Several developments following the shootings at Emanuel AME Church in Charleston seemed to restore a small measure of sanity when we desperately needed it the most.

A healing playlist for Cavs fans everywhere, with Lucinda Williams, Dwight Yoakam, Rosanne Cash, The Black Keys, Buddy Miller, etc.

Where the soul of man never dies: B.B. King, Howard Tate, Nina Simone, Lou Ragland, Michael Bloomfield, etc.

Hoping to make a career playing (or teaching) jazz? Take a few tips from interstellar traveler and consummate showman Sun Ra.

The long-lost recordings of The Nitty Gritty Sextet, plus Joe Cuba, Bronx River Parkway, The Lebron Brothers and more Latin soul.

From a Quaker boarding school to the death-defying Jim Rose Circus Sideshow... It's been a long, strange trip for NE Ohio native Marky Ray.

A conversation with Chris Horne, proprietor of a new print magazine and website devoted to Akron music, arts and culture.

A few of our favorite voices: Billie Holiday, Delbert McClinton, Frank Sinatra, Amy Winehouse, Johnny Taylor, George Jones, Shelby Lynne...

Pretty excited that guitar legend Steve Cropper will be coming to Cleveland on April 18 to induct The "5" Royales into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. Here's a re-post in their honor.

Rubber City Review tackles the tough issues: the Middle East, the Midwest brain drain, brain surgery, Scarlett Johansson, Kanye West, the Cavs, frozen custard...

Soul jazz favorites by Brother Jack McDuff, Cannonball Adderley, Charlie Hunter, Gene Ammons, Grant Green, John Patton, Kenny Burrell, Medeski Martin & Wood, Sonny Stitt, etc.

From W.C. Handy to The Black Keys: A quick look at how American roots music evolved in the 20th Century. Footnotes available upon request.