Jazz

Today is the first day of South by Southwest 2008! And while many people who aren't in Austin could care less, music lovers and industry folks consider this event the real "March madness." A projected 1,600 bands will be in and out of Austin over the next four days, which will create a seemingly endless wall of sound which begins around noon each day and ends after last call. Yeah, sure it's a lot of fun but if long lines and Mardi Gras-size crowds aren't your thing, you can experience the bands of SXSW … Read more

This San Francisco native distills many of his city's eclectic musical styles into one inimitable brew. Latin melodies mingle with shifty electro-beats, a busker's spirit meets a mixmaster's tools, and the improv spirit of jazz gets funneled through an R&B/folk voicebox.

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While many were expecting Kanye West or Amy Winehouse to win, the Academy surprised us all last night by awarding the Grammy to Herbie Hancock for his Joni Mitchell tribute album (featuring Norah Jones, Tina Turner and more) . This was the first jazz album to win best album since Stan Getz and Astrud Gilberto won for "The Girl From Ipanema" in 1964. Go jazz!

Well, not to brag, but Download Music has been promoting this album for months now--we already know it's a great album! Here's our review: "To call Hancock's stunning new collection … Read more

Between the Super Bowl, Super Tuesday, and the Grammy Awards, I think it's safe to say we're a competitive nation. We take pride in our favorite teams, politicians, and musicians, and we like to see how they match up against the rest. Contests that involve judges and not referees (like award shows), however, can get controversial. For example, we all accept that the Giants are the champions, but if Kanye West doesn't win a Grammy--watch out! We may never hear the end of it.

Whether you agree with academy or not, the Grammy awards are entertaining and … Read more

We're only a few weeks into 2008 and you can tell that it's going to be a great year for music. New releases by British Sea Power, Sia (we have her full album stream!) and The Oaks are worthy of the Best of 2008 (let's just hope we remember them at the end of the year). But we shouldn't get ahead of ourselves -- we're still enjoying the Best of 2007. Indie To Go is an iPod-friendly sampler that features topnotch indie newcomers and chart-toppers. Stream the playlist below (while you work), then visit the … Read more

Just received a preview from next week's CES show in Las Vegas--Wadia Digital, a high-end audio company will be demonstrating the first digital player dock to retrieve a direct digital signal from iPods. As a result, the iTransport will provide CD-quality resolution from full-resolution file formats such as .WAV and AppleLossless.

The iTransport (SRP: $349) will turn any currently available iPod player into a high-end media server by providing a bit-perfect digital audio output to an audio/video system. The really cool thing about the device is that it can bypass the player's internal D/A conversion and … Read more

I own 3,000 CDs and 4,000 LPs. They take up a lot of space in my apartment, and that's OK with me. They're lined up in metal racks, wood shelving, and stacked up in piles on the floor. But a lot of my friends with just a few hundred CDs are in a big hurry to dump them into their computers and get rid of the discs. I just had lunch yesterday with an audiophile friend who is in the midst of transferring all of his CDs as WAV files to his new HD. As always … Read more

While some of us begin our holiday shopping while still full on Thanksgiving dinner, others wait until the last minute. If you're somewhere in the middle, you're probably looking for ideas right about...now. Well, nothing says "I love you" like a box set. We just added timeless collections by iconic artists such as Bob Dylan, Billie Holiday, and Frank Sinatra. So, if you're looking for gifts for mom, dad, Aunt Peggy, Cousin Timmy, or simply a friend who's into the classics, check out these fine box sets. And and enjoy this free box set playlist while you browse.

Billie Holiday

This new 80-song collection focuses on Holiday's Columbia years (1933-1944), by most accounts her finest period. It's hard to argue with that. Lady Day's coyness and vulnerability rarely stand in sharper relief, and her stellar session musicians--including Benny Goodman--mourn right along.

Bob Dylan

The master's new three-disc box set meets you wherever you are: beginners will find an exhaustive introduction, old fans a taste of the stunning recent recordings, and casual listeners a chance for one-stop shopping. To all, it will show a truly American artiste constantly refining what that means.

Sufjan Stevens… Read more

It's safe to say most, I mean like 99 percent, of music buyers don't give a hoot about sound quality. Why else would CD sales continue to plummet and worse than CD quality downloads go up every year?

OK, that's the mainstream, what about the other 1 percent; why have the audiophiles, according to a poll on the Stereophile website, already given up on SACD and DVD-Audio? Before I cite their feedback I'd like to point out that despite the naysayers, the super sound formats are still hanging on. Neil Young's latest release, "Chrome … Read more