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It's an instrument that sounds like Halloween — a ghostly whine from another dimension. But it doesn't take long to hear the familiar melodies of Christmas: "The First Noel," "Silent Night," even "Frosty the Snowman." The music comes from an album called The Singing Saw at Christmastime.

A venerable and popular country-folk singer, Carpenter recently made a foray into holiday music, releasing an album of traditional and original Christmas music titled Come Darkness, Come Light. She plays holiday tunes in a session from WXPN.

He was born in 1908, the year Henry Ford introduced the Model T. At age 100, Elliott Carter is still composing music. Today, he continues to amaze, and occasionally confound, his fans and critics.

Stereolab has always toed the line between gorgeous melody and arty structure, as its members' tastes in conventionally cheesy pop music and hypnotic krautrock have demonstrated. Appearing on World Café for the first time, Stereolab performs material from Chemical Chords.

Though Haden is best known for his jazz explorations, his latest effort, Rambling Boy, straddles Americana, folk and country. It's a return to his musical roots that brims with nostalgia for his days growing up in the American heartland. Hear a session from WXPN.

This is a list for the Age of the iPod Shuffle, as more people listen to more types of music than ever before. WNYC's John Schaefer mixes up his favorite CD picks for 2008, offering a wide-reaching smorgasbord of classical, pop, folk and world music.

Vocalist Rebecca Parris has won fans and critical praise for her impeccable phrasing and classic sense of swing. Her rich and sultry voice has spawned comparisons to Rosemary Clooney and Dinah Washington, but Parris's sound is very much her own.

On Jingle All the Way, Bela Fleck and his band The Flecktones breathe new life into the Christmas canon, approaching classics like "What Child Is This" and "O Come All Ye Faithful" with their distinctive, genre-bending fervor. Hear the session from WXPN.

Herbie Hancock's album is now considered one of the defining moments in jazz fusion. The Library of Congress is preserving the album in its musical collection as one of the country's most culturally significant audio recordings. Hancock and producer David Rubinson reflect on the album's creation and long-lasting impact.

Pink Martini brought its eclectic stylings to the Walt Disney Concert Hall in Los Angeles this New Year's Eve. With a splash of orchestral strings, smooth lyrics and a swig of a cha-cha, Pink Martini had the crowd raising its glasses for more.