ECM regularly tops lists of the best jazz labels though their full name—Edition of Contemporary Music—would argue for a broader scope of content. A substantial number of their most popular albums, ...

Styles, tastes, and tactics are ever-changing things in the music industry. Thank goodness that they are, as exploration and experimentation are what make music so innovative. Well, these days, that ...

Haymes calls himself a “utility infielder” in Ramblin Jug Stompers, responsible for many of the unusual sounds that don’t come from the typical stringed instruments in acoustic bands. At the band’s ...

Duck herders in Java have been using a traditional large bamboo object called a kowangan to protect themselves against the rain. The kowangan can be worn as a hat or be placed on the ground as a ...

Movies set in the past often rely on music to tell us just where we are. Most, but not all, of the composers of this year’s period pieces felt the obligation to reflect time and place. For Ridley ...

April 2, 2012 • The minute its members were ensconced in our office, So Percussion started borrowing items to add to its set, from an amplified cactus and bells to a mug filled with spare change and ...

The Ravanahatha is one of the oldest bowed string instruments in the world. It is made from a coconut shell resonator, a bamboo neck, and a horsehair bow. This combination produces a raw, haunting ...