There’s a peculiar ache that settles in when listening to Maddy Low’s new single, "Dragons." It isn't a dramatic wound, but a slow, persistent pressure, the kind you feel behind your eyes after staring at a blank page for too long, convinced that whatever you create will be a monumental failure. For an artist of eighteen to articulate this specific brand of self-imposed paralysis...

To understand the profound depth of Amana Melome's new album, "Recalibration", one must first appreciate the legacy she carries. As the granddaughter of Jimmy Woode, the legendary bassist who was the youngest member of Duke Ellington's orchestra and who performed alongside icons like Billie Holiday and Ella Fitzgerald, Melome' is heir to a monumental tradition in American music. Her latest work is not a simple continuation...