Ashot Danielyan opens an intensely candid, solitary world on his latest album, "Make Classical Music Great Again". The provocative title reads almost like a cultural dare, yet the performance itself abandons all irony at the piano bench. Danielyan strips his craft down to bare hammer, felt, and immediate instinct. Without sheet music, pre-planned arrangements, or studio trickery, these uncomposed solo improvisations trace the slow...

Dianne Forte has somehow built a bizarre, joyous bridge between Sunday morning devotion and a vintage arcade console with the instrumental version of her latest single, "Hallelujah Just Keep Your Heads Up Now". I anticipated the gentle cadence of her North Carolina gospel roots. Instead, the self-taught organist handed me a soundtrack for a sun-drenched, high-speed drive down a pixelated coastline. https://open.spotify.com/album/6GStrr1WiKEWJaAkuWYX5K?si=AOhyiEbXR1iGjVkwFtTIVQ The sheer, unrestrained energy...