Tiny Win

The first of two Classics CDs to reissue the master takes of all of pianist Tiny Parham's recordings as a leader contains more than its share of gems. Parham is heard as co-leader of the Pickett-Parham Apollo Syncopators (which features Leroy Pickett on violin) and also heading his "Forty" Five (a quintet that includes trombonist Kid Ory and a guest vocal from blues banjoist Papa Charlie Jackson). However, the bulk of the CD is by Parham's Musicians, a septet with either Punch Miller or Ray Hobson on cornet, and (starting on Feb. 1, 1929) the atmospheric violin of Elliott Washington. The clever and unpredictable arrangements, along with an impressive series of now-obscure originals, made Parham's ensemble one of the most underrated bands of the era…

Even as they still mourn the loss of their beloved frontman, Scott Hutchison, Frightened Rabbit are celebrating his music. This year marks the 10th anniversary of their landmark sophomore album, The Midnight Organ Fight, and the band is marking the occasion with a star-studded tribute record. Tiny Changes features a full top-to-bottom reworking of the classic Midnight Organ Fight by a number of musicians who either personally knew Hutchison or held his music dear. Death Cab for Cutie singer Ben Gibbard recently shared his version of “Keep Yourself Warm”, while other early previews included Manchester Orchestra and Sarah Silverman & Katie Harkin covering “My Backwards Walk”, and Julien Baker and Biffy Clyro separately taking on “The Modern Leper”.

With two decades of albums under his belt, the Nashville-based, warmly gruff singer-songwriter Will Hoge draws on a wealth of experience in the business. “When you're making records early on and you're working with big labels, the expectations are so big, because people start thinking about radio and formats and stardom and all of these things,” he tells Apple Music. “It's just like, ‘Well, you don't want to be too loud or too slow or too fast or too rocking or too quiet.’” Hoge applies that hard-earned perspective to his self-produced 11th studio LP Tiny Little Movies. “We can really just focus on what feels good,” he says. “There's some really, really quiet songs on this record, and I think that's how those songs should sound. There's also really loud, rocking songs, and that's how they should sound. I don't think you have to try to file down the edges of things to make them palatable for every single person. I think that's where you start to lose.”