Oct 27th, 2008 · Esau Mwamwaya isn't a well-known name in the music world, but if the growing hype is any indication, it may soon be. The singer and percussionist from Malawi is slowly but surely rising from obscurity with his mixture of reggae, pop and the traditional music of his homeland.
Oct 15th, 2008 · This week From the Top highlights five remarkable young chamber music groups from past programs. In this "uncommon combos" show, six bassoons play a lively march, three percussionists share one marimba in careful choreography, and an ensemble of teenage string players performs a serenade by a gifted 18-year-old composer.
Aug 23rd, 2008 · The Latin percussionist's classic 1972 album captures one of the greatest musicians of the 20th century at his peak. Bobby Sanabria, himself an award-winning bandleader, discusses the music and career of "El Rey del Timbal," Tito Puente.
Jul 17th, 2008 · Whether playing to the stratosphere or restraining to fit a room, Jon Faddis' trumpet is always in conversation. Faddis is a personal hero to many aspiring trumpeters. Here he performs with his quartet and guest percussionists from West Africa, at Jazz Standard in New York.
Jul 2nd, 2008 · Martin Dosh is a percussionist from Minneapolis, Minn., but his solo work is far from simple drum work. With Wolves and Wishes, Dosh's fourth full-length release on the Anticon label, Dosh has composed a series of richly orchestrated, mostly instrumental electronica tracks with a cinematic grandeur. With collaborative help from such well-known artists as Bonnie "Prince" Billy and Andrew Bird, the record finds a nice balance between Dosh's trippy synth, keyboard and drum work, and the album's guitars, violins, clarinets and saxophones.
Jun 25th, 2008 · This week's From the Top comes from the Ravinia Festival in Highland Park, Illinois, where an 11-year-old violinist from Seattle plays introspective music by Ernest Bloch, a 17-year-old Chinese-born percussionist delivers a sparkling marimba solo, and a passionate 18-year-old pianist from Berkeley, California, plays Schumann. This program originally aired November 14, 2007.
Feb 10th, 2007 · Rock drummer-turned music professor Simon Boyar's latest project is playing at least 30 instruments in a groundbreaking new concerto. He explains the logistics as part of the series "Musicians at Work."
Jun 25th, 2006 · Three years after his Grammy-nominated debut, Buenos Aires-born jazz trumpeter Diego Urcola's new CD "Viva" features what Urcola calls his dream band: pianist Edward Simon, bass player Avishai Cohen, drummer Antonio Sanchez and percussionist Pernell Saturnino, along with guests Paquito D'Rivera, Jimmy Heath and others.