The Chinese-American bass Yi-Kwei Sze (1915-1994) was the first Chinese singer to achieve worldwide prominence in the world of Western classical music. From his first studies with Vladimir Shushlin at

Today I feature as part of my summer series on Great Baritones, one of the greatest Broadway baritones of all time, John Raitt (1917-2005). Wait: did I say one of the greatest? Make that possibly the

Today I present to you two Black baritones who made their mark in Europe and the United States over the course of several decades. Leslie Scott (ca. 1920-1969), who appeared on the State Department-sp

Today I present to you two Black baritones who made their mark in Europe and the United States over the course of several decades. Leslie Scott (ca. 1920-1969), who appeared on the State Department-sp

To help me and all my American friends celebrate the Fourth of July, I bring you a gorgeous bevy of great low-voiced singers performing songs by that emblematic US-American composer Charles Ives. I of

For my second Queer Pride episode this month, I offer you a panoply of blues and other popular music sung by women of color over the past 100 years and over a wide range of the LGBTQ spectrum. The focus is on the queer and bisexual women of color who e...

In honor of the first commemoration of Juneteenth as a national holiday, there is no artist more worthy of celebration than the great Odetta (1930-2008). The breadth of her influence and the scope of her accomplishment should be trumpeted from the roof...

I had intended a no-holds-barred Queer Pride extravaganza for this weeks episode, but life got in the way, so I elected to do a more modest, chamber-music-sized celebration instead, which encompasses

The final episode (for now) in my series commemorating recent deaths in the musical community, this one presents a further group of treasurable (and often less well-known) musical artists, refracted through the lens of memory: personal memory,

We continue our memorial tributes this week with the second of (at least) three episodes commemorating the recent deaths of singers and musicians who have helped make our existence a little more manageable, our world a bit more beautiful.