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A new weekly feature spotlights staff picks of standout books. This week, new novels from Barbara Kingsolver, Philip Roth and Paul Auster.

In Shearing's second appearance on the program from 1987, host Marian McPartland reminisces with her fellow countryman about obscure British tunes, and the two have fun re-harmonizing "God Save the Queen." Shearing also sings and plays Cole Porter's "After You," and the two end with a two-piano version of "Indiana."

Few sounds get under the skin quite as readily as that of bare hands plucking nylon strings. Gismonti and his son make listeners feel the sensuousness of every note. Their palette of sounds and ideas is so varied that the music is impossible to classify. This session features some of the most exciting guitar playing you're likely to hear all year.

The '70s Memphis-based rock band Big Star won rave reviews for their albums and influenced countless followers, but never managed to become stars. Rock and Roll historian Ed Ward says a new box set and a collection of recordings by founding member Chris Bell offer a chance to look back on the band's troubled life.

Join a sold-out crowd at the Kennedy Center Terrace Theater in Washington, D.C., to experience the piano artistry of a true jazz genius, Kenny Barron. The performance was recorded live on Oct. 2, 2009.

A companion piece to 2008's Distortion, the new album is vivid and whimsical — and it certainly lives up to its title. Fresh Air rock critic Ken Tucker has a review.

Twelve Nights in Hollywood is a four-disc box set of 73 unreleased Ella Fitzgerald live recordings, made during her 1961 engagement at Los Angeles' Crescendo Club. Music critic Kevin Whitehead reviews the compilation for Fresh Air.

In a vintage photo, a solitary man with a Cab Calloway mustache grabs his hat with two hands and lets out a yell. Off the page and across 30 years, you can still hear the holler. Oliver Wang reviews a collection of music and photos from Chicago's 1970s soul scene.

It's a sunny day at the Detroit Jazz Festival, where the theme is Families in Jazz. So it's only natural that Chris and Dan Brubeck are on hand with BBQ: the Brubeck Brothers Quartet.

The jazz guitarist on his unusual instrument, his unusual recording and his unusual album title.