Ramblin Jack Elliot
Pioneer folk-blues troubadour Royal Ramblin Jack Elliot was born one of two brothers in Brooklyn at the height of the Great Depression. The son of a physician, and expected to follow in kind, Jack ran away from home and joined the rodeo as a teen, discovering folk music on the road. Upon his return to New York, he immersed himself in guitar and the music of Woody Guthrie, whose work he'd continue to immortalize throughout his career. By the mid-'50s, Elliot started making records, and later shared stages with Johnny Cash and Pete Seeger. Accolades include two Grammy Awards and the career-capping National Medal of Arts. Elliot's erudite storyteller's trove includes decades of greatness to collect. Start with "Death Don't Have No Mercy," from his 2009 release A Stranger Here.
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Genre: Folk/Blues
Artist: Ramblin Jack Elliot
Song: Death Don't Have No Mercy
Album: A Stranger Here
Chic Gamine
Canada's soul-dripping vocalists/percussionists of wonder Chic Gamine are Annick Brémault, Alexa Dirks, Ariane Jean, Andrina Turenne, and Sacha Daoud. This eclectic collective, brought together by the love of Brazilian, funk, French, and R&B in the late aughts, is derived from members of Little Boy Boom, Gaïa, and Madrigaïa. Accolades include the 2009 Juno Award for Best Roots/Traditional Album of the Year, as well as noms for Canadian Folk and Western Canadian Music Awards. Discover "Butterfly Woman," from their eponymous 2008 debut Chic Gamine.
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Genre: Soul/Roots Rock
Artist: Chic Gamine
Song: Butterfly Woman
Album: Chic Gamine
Terry Davies
Triple-threat conductor/composer Terry Davies (TV, film, and theater) began at London's National Theater, accumulating 12 years of productions for his portfolio. Credits include 43 feature films including Becoming Jane, Brideshead Revisited, Kinky Boots, The Lawless Heart, and The House of Mirth. He's also conducted the illustrious Renée Fleming for the film version of A Midsummer Night's Dream. Collaborations include Kenneth Branagh, Matthew Bourne, Stephen Warbeck, Kevin Kline, and Calista Flockhart. Accolades include an Olivier Award and a BAFTA nomination. Discover Terry Davies & The BBC Philharmonic Orchestra's "Sebastian," from Adrian Johnston's 2008 Brideshead Revisited Soundtrack.
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Genre: Film Score
Artist: Terry Davies
Song: Sebastian
Album: Brideshead Revisited Soundtrack
Broken Social Scene
Toronto's ethereal-rock wave Broken Social Scene is captained by Kevin Drew and Brendan Canning, with the orchestra of Justin Peroff, Andrew Whiteman, Charles Spearin, Sam Goldberg, David Newfeld, Leslie Feist, Emily Haines, James Shaw, Evan Cranley, Amy Millan, Torquil Campbell, Ohad Benchetrit, Marty Kinack, Julie Penner, Lisa Lobsinger, and John Crossingham at the spinnaker. Founded just before the aughts, the ensemble has unleashed over a dozen releases to date. Download "Love Will Tear Us Apart," Broken Social Scene's version of the Joy Division classic, from the 2009 release The Time Traveler's Wife (Music From the Motion Picture).
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Genre: Rock/Electronic
Artist: Broken Social Scene
Song: Love Will Tear Us Apart
Album: The Time Traveler's Wife (Music From the Motion Picture).
Gregory & The Hawk
Brooklyn-based Gregory & The Hawk is captained by singer/songwriter and multi-instrumentalist Meredith Godreau. Formative music years were spent basking in piano, woodwinds, viola, and guitar. By 2003, Godreau launched Gregory & The Hawk and has since issued a handful-plus of releases, and her angelic voice is all the rage. Discover "Stone Wall Stone Fence," from the 2008 release Moenie and Kitchi.
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Genre: Folk/Pop
Artist: Gregory & The Hawk
Song: Stone Wall Stone Fence
Album: Moenie and Kitchi
Max Roach
Goliath of bebop composer/drummer Max Roach was born in 1925 in North Carolina and raised in Depression-era Brooklyn. At 10, Max discovered the drums, and just six years later, he found himself at the sticks with The Duke Ellington Orchestra. In 1952, Roach co-founded Debut Records with Charles Mingus. Two years later, he and trumpeter Clifford Brown launched their classic bebop quintette with Harold Land, Richie Powell, and George Morrow (Sonny Rollins would later replace Land). Collaborations include Dizzy Gillespie, Charlie Parker, Miles Davis, Thelonious Monk, Coleman Hawkins, Oscar Brown Jr., Fab Five Freddy, and Sam Shepard. Accolades include a MacArthur Foundation "genius" grant, a Commander of the Order of Arts and Letters in France, and recognition as a Harvard Jazz Master. Get "What's New? (With Strings)," from Clifford Brown and Max Roach's 1954 Alone Together: The Best of the Mercury Years.
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Genre: Jazz
Artist: Max Roach
Song: What's New? (With Strings)
Album: Alone Together: The Best of the Mercury Years