Craft Recordings proudly announces the release of Birthright: A Black Roots Music Compendium, an expansive overview of American Black roots music. Produced by author, professor, and GRAMMY®-nominated music historian Dr. Ted Olson, along with GRAMMY-winning producer, musician, and author Scott Billington, Birthright offers an introduction to the rich and often nuanced world of Black roots music.

The 100th birthday celebration for Max Roach for central Brooklyn begins on January 10, 2023, his 99th birthday. A press and community conference are planned for 11:00 am, at Bedford Stuyvesant Restoration Corporation’s Skylight Gallery, located at 1368 Fulton Street, phone 718.636.6900. This event is free of charge and accessible to all.

The first album of West African ekonting music, Ears of the People: Ekonting Songs from Senegal and Gambia is a testament to the endurance of music and tradition across the gulf of centuries and some of the most brutal history imaginable. It’s also a showcase for living traditions in West Africa, and for the wealth of stories and beauty that a humble, handmade instrument can hold.

For more than half his life and all of this century, singer/songwriter/mandolinist Ashby Frank’s been too busy to find the time for making a follow-up to his 1999 debut album.

Bellingham, Wash. folk duo Raveis Kole released their new meditative psychedelic-folk single “Glacier,” a treatise on climate change and the shrinking glaciers. Written after a trip to Glacier National Park, this droning and ethereal journey to the top of Logan's Pass is about contemplating ourselves, our world and the glacier itself. The song is a visceral and elegant experience as it lyrical paints an emotional picture of a beautiful vista of our changing world.
 

On Wednesday, January 4, award-winning roots, blues and Americana vocalist Shemekia Copeland will appear on the nationally broadcast NPR radio program, World Cafe. On the show, Copeland discusses her career with host Stephen Kallao and performs (along with her full band) songs from her Grammy-nominated 2022 album, Done Come Too Far. World Cafe originates from WXPN-FM in Philadelphia, where it airs daily at 2:00pm Eastern time.

The latest GRAMMY-nominated recording by engineer/producer duo Ulrike Schwarz and Jim Anderson, Picturing the Invisible: Focus 1, is featured on this month’s digital cover of MIX. The 4-page story highlights the mind-boggling recording process that “pushed [soprano saxophonist and composer Jane Ira Bloom] to the creative limits,” and ultimately led to a nomination for Best Immersive Audio Album at the 65th Annual GRAMMY Awards®.

11x GRAMMY award-winning arranger/trumpeter Philip Lassiter makes his Color Red debut with “Simmer Down,” featuring a vivacious 24-piece ensemble. Recorded live with 8 horns and a 6-piece vocal ensemble, Lassiter’s acclaimed arranging prowess is showcased with all players in the room recording simultaneously. The track exudes playful interplay between the horns and vocals over a groove that cross-pollinates funk and Latin influences with ear-twisting jazz harmonies and piercing guitar leads.

The family of the late Canadian country legend Ian Tyson, CM AOE, has confirmed the singer-songwriter died from on-going health complications on December 29th, 2022 at his ranch in southern Alberta, Canada at age 89.

Tyson was inducted into the Canadian Country Music Hall of Fame in 1989, and was inducted into the Canadian Music Hall of Fame, with his former wife and singing partner, Sylvia, in 1992. Tyson became a Member of the Order of Canada in 1994 and in 2003, he received a Governor General's Performing Arts Award, and inducted into the Alberta Order of Excellence in 2006.

All-star collaborations for NEW YEAR’S EVE LIVE: NASHVILLE’S BIG BASH, a star-studded entertainment special hosted by country music stars and GRAMMY®-nominated artists Jimmie Allen and Elle King and ENTERTAINMENT TONIGHT’s Rachel Smith were announced today. The celebration to ring in the new year will air LIVE from Music City, Saturday, Dec. 31 (8:00-10:00 PM, ET/PT; 10:30 PM-1:30 AM, ET/PT) on the CBS Television Network, and stream live and on demand on Paramount+*.