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Spurred by a string of bad news in his personal life, novelist Mikel Jollett turned to writing songs instead of prose for relief. Within months, The Airborne Toxic Event was born. The L.A. band shakes up standard rock with a viola and trumpet in this session from WXPN.

Gustavo Santaolalla is perhaps best known for his film scores in Brokeback Mountain and The Motorcycle Diaries. Now, the Academy Award-winner has gone back to his roots as a musician. In a session from WBGO, Santaolalla talks about his film music and plays a lute-like instrument solo.

Chick Corea has been a major force in music for nearly 40 years. His inventive improvisations and musical ideas have made him one of the most important figures in modern jazz. On this 1987 program, recorded at Corea's Madhatter studio, Marian McPartland plays the Fender Rhodes and Corea plays his KX5 synthesizer in "Crystal Silence."

Disrupted by a serious bout of pneumonia, Spiritualized frontman Jason Pierce had to wait almost two years to put to disc a collection of songs he'd written in just two weeks. Songs in A&E's intense and emotional songs of survival and near-death experiences are captured here, in a session from WXPN.

Using the Bon Iver moniker, Justin Vernon became an instant critics' darling upon the release of For Emma, Forever Ago early this year. Vernon's primal falsetto accentuates his stark and simple arrangements in a session on WXPN.

Bishop first journeyed to Chicago in 1960 in search of the blues. Still active after 45 years, the legendary bluesman just released a new album, The Blues Rolls On, featuring B.B. King, Derek Trucks, Warren Haynes and George Thorogood playing classic blues tunes.

For many, the autoharp is remembered as the slightly geeky, easy-to-play instrument from grade-school music class, or as simple accompaniment for folk and country singers. But Basia Bulat, who sings and plays the autoharp on Oh, My Darling, hopes the time has come for people to discover the beauty and potential in the instrument.

Chances are you've heard at least one song by the London-based Noah and the Whale. Recently, the folk-rock band had its immutably cheerful tune "5 Years Time" featured in a Saturn SUV commercial. Clapping, whistling and ukulele play joyfully together with choruses capable of inducing a Diabetic coma from all the sugary sweetness. But there's nothing wrong with that. Sometimes the world needs an extra dose of sunshine, and the members of Noah and the Whale make that their specialty.

The third album from the William Parker Quartet is named Petit Oiseau, after a character in a poem written by Parker. Jazz critic Kevin Whitehead assesses whether the album — whose French title translates to "Little Bird" — takes flight.

Brooklyn's TV on the Radio has always been a forward-thinking rock band. Its new album, Dear Science, is its funkiest, but in a typically complicated way. Sick of living with pessimism, the band has brightened its tunes and beats.