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Music

The pride of St. Paul

The Twin Cities are home to one of the most thriving hip hop scenes in the country. It's a scene that arose on its own, independent of the mainstream rap world which emanates from the coasts. One group that epitomizes this "homegrown" spirit is Heiruspecs of St. Paul. Heiruspecs, who's founding members met seven years ago at Central High School, is heralding the release of a new CD. It's called "A Tiger Dancing."

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This is B-3 organ night!

If it's Tuesday night at the Artists Quarter in St. Paul, It's "B-3 Organ Night." For the last nine years Billy Holloman has been exciting audiences with the rich, soulful growl of his Hammond B-3 organ. Now, Holloman is releasing a CD. It's called, "This is Organ Night."

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Lost luggage doesn't deter Serb brass band

A brass band unlike any most Americans ever hear takes the stage Wednesday night in Minneapolis at the Cedar Cultural Center. The music is straight from the villages of southern Serbia, where parties can last for days.

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A rock star from Indian Country

Native American musician and activist Robby Romero will perform at reservations around the state in October to encourage people to vote. His music mixes contemporary folk rock with traditional instrumentation. Romero calls the music Native rock.

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Anatomy of a sound

Digital technology has allowed artists to go much, much further in drawing inspiration from nature. One Minneapolis artist uses digitally generated sound designs to create a kind of hypnosis on headphones. The source of the sound? Water.

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The magic of movie music

Film score lovers say the recent passing of Elmer Bernstein, along with the deaths of Jerry Goldsmith and David Raksin, marks the end of the era of lush, emotional movie music.

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From the basement to your headphones

Digital technology has helped spawn thousands of basement studios across the country. Singer songwriter Mark Edwards of Minneapolis has one. For Edwards, a father of two with a full time day job, having a basement studio has meant having an artistic life after the kids go to bed.

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Elmer Bernstein, film composer, dies at 82

Elmer Bernstein, the versatile, Oscar-winning composer who scored such movie classics as "The Ten Commandments," "The Magnificent Seven," "To Kill a Mockingbird," "The Great Escape" and "True Grit," died Wednesday. He was 82.

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Making music with farm machines

Musicians have often tried to coax melody from unlikely sources. Now in New York Mills things are going to an entirely new level. This summer, an artist from New York City is finding a connection between music boxes and abandoned farm equipment.

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Old friends, Sir Andrew Litton and Andre Watts perform with Minnesota Orchestra

Two good friends will be making great music over the weekend with the Minnesota Orchestra. Andre Watts is the featured pianist in a program tonight conducted by Andrew Litton, the artistic director of Sommerfest. The performance is another chapter in the long history of their friendship and musical collaboration.

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