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A few years ago, the banjo master Fleck set out to explore the birthplace of his instrument: West Africa. The results of his cross-cultural explorations are collected on a new album. He describes and performs some of his findings, with Malian kora virtuoso Diabate.

When the gospel duo Mary Mary announced its tour dates for this spring, not one church was on the list of venues. Sisters Tina and Erica Campbell, who named their act after the two Marys in the Bible, have spent their careers taking gospel music out of its usual venues.

Two years after her sudden dismissal from Damien Rice's band, in which she sang backup for seven years, the Irish singer has crafted her first solo album. Literally, crafted: Not only did Hannigan write the music, but she also hand-stitched the liner notes.

The two Cuban singers and rappers grew up in a remote town poised between the Castro regime and an American military base. Their debut album, La Corona, is full of the struggles and passions of their peers — set to some of the freshest new sounds from the island.

A concept album about fuel-efficient cars may not sounds like the most promising idea for lively music, but that's what Neil Young has done with his new collection of songs. Ken Tucker reviews Fork in the Road.

Music may or may not make babies smarter. But for new parents who are passionate about music, picking the first song their children will hear upon entering the world remains of great importance. A DJ, a critic and a musician talk about what they played for their newborns.

The small, family-run record label from the south of France has thwarted the downward slide in classical music sales by choosing unorthodox recording projects and trusting its musicians. While other labels' sales have collapsed, Harmonia Mundi is thriving.

The grainy, blurry portrait of Ran Blake on the cover of his album, Driftwoods, looks like spirit photography: the pianist as ghostly presence. His playing can be spooky, too. The CD radically transforms popular vocal standards from Billie Holiday, Hank Williams, Quincy Jones and more.

Eddie Argos, the 29-year-old leader of London band Art Brut, has made a career out of not growing up. On the group's latest album, Art Brut vs. Satan, that may be for the best, according to critic Robert Christgau.

Pianist Ben Folds has crafted a series of alt-rock hits over the past 15 years. For his pseudo-"greatest-hits" package, he's commissioned new arrangements of those songs from university a cappella groups across the country. Folds and host Jacki Lyden compare and contrast the various versions of his songs.