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Dolorean's You Can't Win wallows in the dark corners of singer Al James' psyche, but "Just Don't Leave Town" raises the discourse from miserablism to ambivalence. After a bit of downbeat self-analysis, James perks up as he hits a brightly shuffling, bittersweet chorus.

A Swedish duo who employ synthesizers and a dark, even macabre point of view may not be to every listeners' taste. But The Knife, whose CD Silent Shout was a favorite among music bloggers and Web sites like Pitchfork, may be an exception. Among the darkness, there is a lighter side.

This show celebrates the music of one of the greatest singers of our time with interviews that include Ella herself; vocalists Betty Carter, Jon Hendricks and Joe Williams; writers Gene Lees and Albert Murray; and pianist Oscar Peterson.

An acolyte of the Todd Rundgren school of lone-wolf power-pop, Richard X. Heyman has gone it mostly alone for two decades now. Often playing nearly every instrument on his records, he's produced a slim but sturdy catalogue of superior pop music.

Virtually every track on Feist's The Reminder hits its mark. That's especially true when she's crafting gloriously propulsive, mid-tempo mini-anthems like "I Feel It All," a song that seems to explode out of at least three different musical eras at once.

Ruthie Foster opens "Up Above My Head" with a minor-key electric-piano riff, conjuring up Marvin Gaye and the '70s pop-gospel hits of The Staple Singers. Then comes the 43-year-old Texan's warm, down-to-earth voice, with its undercurrent of wistfulness shining through.

Singer Kele Okereke watches as society begins viewing him with suspicion in "Where Is Home?" Any instrument that's not a drum kit or a voice is almost beside the point: During the verses, guitars and keyboards hang around for atmosphere when they can be bothered to show up at all.

Ornette Coleman, 77, has won the 2007 Pulitzer Prize for music. As a musician, he has erased as many borders as he has crossed. Whether he's writing symphonic works, chamber music, or playing alto saxophone, trumpet or violin, Coleman continues to surprise audiences.

With a career that spans over four decades and 50 recordings, John Abercrombie is an established master of the jazz guitar. He says his new CD, The Third Quartet has the sound of 20th century classical music.

After 20 years and 11 albums, the Cowboy Junkies are looking inward. Their latest album focuses on the big events in their lives over the years — marriage, settling down and starting families of their own.