Take Jack Horton, a Portland-based singer-songwriter whose path to folk-Americana included stops at Japanese law school, Tokyo piano bars, corporate boardrooms, and government offices. His latest EP, "Imperfections," feels like finding someone's private journal set to music. And that someone happens to write really, really well. The five-song collection opens with "Set Me Free," a piano-driven confession that might surprise anyone expecting typical breakup bitterness. Horton...

Because Mr. Julz and Bessem helped bring Afrobeat to the forefront of the music business, you will find that you appreciate this song even more than before. "Recliner Baby" is an upbeat Afrobeat and Afropop love song that tells the story of a man who is confessing his feelings to the woman he has recently fallen in love with. Anyone who listens to the music will...