Carter Burwell
Composer Carter Burwell was born in New York's Greenwich Village at the height of the Beat Era. As a boy, Carter took up guitar and piano. He studied music/animation at Harvard, graduating in 1977. After a stint at MIT's Media Lab, Burwell took to playing in punk bands, all while working as chief computer scientist at the legendary Cold Spring Harbor Lab. In 1984, he scored the Coen Brothers' 1984 classic Blood Simple, initiating an enduring collaboration. Contributions include the anime Lensman, Naked Angels, and Theater of the New Ear. Among his 50-plus film scores are Adaptation, Barton Fink, The Big Lebowski, Twilight, Burn After Reading, Fargo, and Where the Wild Things Are. Collaborations include Spike Jones, Mitsuru Kaneko, and Charlie Kaufman. Burwell's accolades include Chicago and L.A. Film Critics Association Awards, the top prize at the Jacksonville Film Festival, second place at the Ottawa International Animation Festival, and British Academy Award and Golden Globe nominations. With a deep catalog to relish, get started with "The Roof," from the 2009 release A Serious Man (Original Motion Picture Soundtrack).
Buy: iTunes
Genre: Film Score
Artist: Carter Burwell
Song: The Roof
Album: A Serious Man (Original Motion Picture Soundtrack)
Oum Kalthoum
Beloved empress of song Oum Kalthoum was born on the Egyptian seacoast at the turn of the 20th century. The young Oum's musical talents were spotted early on by her imam father, who then disguised her as a boy to further her music studies. By the age of 16, she was taken under the wing of oudist Zakariyya Ahmad and eventually relocated to Cairo with her family, where she studied with Amin Beh Al Mahdy. By 1925, Oum was making records. Kalthoum acquired an immense and devoted fan base, and her often-six-hour concerts would transport crowds into a heightened state of consciousness. She succumbed to kidney disease in 1975, and her funeral cortege was roiled by a huge crowd of frenzied mourners. With decades of vinyl to collect, savor the early classic "Leih Ya Zaman," from Wedad.
Buy: Lala.com
Genre: World
Artist: Oum Kalthoum
Song: Leih Ya Zaman
Album: Wedad
Awadagin Pratt
Classical piano and violin virtuoso Awadagin Pratt was born in Pittsburgh in the mid-'60s. Raised in Illinois, Awadagin took up piano at the age of 6, violin at 9, and then tennis. By his teens, already a ranked player, Awadagin won a tennis scholarship but chose music. Studies began in the University of Illinois, then at the Peabody Conservatory in Baltimore. The first African-American pianist to win the Naumburg International Piano Competition, Pratt has performed at the White House, on Sesame Street, and with countless orchestras including the New York Philharmonic at Lincoln Center. Pratt is currently in residence at the University of Cincinnati's College Conservatory of Music. With over a handful of releases to date, enjoy "Moment Musical in B Minor, Op.16," from his 1997 Awadagin Pratt: Live From South Africa.
Buy: Lala.com
Genre: Classical
Artist: Awadagin Pratt
Song: Moment Musical in B Minor, Op.16
Album: Awadagin Pratt: Live From South Africa
Azure Ray
Azure Ray is the Omaha duo of Orenda Fink and Maria Taylor. The two met as teens at the Alabama School of Fine Arts and founded Little Red Rocket. After some finger-bleeding on the Athens, Georgia, club circuit, the duo inked their first deal, and shortly thereafter, Azure Ray got a spot on The Devil Wears Prada soundtrack. Collaborations include Moby, Now It's Overhead, Japancakes, and Bright Eyes. At present, Taylor and Fink are working on solo projects. With a handful of recordings to collect, download "Don't Make a Sound," from their 2001 release Azure Ray.
Buy: Lala.com
Genre: Rock
Artist: Azure Ray
Song: Don't Make a Sound
Album: Azure Ray
Junior Kimbrough
Bluesman David "Junior" Kimbrough, was born in northern Mississippi in 1930, the son of sharecroppers. A self-taught guitarist, Junior quit school and entered the workforce to help his family. Only in the late '50s did Kimbrough begin to find his place in the world of music. After performing for a few years on Chicago's blues scene, Kimbrough went to Memphis to record for the Goldwax label. Disappointingly, he would not realize success for many decades. After years of cutting sides with various labels, collaborating with R.L. Burnside, Kimbrough cut his first official full-length release at the age of 62 under the guidance of the legendary producer Robert Palmer for the Fat Possum label. In 2009, Big Legal Mess Records posthumously released Kimbrough's original Goldwax recordings. The bluesman passed away in 1998 and leaves a treasured path. Get "Sad Days Lonely Nights," from the 2002 compilation You Better Run: The Essential Junior Kimbrough.
Buy: Lala.com
Genre: Blues
Artist: Junior Kimbrough
Song: Sad Days Lonely Nights
Album: You Better Run: The Essential Junior Kimbrough
Bush Tetras
Punk darlings Bush Tetras were founded in 1979 by New Yorkers Cynthia Sley and Pat Place. Thumb-printing the '80s club scene with their taste of cool, the original lineup was later rounded out by Julia Murphy, Laura Kennedy, and Dee Pop. Through the past two decades, the unit included the revolving-door cast of Jimmy Joe Uliana, Adele Bertei, Bobby Albertson, Don Christensen, Ivan Julian, Jules Baptiste, Jim Martin, Bill McLusky, and Sally Berg. Collaborations include Vivienne Dick and Lydia Lunch. Start with the 1982 classic "Cowboys in Africa," from the 1995 Boom in the Night compilation.
Buy: Lala.com
Genre: Punk/Dance
Artist: Bush Tetras
Song: Cowboys in Africa
Album: Boom in the Night