Listen · 5:10
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How the many pairs behind 'Cyrano' made music for the movie's lovelorn couples

Haley Bennett stars as Roxanne and Peter Dinklage as Cyrano. Peter Mountain/Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Pictures Inc. hide caption

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Peter Mountain/Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Pictures Inc.

Movies

How the many pairs behind 'Cyrano' made music for the movie's lovelorn couples

The National frontman Matt Berninger and his wife Carin Besser wrote the lyrics, and twin brothers Aaron and Bryce Dessner scored the movie.

How the many pairs behind 'Cyrano' made music for the movie's lovelorn couples

Listen · 4:54
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Tuesday

For Ukrainian musicians, rejecting Russia is a matter of national pride

Taras Shevchenko (left) and Kateryna Pavlenko from the band Go_A sing exclusively in Ukrainian and represented Ukraine on the main stage in 2021 at Eurovision, the popular European song contest. Claire Harbage/NPR hide caption

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Claire Harbage/NPR

World

For Ukrainian musicians, rejecting Russia is a matter of national pride

Ukrainian musicians are turning away from Russia, and sometimes the Russian language, as they try to reassert their country's identity. Some who used to sing in Russian now only perform in Ukrainian.

For Ukrainian musicians, rejecting Russia is a matter of national pride

Listen · 4:16
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Saturday

Prison choirs sing in a reboot of Beethoven's opera about unjust incarceration

Tenor Curtis Bannister sings the role of Stan in Beethoven's Fidelio, in a dress rehearsal. Russ Rowland/Courtesy of Heartbeat Opera hide caption

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Russ Rowland/Courtesy of Heartbeat Opera

Deceptive Cadence

Prison choirs sing in a reboot of Beethoven's opera about unjust incarceration

A New York City opera company created an updated version of Fidelio for the Black Lives Matter era. The performance features singers who are incarcerated in real life.

Prison choirs sing in a reboot of Beethoven's opera about unjust incarceration

Listen · 5:31
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Friday

Big Thief spreads its bets
Josh Goleman/Courtesy of the artist

Big Thief spreads its bets

For a new long-player of an album, Dragon New Warm Mountain I Believe in You, the four members of Big Thief decided to let the spaces they were recording in help shape the record's creative direction.

Big Thief spreads its bets

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Thursday

Remembering 'Small,' the funeral singer who made joyful music in the face of death

"Small," as he was widely known, played a homemade kologo (a 2-string lute)— with dog tags attached to the end for rattles. Marilena Umuhoza Delli for NPR hide caption

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Marilena Umuhoza Delli for NPR

Goats and Soda

Remembering 'Small,' the funeral singer who made joyful music in the face of death

The Ghanaian singer would vocalize and dance all night long to send off the departed. On the verge of his long awaited first trip to perform abroad, he has died, reportedly of COVID.

Wednesday

How a jazz legend's resting place was lost and found, 50 years after his tragic death

Lee Morgan was killed in 1972, tragedy cutting short the life and career of the prolific and celebrated jazz musician. Nearly 50 years later, one fan discovered that Morgan's resting place seemed to have vanished. Joel Franklin/Courtesy of the artist hide caption

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Joel Franklin/Courtesy of the artist

Black History Month 2022

How a jazz legend's resting place was lost and found, 50 years after his tragic death

WBGO

Though the trumpeter Lee Morgan was killed in 1972, his legacy was well maintained. At least it seemed so, until one fan discovered last year that Morgan's gravesite seemed to have vanished.

How a jazz legend's resting place was lost and found, 50 years after his tragic death

Listen · 5:35
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Tuesday

The Black Innovators Of Rock And Roll: Part 3

American rock band Living Colour attend the inaugural International Rock Awards, New York City, New York, May 1989. Michael Ochs Archives/Getty Images hide caption

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Michael Ochs Archives/Getty Images

World Cafe Words and Music Podcast

The Black Innovators Of Rock And Roll: Part 3

WXPN

This week, our ongoing series focuses on the end of the '80s and the '90s, starting with two of the biggest Black rock acts of the '90s: Living Colour and Fishbone.

The Black Innovators Of Rock And Roll: Part 3

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Meet Germaine Franco, Oscar-nominated 'Encanto' composer

Composer Germaine Franco attends the world premiere of Encanto at Hollywood's El Capitan Theatre in Hollywood in November 2021. Alberto E. Rodriguez/Getty Images for Disney hide caption

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Alberto E. Rodriguez/Getty Images for Disney

Meet Germaine Franco, Oscar-nominated 'Encanto' composer

She's the first woman to score a Disney animated feature, and a history-making Oscar nominee. But most importantly, Franco is a drummer, who brings a jam-band attitude to a by-the-book industry.

Sunday

Saturday

Brassville aims to reclaim the deep scope of Nashville music history, stage by stage

The members of Brassville. From left, back row, standing: Jonathon Neal, MarVelous Brown, Derrick Greene, Adrian Pollard, Nate McDowell; seated on bench: Marcus Chandler and Rashad Sylvester; center, seated on ground: Larry Jenkins, Jr. Garrett E Morris/Courtesy of the artist hide caption

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Garrett E Morris/Courtesy of the artist

Brassville aims to reclaim the deep scope of Nashville music history, stage by stage

A contemporary brass band that grew out of one of Nashville's historically Black universities is helping to expand the lost musical identity of the country capital.

Brassville aims to reclaim the deep scope of Nashville music history, stage by stage

Listen · 4:43
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