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Country music star Vince Gill has a new four-disc collection of new music. Each disc covers a different genre, spanning traditional country and bluegrass, "modern" country, rock and jazz. Music critic Christian Bordal has a review.

The ever-evolving Pat Metheny constantly experiments with new technology, honing his improvisational skills and refining his unique style. On this episode of Piano Jazz, Pat Metheny performs with bassist Christian McBride and drummer Antonio Sanche.

There's so much good jazz coming out on DVD now (old stuff, new stuff, TV concerts and documentaries) that it's more than anyone can follow. But Kevin Whitehead says that a few recent releases really caught his eye and ear.

Ever since he was 5, Academy Award winner Alan Arkin knew he was going to be an actor. When he started performing with Chicago's Second City troupe, he fell in love with improvisation. His new memoir, An Improvised Life, describes how he has made it all up along the way.

Some of the biggest insights about the brain come from accidents — aberrations that tell us what makes the norm function. Journalist Amy Nutt profiles a man who suffered slight nerve damage that radically changed his personality and led to profound insights into the right brain/left brain balance.

Everyone from forgotten pop stars to clueless heiresses have written memoirs, leaving the genre just a paper cut shy of unbearable. But, fear not! Writer and editor Radhika Jones has three personal accounts sure slap a bandage on that wound and jog your memoir-loving memory.

Three centuries ago, Domenico Scarlatti churned out 555 keyboard sonatas. Today, pianists, harpsichordists and even accordionists still can't get enough. Hear a clutch of new recordings.

No, the title isn't just a clever pun. Like John Coltrane and the saxophone, Miles Davis' figure looms large over our ideas about jazz trumpet. But there are hidden secrets in the horn and a host of musical linguists uncovering new languages for an instrument imbued with a bop history. Here are five of the best examples.

NPR Music's Tom Huizenga and host Guy Raz spin an eclectic mix of new classical releases.

The film, directed by Paul Greengrass and starring Tom Hanks, is based on the true story of a freighter captured by Somali pirates in 2009. NPR's Bob Mondello says it's an accomplished and surprisingly emotional thriller. (Recommended)