For decades, Bobby McFerrin has broken all the rules. The 10-time Grammy winner waged a quiet revolution, blurring the distinction between pop music and high art, goofing around barefoot in the world's finest concert halls, exploring uncharted vocal territory, inspiring a whole new generation of a cappella singers and the beatbox movement. Now he surprises us by bringing it all back home with his new album, spirityouall from Sony Masterworks.

18 NEW / 48 Total Stations/Shows
SYND: NPR/ATC, Acoustic Cafe, UnderCurrents, TTBOOK
Direct: SiriusXM/Bob Edwards Show
Markets include: New York, Los Angeles, San Francisco, Philadelphia, Miami, Cleveland, Seattle, Houston, Detroit, Albuquerque, Berkeley CA, Madison WI, Canada
Online: All About Jazz, wildmansteve.com, CD Insight, WSJ Cafe

House & Garden was inspired by our love of natural life, of our gardens and the central place they play in our home-lives, our friendships and relationships. Jim and I were working one day, it was a beautiful spring day, and Jim said he'd started a song while thinking about the strawberry plants he has in his garden. His mother gave him the cuttings planted by his father, and though he passed on many years ago, his memory is kept alive in the garden. What a beautiful gift to reflect on your loved ones as you tend your flowers! We wrote the rest of the lyrics with specific flowers in mind and what they represent (love, faith, comfort).
Nell Robinson

6 NEW 'ON'  9 Total Stations/Shows
Markets include: Boston, Philadelphia, Tucson, Montreal
Online: CD Insight

The Piano Guys are back with a new album, The Piano Guys - Volume 2, with their unique take on music from Pachelbel to The Turtles to Bruno Mars, available on Portrait, Sony Masterworks' new adult contemporary imprint. Also available is the Deluxe version which includes the CD plus the 12 corresponding music videos - available for the first time on DVD! The recording features imaginative mash-ups and arrangements that made their last album so successful, plus a few original recordings including the previously unreleased song 'Berlin' as well as 'Waterfall,' creating an incomparable style that appeals to audiences from all walks of life and across generations.

28 Total Stations/Shows
SYND: 60 Second CD
Markets include: New York, Los Angeles, San Francisco, Philadelphia, Albuquerque, Long Island NY, Jacksonville FL

Keyboard master John Medeski thrives on the unpredictable, a trait that has kept his work with the trailblazing trio Medeski Martin & Wood (MMW) fresh and surprising for more than twenty years. With A Different Time, his first solo piano project, Medeski once again takes his sound in a completely unexpected direction - unexpected even to him. "I had a more eclectic record in mind," Medeski says. "I wanted to put out something that would be more representative of what my live solo concerts are like." The first release on Sony Classical's newly-revived OKeh Records imprint, A Different Time is a far more introspective, meditative collection than fans of MMW's lively, groove-driven music might expect. Consisting mostly of Medeski's own compositions and improvisations, with a familiar spiritual and a Willie Nelson song added into the mix, the album presents a different side of Medeski's prodigious artistry, one which he was initially reluctant to display.

24 New 'ON'   73 Total
Markets include: New York, Los Angeles, San Francisco, Boston, Philadelphia, Atlanta, Cleveland, Houston, Austin, Kansas City, Denver, Baltimore, Portland, New Orleans, Milwaukee Berkeley, Albuquerque, El Paso, Chattanooga, Madison WI
Online: Taintradio, RadioIO, Greenarrrow, Jazzweekly, WGOE

Paris Combo 5 shatters the traditional concept of what some consider the Paris sound with a myriad of influences including the alluring vocals of Belle du Berry. Smoldering just beneath the surface there is an accessible Europop vibe, adventurous riffs, and swinging grooves that are carefully mixed with Latin, African and rumba rhythms all tightly woven around the tapestry that is the French cabaret sound. Paris Combo 5 is a return to the studio after a four year hiatus and is arguable one of the finest groups to come out of France in thirty years.

10 New 'ON' 159 Total
SYND: Jazz Variations
Markets include: New York, Los Angeles, Chicago, San Francisco, Boston, Philadelphia, Atlanta, Dallas, Cleveland, Denver, Baltimore, New Orleans, Austin, Seattle, Long Island NY, San Antonio, Albuquerque, Madison WI, Honolulu
Online: RadioIO, Taintradio, Greenarrrow, Jazzweekly, M3 Radio, Radio Phoenix, New World Buzz, WGOE, The Paul Leslie Hour

Sony Masterworks in partnership with Calle 54 Records releases: Cuban musician, Pedrito Martínez's new album Rumba de la Isla. Featuringsongs once interpreted by Camarón de la Isla, the legendary flamenco icon, Rumba de la Isla is produced by Fernando Trueba and Nat Chediak. The albumcelebrates the convergence of both the Cuban and Flamenco rumbas. The great rumbero Pedrito Martínez manages to integrate, in his own personal way, classic songs by Camarón de la Isla in a unique tribute to the greatest flamenco artist of all times.

29 New 'ON'   70 Total
SYND: PRI/Jazz After Hours
Direct: SiriusXM, MOOD
Markets include: New York, Los Angeles, Chicago, San Francisco, Boston, Philadelphia, Wash DC, Miami, Atlanta, Cleveland, Seattle, Minneapolis, Houston, Portland, Denver, San Diego, Austin, New Orleans, Milwaukee, Berkeley CA, Las Vegas, Albuquerque
Online: M3, Taintradio

"New York Rags FULL of riches."
WBGO Radio  

"This is certainly among the finest piano recordings ever made..."This music and recording deserve the highest of high fidelity and that's just what the 192/24 download delivers." 
The Absolute Sound

"combines classical, jazz, and Chesky's quirky personality in a series of short vignettes that are quintessentially New York." Stereophile Magazine

Artistic virtuosity and entrepreneurial vision rarely reside within the same person, but David Chesky has long ventured seamlessly between those two worlds. As a composer, musician and recording artist, three-time Grammy nominee Chesky bridges classical music, jazz and other genres, crafting a unique hybrid that he calls "Urban Orchestral" music.

21 New 'ON'   74 Total
Markets include: New York, Los Angeles, Chicago, San Francisco, Boston, Philadelphia, Minneapolis, Houston, Portland, New Orleans, Kansas City, Detroit, Albuquerque, Madison WI, Hartford CT, Canada
Online: Taintradio, Jazzweekly.com, Live 365, The Jazzy Vegetarian

During the past ten years the Quartetto di Cremona has matured into a string quartet of international renown, combining the Italian culture of string playing with an awareness of historical performance practice. The first volume of their recording series of the Complete Beethoven String Quartets comprises three distinctive works from Beethoven's early, middle and late periods. With the three works contained in Volume 1, the Quartetto di Cremona covers the most important periods of Beethoven's quartet oeuvre. The final of the six Op. 18 Quartets features a mysteriously programmatic dimension in its last movement, "La Malinconia", whereas Op. 95 from Beethoven's middle period is both highly compact yet dramatically gripping. The disc closes with Beethoven's final Quartet, Op. 135, completed in Vienna one year before his death: it differs from his less easily approachable late works in taking on a conciliatory stance.　

19 Stations Total
Markets include: Atlanta, Detroit, Erie PA, Denton TX, Stevens Point WI, Ashland & Astoria OR, Tempe AZ, Rohnert Park CA, Newark DE, Notre Dame IN, Iowa City, Cape Girardeau MO, Syracuse NY, Davidson & Wilmington NC, Fargo ND

On Violin Lullabies, Rachel Barton Pine and pianist Matthew Hagle perform 25 classic cradle songs for violin, including works by Johannes Brahms, George Gershwin, Franz Schubert, Gabriel Fauré, Richard Strauss, and Maurice Ravel. Released on Cedille Records, these brief, beautiful pieces are as compositionally sophisticated as longer works by these same composers, and the music suits both hard core classical listeners as well as novices of all ages. "While the birth of my first child inspired this album, the idea of deeply exploring the lullaby as a genre has fascinated me for some time. These are beautiful concert pieces which allowed me to express the love that fills my heart each day that I spend with my precious baby,"  Rachel Barton Pine

53 New 'ON'   153 Total
SYND: NPR/ATC, PRI/Classical 24, The Record Shelf, APM/Performance Today, The Romantic Hours
Direct: SiriusXM/Bob Edwards & Symphony Hall, Music Choice, MOOD, Spafax
Markets include: New York, Los Angeles, Chicago, San Francisco, Boston, Philadelphia, Wash DC, Baltimore, Houston, Seattle, Minneapolis, Houston, Cleveland, Pittsburgh, New Orleans, Detroit, Indianapolis, Albuquerque, Tucson, San Antonio, Louisville, Madison WI, Honolulu
Online: RadioIO, Taintradio, WGOE

Maria Schneider releases: 'Winter Morning Walks' featuring soprano Dawn Upshaw. It is Schneider's first recording with major orchestras and features two commissioned works composed and conducted by Schneider with The Saint Paul Chamber Orchestra and Australian Chamber Orchestra, and poetry by Ted Kooser and Carlos Drummond de Andrade. Blurring the line between classical and jazz, with touches of avant-garde and pop sensibilities, Winter Morning Walks marks a new chapter in an already illustrious career.

8 New 'ON'   120 Total
SYND: NPR/ACS & WATC, PRI/Classical 24, PRI/Jazz After Hours
Direct: SiriusXM, Music Choice, DMX
Markets include: New York, Los Angeles, Chicago, San Francisco, Philadelphia, Atlanta, Cleveland, Minneapolis, St. Louis, Cincinnati, Portland, Indianapolis, Detroit, New Orleans, Berkeley CA, San Antonio, Long Island NY, Canada
Online: RadioIO, WGOE, Humboldt 101

TUNE IN to Bobby McFerrin as he discusses his brand new CD: 'sprityouall' honoring his father and the American Spiritual. Click Here for:   NPR's 'All Things Considered. 

Utah's favorite dads, The Piano Guys just released their new video ‘Home' covering the hit song from 2012 American Idol winner Phillip Phillips. Shot in their home state of Utah near Zion National Park, Steven Sharp Nelson commented on the impetus to make the video. "We love being on tour and meeting our fans! However, as we travel along with our equipment, cellos and baggage one thing never gets checked away - we miss home. We miss our family. When we first heard ‘Home' we couldn't help but be emotionally drawn to it."

The video is being released in conjunction with the group's new album The Piano Guys 2, which features more imaginative mash-ups and arrangements on music from Pachelbel to The Turtles to Bruno Mars

The Piano Guys started making music videos together for fun, a hobby which turned into a worldwide phenomenon when their self-made YouTube videos amassed 220 million views to date.

Veteran gospel act The Blind Boys of Alabama has signed with Sony Masterworks, Paste has learned. The band is now set to release a new album this fall, taking production notes from other than Justin Vernon of Bon Iver. An album title has not yet been released. The album will feature a few unexpected guest spots, which will be announced later. Its release will be followed by an international tour. The band's current lineup includes founding vocalists Jimmy Carter, along with vocalists Bishop Billy Bowers and Ben Moore. Drummer Eric McKinnie, guitarist Joey Williams, bassist Tracy Pierce and keyboard player Peter Levin round out the lineup. Vernon will add The Blind Boys to his growing list of production credits, which includes work with James Blake, Kathleen Edwards and Land of Talk.

45 North / Friday, May 3, 2013 Anne Strainchamps talks with a jazz composer and two-time Grammy winner Maria Schneider about her new album: 'Winter Morning Walks.' Also on the show, Zoe Keating is a cellist with a lot of pluck. Acting as her own agent, tour manager, producer and publisher, Zoe tells Anne Strainchamps how to orchestrate a "slow, sustainable, career" as a musician-mother, how to crowd-source a tour, and why she writes odes to iTunes. A little later in the hour: 

'Soul Flower,' Robin McKelle's new album on Sony Masterworks, set for release on June 11 might have called 'The Real McKelle.' "It's the record I've always dreamed of making" the singer says. McKelle who wrote most of the albums songs is true to it's title blending soul, blues, and R&B and showcasing not only her powerful expressive sound but also a great gift for devising familiar melodies that take hold immediately. McKelle also firmly puts her stamp on the project insisting on recognizing the backing band on the cover credit: Robin McKelle & The Flytones. "I grew up listening to Nina Simone and Gladys Knight. I sang their classics and what I enjoy most today is building my own repertoire in that same soulful vein" McKelle says, as her lyrics delve into today's gloomy news. "You turn on the radio in the morning, you watch TV in the evening, and all you hear is crisis, crisis, crisis'. Wherever you are in the world the word is repeated ten thousand times a day, So I've tried to offer a take based on real life - people's experience, the everyday impression they have." The Rochester New York native does however end the session on a glamorous jazz note, with a cover of 'I'm A Fool To Want You' immortalized by Frank Sinatra and Billie Holiday.

House & Garden was inspired by our love of natural life, of our gardens and the central place they play in our home-lives, our friendships and relationships. Jim and I were working one day, it was a beautiful spring day, and Jim said he'd started a song while thinking about the strawberry plants he has in his garden. His mother gave him the cuttings planted by his father, and though he passed on many years ago, his memory is kept alive in the garden. What a beautiful gift to reflect on your loved ones as you tend your flowers! We wrote the rest of the lyrics with specific flowers in mind and what they represent (love, faith, comfort). We felt the album should be simple with spare instrumentation and a focus on stories, lyrics and vocal harmonies. The sound is refreshingly rich, with sweet surprises as the guitar and voices take on the sound of bees, mayflies, a music box, and even cello strings."
Nell Robinson

Inspired by the birth of her daughter, Rachel Barton Pine collected more than 150 lullabies and picked her favorite 25 for her new album, 'Violin Lullabies.' Inspired by art, history, and the everyday mother and child family ritual RBP, joined by the wonderful pianist Matthew Hagle have recorded pieces by Ravel, Schubert, Gershwin and Brahms with RBP's violin, hand-picked by Brahms for a student of his day. In its first week of release, 'Violin Lullabies' ascended to:
#1 on Amazon Children's Music
#2 on iTunes Classical Chart
#2 Amazon Classical Music Radio has also responded with great enthisiasm to the CD  with an 'NPR: All Things Considered,' a Bob Edwards Morning Show feature on Sirius XM, on American Public Media's Performance Today, on Minnesota Public Radio's 'New Classical Tracks', WTTW-TV's Chicago Tonight', WGN: Chicago/'Music Lounge', Public Radio International's 'The Record Shelf' Additional Interviews and Features have been airing on the following local stations to promote the album leading into Mother's Day on May 12 2013. WQXR: New York
WFMT: Chicago
WRTI: Philadelphia
KDFC: San Francisco
WQED: Pittsburgh
WRCJ: Detroit
WICR: Indianapolis
WKNO: Memphis
Texas Public Radio
New Jersey Net: Statewide
Kansas PR: Statewide
Alabama PR: Statewide
WNED: Buffalo/NY
WCPE: Wake Forest/NC
WDAV: Davidson/NC
WGTE: Toledo/OH
KBAQ: Tempe/AZ
WFIU: Bloomington/IN
WIAA: Interlochen/MI
WFSU: Tallahassee/FL
KBIA: Columbia/MO
WBAA: West Lafayette/IN
KRCB: Rohnert Park/CA
In-Flight Airline programming via Spafax