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It's not easy living on the avant-garde edge of any art, let alone the always-changing world of jazz. But for nearly 50 years, the sound of Ornette Coleman has proven to be one of the most unorthodox — and most influential — in modern jazz.

After the more than 15 years together, the five-piece Canadian band Barenaked Ladies is having a first. They are releasing their latest album, Barenaked Ladies Are Me, on their own record label. Two members of the band, Steven Page and Kevin Hearn, elaborate.

On his latest CD, Ry Cooder recounts hardships of the Dust Bowl migration through the story of a "red" cat named Buddy and his two traveling buddies. The story was inspired by a real feline who slept in a suitcase.

Praised for the fluidity he brings to Chopin, Chinese pianist Yundi Li is getting rave reviews for his latest interpretation of Franz Liszt's Piano Concerto No. 1. He joined the National Symphony Orchestra this week for three performances of the concerto.

Aides to the congressional committee investigating the Jan. 6, 2021 attack on the U.S. Capitol said the next hearing would focus on extremist groups and their possible links to Trump and his allies.

A new CD features a unique musical combination from Ghana: drums, singing, bells and squeeze-bulb horns. The band members are taxi and truck drivers, and their music, por por, is named after the sound their horns make.

The songs of singer-songwriter Patty Griffin are full of heartbreak and longing — so much so that a friend recently challenged her to write a happy song. She discusses that song and her new CD, Children Running Through.

Years before Dr. Spock and other child-rearing gurus, a renowned pediatrician in Poland pioneered the field by advocating that parents simply trust their instincts. He was executed by the Nazis, along with the orphans he cared for in a Warsaw ghetto.

When words alone fail to illuminate the confounding mysteries of the heart, music lends a hand. Whether it's unrequited love, a fleeting affair or love that lasts a lifetime, there's a song for it. NPR listeners share "their" songs — along with the stories of bliss, bitterness and bygone times that make the music meaningful.

Spring Awakening is winning critical praise as a fresh interpretation of the Broadway musical. Based on a 19th-century play, the angst-ridden teen musical defies convention by dealing with tough topics and raw adolescent feelings.