World Cafe

Aaron Neville revitalized his favorite doo-wop tracks from the 1950s and '60s for his new album, My True Story. Working with producers Don Was and Keith Richards, Neville and his band give the singer's childhood favorites a soulful life of their own.

At 72, Neville has embarked on a national tour to promote My True Story. Here, he plays a few tracks from the record and talks with host David Dye about his education in doo-wop.

From his 1970s breakthrough as a founding member of the Mahavishnu Orchestra to his influential role as a leading drummer in the style of jazz and jazz-fusion, Billy Cobham remains a powerful musical explorer. Born in Panama, raised in New York and residing in Switzerland, he translates his multicultural experience into a blend of jazz, rock and funk.

Known as the queen of rockabilly, Wanda Jackson is widely considered the first woman to record a rock 'n' roll song: 1958's "Let's Have a Party." A singer-songwriter, pianist and guitarist, Jackson became a pioneer for her mix of country and rockabilly music. This approach served her well in the mid-1960s, as rockabilly began to decline in popularity.

John Murry's first album, The Graceless Age, makes its U.S. debut on March 5. An active musician since 2006, Murry moved from his hometown of Tupelo, Miss., to Oakland, Calif., a couple years ago to work alongside musician Bob Frank.

A descendent of Nobel Prize in Literature recipient William Faulkner, Murry visits his family's literary past and channels it into his music. His dark, deep rock 'n' roll is alluring, emotional and infectious.

Hear two tracks from The Graceless Age in this installment of World Café: Next.

After nearly 30 years of prolific genre-avoidance, the indie-rock trio Yo La Tengo returns with Fade, its first studio album in almost four years. The record, the band's 13th full-length release, features "Before We Run," a six-minute piece of orchestral pop showcasing Yo La Tengo's stately side.

A.C. Newman has been at the forefront of some of the best-loved indie-pop bands of the past two decades, most notably The New Pornographers and Zumpano. But as a part-time solo artist, Newman tends to craft work that's more melancholic than his playful efforts with The New Pornographers.

The four main members of the Swedish band The Amazing play in many other successful music acts (Dungen, et al), some of which are shared projects. The overlap makes for obvious chemistry within this experimental, genre-bending folk-rock supergroup.

On its most recent album, 2011's Gentle Stream, The Amazing jumps around quite a bit, delving into psychedelic folk, pop and acoustic rock. Here, the group plays songs from its latest album and sits down with David Dye to discuss its grandiose name and musical influences.

In light of ongoing conflicts in Northern Mali, we checked in with Chris Nolan, an organizer of Festival in the Desert — the music festival that takes place each January in the Sahara region where much of the recent fighting has occurred. On today's installment of World Café, Nolan discusses the festival's history and elaborates on the decision to postpone the event this year.

Richie Follin is the leader of the Brooklyn pop-rock band Guards. Listening to the group, it's hard not to mention the singer's older sister, Madeline Follin of Cults, as their shared upbringing and influences are obvious.

Beyond literal lineage, Cults and Guards share an aesthetic of buzzy and revitalized old-school pop. In perfect little-brother form, though, Guards is a bit edgier — a little grungier and more eclectic in a way that people with cool older siblings often are.

The up-and-coming band Parquet Courts showcases some refreshingly raw '70s punk vibes on its first full-length album, Light Up Gold, released last August.

Parquet Courts' lead vocalists and songwriters, Austin Brown and Andrew Savage, met at a record-listening club while attending the University of North Texas. After moving to New York City, the pair teamed up with Savage's brother, Max, and bassist Sean Yeaton, to release their EP American Specialties in 2011.

Sitting down with Beach House is a bit like listening to the band's music. No matter how many times we feature Victoria Legrand and Alex Scally, they impress with their relaxed complexity and refreshing insight into how music can work.

The dB's secured a place in rock history as one of the pioneering jangle-pop bands of the early '80s. Deftly combining new wave and power-pop, it created a melodic niche for itself among its Southern peers — bands like The Feelies and R.E.M.

Hailing from Beavertown, Ore., singer-guitarist Brandon Summers and drummer-keyboardist Benjamin Weikel started playing together in 1996. Three years later, the duo self-produced its first EP and officially formed The Helio Sequence.

If Aaron Embry's name doesn't sound familiar, his previous collaborators will. Embry was recently the touring pianist with Edward Sharpe and the Magnetic Zeros and has worked with the likes of Elliott Smith, Willie Nelson and Emmylou Harris.

The Seattle septet Hey Marseilles integrates symphonic cello, drumbourine, accordion and viola into a standard lineup of guitar, bass and drums for a warm, distinctive sound.

Nick Ward and Matt Bishop formed Hey Marseilles while students at the University of Washington, and independently released their first album, To Travels & Trunks, at the end of 2008. The band has since given the album a nationwide reissue and performed at festivals like SXSW and Bumbershoot.