San Francisco quartet Birdmonster are kind of like a Bay Area version of Ted Leo the Pharmacists except that where Leo and his group have an undying devotion to first-wave new wave and ska groups like the Jam and the Specials Birdmonster spike their…

b. 12 January 1969, Compton, California, USA. Trumpeter, composer, vocalist and a student of classical music at college in San Francisco, Matthews collaborated with Australian Richard Davies as Cardinal, releasing an acclaimed self-titled album in 19…

Brightblack Morning Light were started by Nathan Nabob Shineywater guitars vocals and Rachael Rabob or Rabinyah Hughes Fender Rhodes vocals two childhood friends from Alabama who played one of their earliest shows under the name Rainywood for 15 peop…

b. Francis Avallone, 18 September 1940, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA. This photogenic 50s teen idol started as a trumpet-playing child prodigy. His first recordings in 1954 were the instrumentals "Trumpet Sorrento" and "Trumpet Tarantella" on X-Vi…

After retiring Songs Ohia Jason Molina started up Magnolia Electric Co a new avenue to explore his country-rock The name of the new group was taken from the title of the last Songs Ohia record and proved to be the appropriate connection from the past…

The creation of Fred M. Cornog (b. USA), a home studio-based auteur who crafts elegant songs that belie their lo-fi origins. His unusual recording name was inspired by the tawdry sight of raw sewage emptying out of a pipe into the East River, a fitti…

Ska is to reggae as blues is to rock & roll, and as ska's founders and foremost practitioners, the Skatalites are the single most influential group in Jamaican music. Starting in the mid-'60s, the Skatalites forged a horn-led sound that merged Jamaic…

As well as being one of the ablest solo turntablists on the globe Cut Chemist is also a member of two highly rated crews underground rap kings Jurassic 5 and the Los Angeles Latin funk band Ozomatli He came up with the LA rap group Unity Committee an…

Cape Verdean songstress Cesaria Evora is a bit of a musical late bloomer; she released her first album of morna music (a combination of West African and Brazilian styles) in 1992 at age 47 and, four years later, became an international sensation. Her…

A side project for members of Soul Asylum, the Jayhawks, Run Westy Run, Wilco and the Honeydogs, the real names of those involved in the indie band Golden Smog were kept a closely guarded secret on the release of their debut album in 1996. However, t…

Although several Californian acts claimed this sobriquet, including the embryonic Love, it was appropriated by songwriters P.F. Sloan and Steve Barri, who employed the name pseudonymously on several folk rock performances. When "Where Were You When I…

Despite a relatively short career--she died in 1963 at the age of 39--Dinah Washington laid claim to being one of the major jazz voices, and one of the most versatile of all jazz singers. Her voice was rich; she filled everything she sang with heartf…

Through both the force of his music and his personal character, saxophonist John Coltrane remains among the most influential jazz artists of all time. After a stint with the classic Miles Davis band of the late 1950s, the tenor titan embarked on a de…

Under the moniker Black Francis, Frank Black was the principal songwriter, lyricist, and lead vocalist of the Pixies, one of the most important alternative rock bands of the 1980s and early '90s. Black's solo career has been marked by a slight shift …

Underworld rose from the semi-successful '80s synth-pop outfit known as Freur to become one of the great innovators in electronica. While the group's sound can easily be whittled down to its core elements--trance, dub, ambient, and a certain punkish …

One of the most popular and artistically engaging groups in the hip-hop underground, Jurassic 5 brought the conscious-rap style of the Native Tongues movement and a cratediggers ear for samples and production to L.A.'s overwhelmingly gangstafied rap …

She was born Leslie Feist in Calgary in the mid-70s but goes by her surname when it comes to making music for a living The Jhay-inspired songstress got her start playing in a high-school punk band called Placebo not to be confused with the UK modern …

After rising to prominence as the leader of Boston's Til Tuesday and scoring a huge hit with "Voices Carry," Aimee Mann left behind her old band for a solo career that typified the struggles of musicians to survive in an increasingly market-driven in…