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When he was a child, music critic Tom Manoff heard the music of Edvard Grieg, particularly his piano concerto in A-minor. This piece of music is known as a workhorse. In pop music, it would be referred to as a "greatest hit." Tom Manoff talks about the status of the warhorse in classical music and we hear Grieg's piano concerto performed here by Leif Ove Andsnes.

The Way Up, a new album from the Pat Metheny Group, offers a more ambitious compositional style that amounts to an epic journey.

Lee Morgan may have single-handedly saved Blue Note Records from bankruptcy. In 1963, he recorded The Sidewinder for the struggling label, producing a lucrative pop chart hit with the funky title track. By the 1970s, the album was a jazz phenomenon.

Thelonious Monk, one of the most important figures in jazz history, wrote most of his most popular songs between 1947-1952. The two-CD set, Genius of Modern Music, tracks the legendary pianist during this critical time. The album has alternate takes of many of his best-known works.

This two-CD set is actually two distinctive albums: Rip, Rig & Panic, and Now Please Don't You Cry, Beautiful Edith. The tracks, covering everything from blues to avant-garde electronica music, provide a comprehensive introduction to Kirk, who could play three reed instruments simultaneously.

Ray Charles once said that blues sensation Louis Jordan was his biggest influence. This album covers Jordan's career from 1942 to 1951, when he had an unprecedented 57 hits on the R&B charts.

A viral trend depicts teens in suits on their way to go see the latest installment in the minions universe. Here's why.

An older style of acoustic music -- most deeply associated with guitarists John Fahey and Max Ochs -- is being revamped by younger musicians like Jack Rose and others featured on a new compilation, Imaginational Anthem.

Ed Ward reviews One Kiss Can Lead to Another: Girl Group Sounds, Lost and Found.

Music critic Christian Bordal reviews singer Fiona Apple's long-awaited album Extraordinary Machine. Six years and two recording sessions after she began working on it, Apple says she is happy with the result — and so are many critics.