Aaron Howard

Any concert that tries to bring the musical world of the gypsies to a single stage is bound to fail. It can't be done. The gypsies are scattered across too many countries; they have mastered too many disparate strands of what we in America arrogantly lump together as "world" music...

For a songwriter whose lyrics dwell on anxiety and loneliness, Freedy Johnston's music is exuberantly melodic. Full of power chords, Johnston's new CD, Right Between the Promises (Elektra), is a delightful rush of guitar pop laced with a couple of dark acoustic pieces, all buoyed by Johnston's wide-eyed voice. But...

When author Elmore Leonard decided his character Chili Palmer (of Get Shorty fame) would manage a rock band in his new book Be Cool, Leonard cast his net for a group to use as a model in the novel. Leonard listened to Aerosmith, Alanis Morissette and No Doubt, but none...

What can an Indian classical music virtuoso who has been playing concerts since he was seven learn from pop music? "Being precise in my presentation," says violinist Lakshminarayana, or L., Shankar. In South India, performing a raga can take up to four hours, including 20 minutes just to tune up...

World musician David Lindley is like the adventurous friend you had in college, the one who always nudged you out of your comfort zone. While others have settled in, Lindley has remained the perpetual student, journeying all over the globe, investigating anything that interests him. Once a year or so,...