

Jon Pareles
Posts

Bonnie Raitt Heads to the Grammys, Recognized as a Songwriter at Last
Long renowned as an interpreter, she has quietly built a catalog of her own. Up for song of the year on Sunday, she talked about...

Tom Verlaine’s 15 Essential Songs
From Television through his solo career, the songwriter created enigmatic tidings and cat’s-cradle guitar structures. He died on Saturday at 73.

David Crosby’s 15 Essential Songs
The singer and songwriter, who died this week, created music that helped define an era and stretched across generations. Listen to six decades of tracks...

Jeff Beck’s 10 Essential Songs
The guitarist, who died on Tuesday, could make his instrument slash, burn and sigh. Listen to tracks released from 1966 to 2010 that reveal his...

Walter ‘Wolfman’ Washington, New Orleans Musical Luminary, Dies at 79
A guitarist and singer, he was a quintessential local star, mixing blues, funk and jazz through six decades of club and festival gigs.

Tshala Muana, Congolese Singer With Danceable Messages, Dies at 64
A superstar in Africa, she sang in the language of her tribe and often addressed social concerns, insisting on women’s strength and decrying abuse.

In 2022, Latin Pop Thrived on Innovation. Again.
Bad Bunny led a takeover, not a crossover, in a year that featured standout releases from Rosalía, Rauw Alejandro, iLe, Carla Morrison and Lucrecia Dalt.

SZA Revels in Mixed Emotions on ‘SOS’
On her second album, the singer with an unpredictable and emotionally charged flow expands her sound as she ponders all her conflicting impulses.

Danny Kalb, Guitarist Who Gave Blues-Rock an Edge, Dies at 80
His 1960s band, the Blues Project, won a following with a driving, experimental approach to traditional material that was anything but purist.

Latin Grammys: Jorge Drexler, Bad Bunny and Rosalía Split the Bounty
Jorge Drexler, Bad Bunny, Rosalía, Christina Aguilera, Christian Nodal and the 95-year-old Angela Álvarez reaped wins at the 23rd annual awards.