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  • Evolving out of 1950s bebop, hard bop incorporates elements of gospel, soul and R&B. One of the style's biggest supporters, Blue Note Records, celebrates its 70th anniversary this year. And while jazz has progressed since then, hard bop is still heard in many modern jazz recordings. Hear five classics.
  • As a composer, Coleman has been heavily influenced by James Brown's funk. You wouldn't mistake Coleman's band Five Elements for J.B.'s, but like the Godfather of Soul, he goes in for fast, jittery beats on Harvesting Semblances and Affinities.
  • The disgraced former R&B star is already serving 30 years for sex trafficking and racketeering. On Thursday, he was given one more year in prison for having made pornography with three children.
  • The influential vocalist played a key role in shaping the funk and R&B sound of the 1970s.
  • It's time again for our annual collection, in no particular order, of 50 wonderful pop-culture things from 2016. Read them, watch them, or listen to them; we think something will delight you.
  • For the Perry siblings of Tupelo, Miss. — ages 9, 14 and 16 — making music involves making unique instruments from car parts. The young family band with astonishingly mature blues chops demonstrates its craft in NPR's Studio 4A.
  • Of the three great blues guitarists named King -- B.B., Albert and Freddie -- arguably the most influential was also the least well-known: Freddie. But his most important work has been unavailable until recently. Critic Ed Ward reviews a recent release, Taking Care of Business, which spans much of King's career.
  • Guitarist and composer Marc Ribot's latest album, Silent Movies, pays tribute to film scores. The creation of the album, he says, allowed him to express his more lyrical side.
  • Alexandra Kleeman's novel, populated by TV-obsessed characters on a steady diet of Popsicles and oranges, is a controlled exercise in what critic Jason Sheehan calls "terrifying banality."
  • "I always considered song parody kind of cheap," the Emmy-nominated lyricist and performer says. "But ... I've gotten [such a] response from others ... that I'm appreciating it as an art form."
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