Music from Randy Newman, Marc Cohn, Aimee Mann, Fred Schneider, Joe Ely, Ringo Starr with Stevie Nicks, Beckley/Lamm/Wilson, Laverne Baker, Steve Forbert, Peter Wolf And the Houseparty 5, Jennifer Trynin, Al Kooper, Victoria Williams, Marshall Crenshaw, Brian Wilson, Jellyfish, Bill Lloyd, Ron Sexsmith, Adrian Belew, Richard Barone, the Roches with Mark Johnson), John Cowan, and Jimmy Webb. CD

Gary Taxali is an artist with a really great style – a way of taking vintage aesthetics and giving them a more contemporary, underground vibe – maybe a bit like some of the artists associated with Raw magazine many years back, but at a level that makes Taxali's art a lot more versatile across different fields! The book features an introduction from Aimee Mann in a number of languages – but the contents are mostly images – page after page of full color reproductions of prints, posters, and a number of other modes – presented back to back, with no text at all – so that diving into the book is like living in the weird and wonderful universe of Gary Taxali! Hardcover edition is 141 pages, full color throughout. Book

Viola player Jessica Pavone leads a string trio here – but the result is very different than you might expect, if you're only thinking of music in terms of jazz or more traditional elements – as there's a blend of strings, textures, and tones here that's completely wonderful! In addition to Pavone's viola, the group also features Aimee Neimann on violin, and Abby Swidler on both viola and violin, depending on the track – both musicians who add their voice to one track, along with Jessica – but mostly have this way of finding great sonic resonance together, with a quality that's both abstracting from the original modes of the instruments, yet never too far to make them sound unfamiliar. Titles include "Done & Dusted", "Hidden Voices", "The Pitches & Notated", and "Closeness Unnoticed". CD