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Founded by the violin-playing Slabiak brothers, Erik and Oliver, Les Yeux Noirs has explored the common ground between Jewish and Gypsy music for more than a decade. Here on the septet's fifth album, tChorba, which is a French perjoritive for "soup," the band continues to refine its Jewish/Gypsy stock while adding in plenty of herbs and spices to make it the band's richest-sounding effort yet. The title cut opens with a funk groove riff before ompapa-ing to rock and back. The band gets its flamenco on for "O'Djila," sounding like they could give the Gipsy Kings a run for their money. Most intriguing is the fusion on "Desirs Derisoires," which has a comfortable reggae lilt to its rhythm as it bounces between Latin pop and exotic Eastern filigree. The purpose of posing the band members under showers in the CD booklet is perplexing, but at least the band has its musical ducks in a row: amidst the stylistic shifts, the music doesn't leave the listener adrift. --Tad Hendrickson

Plays fine, sounds sublime. Fom a well cared for personal collection. Buy with confidence--see my feedback. Thanks and enjoy this great CD!

Grammy Award-winning guitarist Sharon Isbin's debut release on Sony Masterworks is, as she describes it, "A voyage in song from the British Isles to the New World." She is joined by two stellar guest artists: Grammy Award-winning folk singer Joan Baez and violin virtuoso Mark O'Connor. The album includes world premieres of the Joan Baez Suite by John Duarte and the Strings & Threads Suite for violin and guitar by O'Connor.

2-CD collection of the smartest and funniest show on the radio

This American Life is one the most popular yet most unusual programs on radio today, airing on public radio stations all across the country. Each week listeners tune in to hear riveting stories that explore the highs and lows of the human condition.

Host Ira Glass and the staff of This American Life selected some of their favorite segments for the This American Life: Stories Of Hope And Fear 2-CD set. Featuring segments by bestselling writer and humorist David Sedaris (Naked), Comedy Central's Daily Show correspondent John Hodgman and many others, this eclectic anthology addresses topics ranging from gender reassignment to karaoke comedy, with over two hours of alternately hilarious and heart-breaking spoken performances set against a hip indie-rock and electronica musical background. Includes music by Thurston Moore of Sonic Youth, Blonde Redhead, Calexico, Morcheeba, Mogwai, Tortoise and others.

What is American classical music? This CD contains the latest Mark O'Connor orchestral scores: Americana Symphony "Variations on Appalachia Waltz" (2006) and Concerto No. 6 "Old Brass" (2003). For the majority of his solo career, O'Connor has dedicated himself to composing for orchestra--six full-length concertos, several orchestral suites and string orchestra compositions, and most recently his first Symphony.

Eileen Ivers' recording credits include over 100 contemporary and traditional albums and numerous movie scores. She's been called a "sensation" by Billboard Magazine and the "Jimi Hendrix of the violin" by The New York Times. The daughter of Irish immigrants, Ivers has been deeply rooted in traditional Irish music since the age of eight. Her latest CD, An Nollaig: An Irish Christmas, features traditional carols, holiday favorites, and dance tunes that were lovingly passed down through the generations.

The Western Front, Christmas, 1914. Out of the violence comes a silence, then a song. A young German soldier steps into No Man's Land singing Stille Nacht (Silent Night). Thus begins an extraordinary night of camaraderie, music, peace. Re-live this remarkable true story from WWI through the words and songs of the men who lived it. The original cast recording from the highly acclaimed collaboration between Cantus and Theater Latté Da is now available for download. Enjoy this radio musical drama for holiday seasons to come.

A short comic novel about a Hawaii-bound holiday traveler who ends up stranded in his North Dakota hometown during a blizzard.

A wealthy and depressed man (thanks to the economy he’s not quite rich enough to expand his cache of paintings by Vincent Van Guy, the famed Dutch realist) bound for Christmas in the tropics is abruptly summoned home to North Dakota to visit an ailing aunt. He arrives just in time to be trapped there by a blizzard. The electricity goes out, and when it does, figures from his childhood appear, and historical figures too, for a festive candlelit holiday. In his reverie, our man reaches an epiphany worthy of the season—he hears the harkening angels sing, he is awed by the silence of the night (dead quiet: not even TV) and when he is finally rescued, leaves North Dakota resolved to simplify his life.