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In his short but brilliant career, he pioneered a new standard of rapid-fire virtuosity on the electric bass and helped bridge the jazz and pop music of his day. Close collaborators offer a retrospective on Jaco Pastorius.

Reggae music has gone a lot of places over the years, from minimalist dub to culture-warring dancehall. Almost 40 years on, Spear still hews to the reggae basics: a deep, easy groove; brassy R&B flavorings; and a mystical take on history. His new CD is Jah is Real.

After releasing her debut album, 19, to critical acclaim earlier this year, British artist Adele was dubbed the next Amy Winehouse by the British press. The young singer-songwriter talks about her record and her new-found fame.

The songs on Revolution come in an impressive variety of arrangements and voices, from quiet, acoustic confessions to rock 'n' roll hollering. They're all convincing, and they make up not just Lambert's best record, but also critic Will Hermes' standing pick for country record of the year.

U.K. musician Natasha Khan, better known as Bat For Lashes, uses a fusion of keyboards and harps to generate tribal beats and electronica. She speaks on the uncommon sounds and ideas behind her acclaimed new album, Two Suns.

Daryl Hall and John Oates have distilled their hit-making career into a new box set called Do What You Want, Be What You Are. The band had so many '80s pop hits that it's helpful to remember that they started their careers as soul musicians. Hear Hall and Oates' interview with Guy Raz.

As a teenager, the singer-songwriter was already touring the world with his rock band. His new album takes him back to before then, when country music blasted out of Texas radio stations. He performs a solo acoustic set in NPR's Studio 4A.

The avant-garde improviser used to joke: "I do country music; it's just a matter of what country." Now on his first North American tour in more than two decades, he describes his atmospheric electronics and soft, subtle trumpet style.

Idan Raichel has made his name by mixing cinematic Israeli pop with the sounds of his country's immigrant community. His latest album reaches even farther afield, with singers from Colombia, Rwanda and the Cape Verde Islands.

O'Neal's Whirling Mantis is named for a defensive move in karate. The martial-arts reference suggests one way to look at how O'Neal's music operates: The players react to each other's moves, deflecting one another in stylized interaction.