Showing 81–160 of 224 results
Fink is the stage name and band project of Fin Greenall, an English singer-songwriter, guitarist, producer, and former DJ from Cornwall, later associated with Bristol, London, and Berlin. The project’s music blends folk, indie rock, blues, trip-hop, acoustic singer-songwriter music, and electronic textures. His official Bandcamp describes Fink as Fin Greenall, a singer-songwriter from Cornwall…
With First Aid Kitt, I am talking about the Swedish sister duo First Aid Kit, and for me their identity begins with something very simple: two voices that sound stronger together than either one would on its own. Klara Söderberg, born on 8 January 1993, and her older sister Johanna Söderberg, born on 31 October…
Fleetwood Mac are a British-American rock band formed in London in 1967. They began as a British blues band led by Peter Green, with Mick Fleetwood and John McVie as core members, before evolving into one of the most successful rock/pop bands of the 1970s and 1980s after Lindsey Buckingham and Stevie Nicks joined the…
Francine Thirteen is an American artist from Dallas, Texas, known for a mystical and theatrical style she calls “ritual pop.” Her music blends pop, experimental R&B, electronic textures, ambient/noise elements, spiritual themes, and performance art. Her Bandcamp biography describes her as a Dallas-based artist who sings “to the cosmos, to plants, to animals,” while SoundCloud…
There are only two musicians in Friend ‘n Follow, but the sound they create is remarkably complete. A deep, soulful female voice and an acoustic guitar are all that German duo Friend ‘n Fellow need to make music that can be intimate, powerful and surprisingly rhythmic. Singer Constanze Friend and guitarist Thomas Fellow have spent…
Geoff Castellucci is an American singer and musician widely celebrated for his exceptionally deep vocal range and “low bass” performances. While he is a founding member of the popular a cappella group VoicePlay, he has gained significant individual fame as a solo artist through his innovative arrangements and multi-track vocal videos. Genre: A cappella, Folk,…
The first thing I notice with Gillian Welch is how little she needs to make a song feel complete. A voice, two acoustic guitars, David Rawlings beside her, and enough silence for every note to have a purpose. Gillian Howard Welch was born on October 2, 1967, in New York City, was adopted as a…
There is a moment in many Glen Hansard recordings when his voice stops sounding controlled and starts sounding necessary. He can begin almost conversationally, close to the microphone, then push until the grain in his voice becomes part of the rhythm of the song. That contrast is one of the things I value most about…
Gregory Porter is an American singer and songwriter known for his deep, warm baritone voice and a style that blends jazz, soul, gospel, blues, and R&B. He was born in Sacramento, California, and grew up in Bakersfield. Before becoming internationally famous, he performed in clubs and musical theatre. His breakthrough came with the album Water…
Hayley Westenra is a New Zealand singer from Christchurch, best known for classical crossover, operatic pop, Celtic-influenced music, folk songs and light classical repertoire. She began performing as a child and released her international breakthrough album Pure when she was still a teenager; Decca Classics describes it as the fastest-selling debut album by a classical…
Hannes Wader is a German singer-songwriter and one of the key figures of the German Liedermacher and political folk tradition. He was born in 1942 in Bethel near Bielefeld and began writing songs in the 1960s after discovering artists such as Georges Brassens. His first album, Hannes Wader singt, appeared in 1969, followed by important…
Hans Theessink is a Dutch blues guitarist, singer, songwriter, and mandolinist, long based in Vienna, Austria. His music is rooted in acoustic blues, roots music, folk blues, and Americana. He is known for his deep voice, fingerpicking guitar style, and faithful but personal interpretation of American blues traditions. Important albums and releases include Journey On,…
Harold Mabern is one of those pianists whose identity becomes clear within a few bars. There is a firmness in the way he places a chord, a strong rhythmic centre in almost everything he plays, and a warmth that keeps even dense passages connected to blues and gospel. His music can sound sophisticated without becoming…
Haugaard & Høirup are a Danish folk duo formed in 1998, consisting of Harald Haugaard on fiddle/violin and Morten Alfred Høirup on guitar. Harald Haugaard was born in 1975, and Morten Alfred Høirup was born in 1961. Their music is mainly Danish traditional folk, mixed with original compositions, fiddle tunes, waltzes, polkas, schottisches, and contemporary…
Hein & Oss were a German folk-singing duo made up of twin brothers Heinrich “Hein” Kröher and Oskar “Oss” Kröher, both born in 1927 in Pirmasens, Germany. Hein died in 2016 and Oss in 2019. They were known as German Volkslied and Liedermacher artists, performing folk songs, workers’ songs, freedom songs, soldier songs, sea shanties,…
Herbie Mann was born Herbert Jay Solomon in 1930 in Brooklyn, New York, and died in 2003. He was an American jazz flutist and one of the first major jazz musicians to specialize in the flute. His music covered jazz, bossa nova, Afro-Cuban jazz, soul jazz, funk, disco, and world music, making him one of…
Herman Dune started in Paris with the kind of setup that could hardly have been simpler: two brothers writing and singing songs, a drummer, guitars and very little interest in making everything sound polished. Formed in 1999, the original group brought together David-Ivar Herman Düne, his older brother André and drummer Omé, who was later…
I’m With Her began with the kind of musical accident that only works when the musicians already understand each other. Sara Watkins, Sarah Jarosz and Aoife O’Donovan had crossed paths for years, but an impromptu performance at the 2014 Telluride Bluegrass Festival turned those separate connections into a real band. They had only a short…
Igor Kipnis was born in 1930 in Berlin and died in 2002. He was a German-born American classical harpsichordist, fortepianist, pianist, conductor, and editor, best known for his work in early keyboard music. He was the son of the famous bass singer Alexander Kipnis. Kipnis became one of the leading harpsichord performers of the 20th…
Inger Marie Gundersen was born in 1957 in Arendal, Norway. She is a Norwegian jazz vocalist known for her warm, intimate voice and elegant interpretations of jazz standards, pop songs, and singer-songwriter material. Her official biography confirms her birth date as February 13, 1957, and her official website presents her discography and current artist information….
Iron & Wine began with recordings so quiet and close that they almost seemed to belong to a private room rather than a record label. Behind the name is Samuel Ervin Beam, born July 26, 1974, in Chapin, South Carolina, and over more than two decades he has gradually turned what started as an intimate…
Brazilian singer-songwriter Ive Mendes has become something of a cult favorite among audiophiles because her recordings emphasize atmosphere, warmth, space, and elegant production rather than aggressive loudness. Her music blends silky bossa nova rhythms, smooth jazz textures, downtempo grooves, and sophisticated pop arrangements into recordings that reward careful listening on high-end systems. Audiophile communities often…
Jacintha, full name Jacintha Abisheganaden, was born in 1957 in Singapore. She is a Singaporean jazz and bossa nova vocalist, actress, and theatre practitioner. MusicBrainz lists her as a Singaporean jazz singer, with the legal name Jacintha Abisheganaden, born 3 October 1957, and tagged as jazz and vocal jazz. She is best known internationally for…
Jade Bird built her early reputation around a useful contradiction: she sounded completely at home with American folk, country and rock traditions while never pretending to be anything other than a young British songwriter finding her own way through them. Born Jade Elizabeth Bird on October 1, 1997, in Hexham, Northumberland, she spent parts of…
Jan Garbarek was born in 1947 in Mysen, Norway. He is a Norwegian jazz saxophonist and composer, best known for his highly recognizable soprano and tenor saxophone sound: spacious, lyrical, and often associated with the “Nordic jazz” aesthetic. ECM Records, his long-time label, describes how hearing John Coltrane at age 14 inspired him to take…
Jay McShann is audiophile worthy because his music captures the natural dynamics of Kansas City swing, blues piano, small-group jazz, and big-band jazz. His recordings often emphasize acoustic piano tone, horn textures, walking bass, room ambience, and relaxed swing timing rather than heavy studio processing. For hi-fi listening, tracks such as “Confessin’ the Blues,” “Hootie…
Jeanette Lindström is especially admired by audiophiles because her recordings combine intimate vocal detail, spacious production, and sophisticated jazz arrangements with exceptional dynamic range. Albums such as “Feathers.” and “Attitude & Orbit Control” are frequently praised in high-end audio circles for their natural piano tone, airy ambience, and emotionally nuanced vocal presentation. Her collaborations with…
Jennifer Warnes is highly regarded by audiophile listeners because several of her albums are known for natural vocal presence, careful production, spacious arrangements, and strong dynamic detail. Famous Blue Raincoat, her album of Leonard Cohen songs, is especially prized for its intimate vocal recording, atmospheric instrumentation, and clean production. The Hunter is another audiophile favorite,…
Jens Kommnick is audiophile worthy because his music is built around acoustic fingerstyle guitar, often with Celtic, classical, folk, and jazz influences. This kind of music is especially useful for hi-fi listening because it reveals string tone, finger attack, resonance, decay, room ambience, and stereo imaging. Qobuz lists his recordings for streaming and purchase, including…
Jesca Hoop has built a career by refusing to make the same record twice. Born Jessica Ada Hoop on April 21, 1975, in Santa Rosa, California, she grew up in a Mormon family where singing was part of everyday life, including four-part harmony with her siblings. That early training matters because harmony remains one of…
Jheena Lodwick is a Filipina vocalist and pianist associated mainly with audiophile vocal jazz, easy listening, pop standards, and acoustic vocal music. She is especially known among hi-fi and audiophile listeners for her clear, intimate voice and smooth interpretations of classic songs. Retail and music references describe her as originally from the Philippines and note…
Joan Baez was born in 1941 in Staten Island, New York. She is an American folk singer, songwriter, musician, and activist, known for her clear soprano voice, acoustic folk style, and lifelong commitment to civil rights, peace, nonviolence, and human rights. Her official biography confirms her January 9 birth date and long public career. Her…
Joan Shelley built her music in Kentucky, but her songs have never sounded limited by one place or one folk tradition. Born in 1985 in Louisville, Kentucky, she grew up outside the city on land where her mother kept horses, and music became important to her remarkably early. She later studied anthropology at the University…
Joanna Wang occupies a distinctive place in the modern audiophile landscape. Her voice is warm, intimate and faintly smoky, the kind of instrument that rewards careful listening on a high-quality system. Rather than crowding her vocals with dense production, many of her recordings allow space to breathe. That openness gives listeners the chance to hear…
Joe Henderson was born in 1937 in Lima, Ohio, and died in 2001. He was an American jazz tenor saxophonist and occasional flutist, known for his rich tone, rhythmic strength, melodic imagination, and highly individual post-bop style. The National Endowment for the Arts lists him as a 1999 NEA Jazz Master and describes him as…
Johanna Grüssner is the kind of vocalist audiophiles often discover by accident and then keep returning to. Her appeal is not based on spectacle, but on musical honesty: a clear, controlled voice, natural phrasing, elegant timing and an ability to make a standard feel personal without over-singing it. Her official site quotes praise for her…
John Coltrane was born in 1926 in Hamlet, North Carolina, and died in 1967. He was an American jazz saxophonist, composer, and bandleader, mainly known for tenor and soprano saxophone. His music moved through bebop, hard bop, modal jazz, post-bop, avant-garde jazz, free jazz, and spiritual jazz. His official biography notes his North Carolina background…
John Pizzarelli was born in 1960 in Paterson, New Jersey. He is an American jazz guitarist, vocalist, composer, and bandleader, known for his swinging guitar style, smooth vocals, and modern interpretations of the Great American Songbook. His official website describes him as a world-renowned guitarist and vocalist, and also highlights his radio show Radio Deluxe,…
John Prine could make a devastating observation sound almost casual. That is the quality I notice first: he rarely pushes a lyric harder than necessary. A line arrives in that dry, conversational voice, supported by straightforward guitar chords and an uncomplicated melody, and only a moment later do I realise how much information he has…
John Renbourn is one of those guitarists whose identity becomes clear within just a few carefully played notes. His guitar playing can sound precise without becoming stiff, and complicated without making complexity the point. John William Mark Renbourn was born in London on August 8, 1944, and became one of the musicians who helped expand…
José James was born in 1978 in Minneapolis, Minnesota. He is an American jazz vocalist, songwriter, bandleader, and producer known for blending contemporary jazz, hip-hop, soul, funk, R&B, pop, and rock. His official biography describes him as “a jazz artist for the hip-hop generation” and notes that he has released albums through Brownswood, Impulse!, Blue…
What interests me most about Justin Robinson is the way he treats the fiddle as both a melodic and rhythmic instrument. There is nothing showy about his approach, yet there is always plenty happening in the way he shapes a phrase, attacks a note or pushes the rhythm forward. Robinson grew up in Gastonia, North…
Kari Bremnes was born in 1956 in Svolvær, Lofoten, Norway. She is a Norwegian singer and songwriter, known for poetic lyrics, atmospheric arrangements, and a sound that blends Norwegian folk, pop, art-pop, jazz, and singer-songwriter music. Her official website describes her as a Norwegian singer-songwriter from the Lofoten Islands, based in Oslo. Her important albums…
Katrine Madsen has long been cherished by audiophiles because her recordings embody the refined, intimate sound that Scandinavian jazz is famous for. Her albums are notable for their natural microphone placement, warm acoustic textures, and a striking sense of air around the instruments. Rather than relying on heavy studio processing, her productions emphasize tonal realism,…
Kaya Brüel is highly respected among audiophiles and lovers of Scandinavian jazz-pop because her recordings combine warm analog-style production, emotionally expressive vocals, and exceptionally natural acoustic arrangements. In the world of high-end audio and lossless music streaming, listeners often search for artists whose recordings reveal detail, depth, and realism — and Kaya Brüel’s music consistently…
Keiko Lee is loved by audiophiles because she brings weight, intimacy and authority to vocal jazz. Her voice is immediately recognizable: deep, smoky, full-bodied and emotionally direct. On a revealing hi-fi system, that kind of voice becomes more than melody; it becomes texture. You hear the air around the vocal, the grain in the lower…
Keith Jarrett is an American pianist, composer, and bandleader, born in 1945 in Allentown, Pennsylvania. He is one of the most influential modern jazz pianists, known for jazz, free improvisation, fusion, classical music, and solo piano performance. ECM Records notes that his discography includes solo improvisations, duets, trios, quartets, original compositions, classical repertoire, and explorations…
There is a particular quality in Ken Peplowski’s clarinet playing that I notice almost immediately: the instrument sounds complete. Not just bright at the top or airy around the edges, but with real body through the middle, enough wood and reed texture to make the clarinet feel physical. On a revealing system that difference is…
Kenichi Tsunoda Big Band is a Japanese jazz big band formed in 1990 by trombonist, arranger, composer, and bandleader Kenichi Tsunoda. Kenichi Tsunoda was born in 1951 in Tokyo. The group’s music is mainly big band jazz, with repertoire ranging from swing and Latin jazz to arrangements connected with Japanese composer Tōru Takemitsu. Important albums…
I found reliable artist-level pages for Tidal, Spotify, Deezer, Amazon Music, SoundCloud, Qobuz, and Apple Music. I did not find a dependable YouTube Music artist-page URL, so I avoided using playlists, search pages, or fan-upload channels. Short biography:Kenny Rankin was an American singer, songwriter, guitarist, and pianist, born in 1940 in Manhattan, New York City….
Larry Coryell was an American jazz guitarist, composer, and bandleader, born in 1943 in Galveston, Texas. He died in 2017. His music covered jazz, jazz fusion, jazz-rock, free jazz, acoustic jazz, classical-influenced guitar music, blues, rock, and Latin styles. His official biography says he was born on April 2, 1943, and grew up in the…
Laura Fygi is a Dutch singer, born in 1955 in Amsterdam, the Netherlands. She is best known for vocal jazz, pop-jazz, bossa nova, Latin jazz, and easy listening. Apple Music lists her birth date as August 27, 1955, and identifies her genre as vocal music. She first gained attention as a member of the Dutch…
Laura Marling can make a small change in the pressure of her voice feel as important as a full arrangement. That is one of the first things I notice when I listen closely to her music, especially on a system with good midrange transparency. Her voice is not difficult to reproduce because it is huge…
There is something wonderfully uncomplicated about Le Bang Bang. One voice, one double bass and absolutely nowhere to hide. German singer Stefanie Boltz and bassist Sven Faller have built their musical partnership around this seemingly simple combination, turning familiar jazz standards, pop songs and rock classics into something entirely their own. What interests me most…
Leny Andrade was a Brazilian singer and musician, born January 25, 1943, in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. She died in 2023. Her music blended Brazilian jazz, bossa nova, samba, Latin jazz, and MPB. Deezer describes her as a Latin and Brazilian jazz vocalist who studied piano at the Brazilian Conservatory of Music and began singing…
Leonard Cohen was a Canadian singer-songwriter, poet, and novelist, born in 1934 in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. He died in 2016. His music is usually associated with folk, folk rock, singer-songwriter, soft rock, and literary pop, with lyrics often exploring love, spirituality, desire, loss, politics, mortality, and redemption. Britannica describes him as a Canadian singer-songwriter whose…
The cello is not an instrument I normally associate with Haitian folk music, old-time American roots, banjo traditions and political songwriting all at once, but Leyla McCalla has made that combination feel completely natural. Her music can be spare and intimate one moment, rhythmically insistent the next, and she has a way of letting history…
A Roland 303 and 909 are not the instruments I would normally expect to lead me into the work of a singer-songwriter with roots in folk and punk, but that is exactly where Lianne Hall takes me on the title track of Energy Flashback. She sings about acid house, cassette culture, teenage fear and finding…
Lina Nyberg is not the kind of jazz vocalist who simply decorates a song. She builds a world around it. For audiophiles, that is exactly the attraction: her recordings reward close listening, with a voice that moves between intimacy, experiment, lyric detail and chamber-jazz sophistication. Her music often leaves enough air around the musicians for…
Lisa Ono is a Brazilian-born Japanese singer, guitarist and songwriter, best known for bossa nova, Brazilian music, jazz standards and soft Latin-influenced pop. She was born in São Paulo, Brazil, spent her childhood there until age 10, and began singing and playing guitar at 15. Her official biography says she made her recording debut in…
Livingston Taylor is an American singer-songwriter, folk musician, performer, and teacher, born in 1950 in Boston, Massachusetts. His music blends folk, pop, gospel, soft rock, and jazz-influenced singer-songwriter styles. He is the younger brother of James Taylor, and has had a long solo career while also teaching at Berklee College of Music. Important albums include…
Lizz Wright is an American singer and songwriter, born in 1980 in Hahira, Georgia. Her music combines jazz, gospel, soul, blues, folk, and R&B, shaped by her church background in rural Georgia. Apple Music describes her as a singer with a full contralto voice who came up in church before making her commercial breakthrough with…
Lord Huron is one of those bands where the world around the songs matters almost as much as the songs themselves. Ben Schneider does not simply write an album, give it a title and move on. He builds characters, places, broadcasts, films and half-hidden connections around the music, yet the reason I keep listening is…
Loreena McKennitt is a Canadian singer, composer, harpist, pianist, accordionist, and multi-instrumentalist, born in 1957 in Morden, Manitoba, Canada. Her music blends Celtic, world music, folk, new age, and Middle Eastern influences, often built around her clear soprano voice and atmospheric arrangements. Important albums include Elemental, The Visit, The Mask and Mirror, The Book of…
Lori Lieberman is one of those artists whose story belongs in every serious music lover’s library, not only because she is connected to one of the most famous songs of the twentieth century, but because her own voice, her own phrasing and her own catalogue have a quiet audiophile beauty that deserves far more attention….
Lyn Stanley is especially loved by audiophiles because she deliberately records and releases music in high-quality physical formats, including vinyl records, SACDs, and reel-to-reel tapes. Her official website emphasizes these formats and describes her recordings as carefully made for high-quality listening. It also names major engineers associated with her recordings, including Al Schmitt, Bernie Grundman,…
Lynni Treekrem is widely admired by audiophiles and lovers of Nordic singer-songwriter music because her recordings capture an unusually authentic emotional atmosphere combined with refined Scandinavian production quality. In the world of high-end audio, lossless streaming, and premium hi-fi listening, her music is appreciated for its warm analog character, expressive female vocals, natural acoustic instrumentation,…
Macy Gray, born Natalie Renée McIntyre in 1967, is an American R&B, soul, neo-soul, pop, and jazz-influenced singer-songwriter, musician, record producer, and actress. She is especially known for her unmistakable raspy voice and soulful, slightly unconventional vocal style. Apple Music describes her as known for her “raspy voice and unusual style,” and notes that she…
“Pin It Down” is where Madison Cunningham first really clicked for me. The guitar does not simply accompany the song. It pushes against the vocal, interrupts the expected rhythm and makes the whole arrangement feel slightly unsettled without ever losing its shape. That tension is central to what I like about Cunningham as an artist….
Malene Mortensen is considered one of the great hidden treasures of Scandinavian jazz and a favorite among audiophiles searching for premium female vocal jazz recordings, high-end audio test music, and emotionally immersive acoustic jazz albums. Her music is frequently recommended in audiophile communities because of its exceptional recording quality, natural vocal timbre, and refined Nordic…
Mariza, born Marisa dos Reis Nunes in 1973, is a Portuguese fado singer, also associated with world music and contemporary Portuguese music. She was born in Lourenço Marques, Portuguese Mozambique, and grew up in Lisbon, where she became closely connected with the fado tradition. She became internationally known with her debut album Fado em Mim…
Mark Knopfler, born 1949, is a Scottish-born British guitarist, singer, songwriter, composer, and record producer. He is best known as the lead guitarist, singer, and songwriter of Dire Straits, and later as a successful solo artist and film-score composer. Britannica describes him as the front man of Dire Straits and notes his celebrated fingerstyle guitar…
Marta Gómez, born 1978, is a Colombian singer-songwriter, composer, and guitarist from Cali, Colombia. Her music blends Latin American folk, Latin jazz, world music, pop, and traditional South American rhythms. Her official website describes her as one of the outstanding voices of the international independent music scene, with songs that often carry a strong social…
Mary Black, born 1955, is an Irish folk, Celtic, and contemporary singer from Dublin, Ireland. She is known for interpreting both traditional Irish songs and modern material, and Qobuz describes her as being equally at home with Irish folk and contemporary styles including blues, rock, jazz, country, and soul. She first came to public attention…
“He Thinks He’ll Keep Her” tells me a great deal about Mary Chapin Carpenter in just over four minutes. The music moves with the confidence of mainstream early-1990s country, but the woman at the centre of the song is quietly questioning the life that was supposed to make her happy. That contrast between an accessible…
Massimo Faraò is one of those pianists who makes me think less about nationality and more about jazz language. His playing is firmly rooted in swing, blues and the American piano tradition, yet there is a directness and warmth in his phrasing that keeps it from sounding like imitation. Faraò was born on 16 May…
McCoy Tyner, born Alfred McCoy Tyner in 1938, was an American jazz pianist and composer from Philadelphia. He is best known for his work with the John Coltrane Quartet from 1960 to 1965 and for his long solo career as one of the most influential pianists in modern jazz. Apple Music describes him as one…
Meiko, born Melissa McAllister Sheppard in 1982, is an American singer-songwriter and guitarist from Roberta, Georgia. Her music is usually described as indie pop, indie folk, adult alternative, and acoustic singer-songwriter music. She later became associated with the Los Angeles Hotel Café singer-songwriter scene and is now based in Europe. She released her self-titled debut…
Melody Gardot, born 1985, is an American jazz vocalist, singer-songwriter, and musician from New Jersey. Apple Music lists her genre as Jazz and gives her birth date as February 2, 1985. Her music blends vocal jazz, blues, folk, bossa nova, Latin, Brazilian influences, and sophisticated pop. She first gained attention after writing and recording music…
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