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It's a wonder Reed has time to get behind his drum kit at all, let alone lead two of Chicago's best bands. While his quintet Loose Assembly plays heavily improvised contemporary music, his quartet People, Places & Things has always embraced a strong historical current, paying homage to forgotten or overlooked Chicago music from six decades ago.

One of the most recognizable guitar riffs in America belongs to Living Colour. The band's 1988 hit, "Cult of Personality," won the group Grammy Awards and fame. In the past two decades, that fame faded, but Living Colour is back — and members say they've gained wisdom.

Just in time for the holidays comes a backbreaking load for St. Nick — all of trumpeter Miles Davis' Columbia recordings in a single, 70-CD collection. Along with a DVD of a 1967 live performance, there's enough music here to keep a listener busy right into the new year.

Oliver Sim and Romy Madley Croft are young Londoners who lead an extremely spare band called The xx. They touch on Kraftwerk and The Cure, but never equal their volume.

The 48-year-old Scotswoman became an overnight star after her April 2009 performance on Britain's Got Talent, singing a chestnut of a ballad from Les Miserables. With five million copies of her first album sold since Nov. 23, critic Ken Tucker says, it's clear she's delivered what her fans wanted.

Two kinds of people consume Christmas music: those who actually like the stuff, and folks who need something listenable on hand in case seasonal visitors insist on some ornamental mood music. For both groups, two new jazz brass albums should do the trick. Critic Kevin Whitehead reviews.

Patrick Watson and his band The Wooden Arms defy easy categorization. The group from Montreal takes inspiration from contemporary indie rock, cartoon music from the 1940s and impressionist composers. Depending on the song, you'll hear pots and pans or bottles and barrels.

Rachel Flotard is the frontwoman for the Seattle-based band Visqueen. The band has a new album out called Message to Garcia. Flotard talks to Ari Shapiro about the new recording. She wrote many of the songs while caring for her father, who died earlier this year from prostate cancer.

For decades, singer songwriter Geoff Muldaur has been reinterpreting blues and jazz of the '20s and '30s. Today, we'll play some of the tracks from Muldaur's new album, Texas Sheiks, and he'll perform some songs live. Muldaur's band, also called Texas Sheiks, is currently on tour.

Loudon Wainwright's new double album, High Wide and Handsome: The Charlie Poole Project, is a tribute to the old-time country banjo player who died in 1931. The singer-songwriter explains the motivations behind the project — and why Poole was such an influential country pioneer.