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Music Features
Alison Shearer performs in Jazz Night's 2022 In Memoriam video NPR hide caption
Indigenous Taiwanese singer Abao, a member of the Paiwan community, in Taipei on Nov. 10. Over the course of a career spanning two decades, Abao's songs have topped the island's charts and she's racked up some of Taiwan's most prestigious music awards. Her popularity reflects the island's overdue recognition and awareness of Indigenous culture. An Rong Xu for NPR hide caption
Ray Benson, longtime leader of the Western swing group Asleep at the Wheel, in concert at the Palace Theatre in Corsicana, Texas, on Dec. 9, 2022. He says he steers clear of politics on stage because "now it's totally toxic." Ben Torres for NPR hide caption
French-Lebanese trumpeter Ibrahim Maalouf performs during the Nice Jazz Festival in southeastern France in July 2019. Valery Hache/AFP via Getty Images hide caption
Trumpeter Ibrahim Maalouf steps out of his comfort zone with 'Capacity to Love'
Anitta performs at the Village Festival in Rio de Janeiro on Dec. 4. Marco Storel for NPR hide caption
Angelo Badalamenti in a portrait taken Feb. 9, 1990. The composer, best known for his work with director David Lynch, died Dec. 11, 2022. ABC Photo Archives/Disney General Entertainment Content via Getty Images hide caption
YoungBoy Never Broke Again (aka NBA YoungBoy) is among a handful of rappers who achieved massive streaming numbers in 2022 while remaining nearly invisible to the pop establishment. Simone Noronha for NPR hide caption
Manuel Göttsching, an influential German musician best known for his work on modular synths, died Dec. 4. Ullstein Bild/Getty Images hide caption
Charles Mingus, photographed at a party in New York on Aug. 4, 1976. For poet and critic Harmony Holiday, the complexities that underpin legacies like Mingus' were a constant puzzle this year. Lynn Karlin/Penske Media via Getty Images hide caption
Composer, conductor, multi-instrumentalist and MacArthur "genius" Tyshawn Sorey, whose work this year was central for critic Larry Blumenfeld. John Rogers/Courtesy of the artist hide caption
Bad Bunny has a preternatural gift for realness, one that he wields with fluidity, because that is what Caribbeanness demands. It makes his fame feel delightful and deviant. Illustration: Simone Noronha for NPR hide caption
Julius Rodriguez, whose album Let Sound Tell All was a through line this year for journalist and author Marcus J. Moore. Erik Barden/Courtesy of the artist hide caption
Immanuel Wilkins in a performance for Jazz Night in America at PhilaMOCA in January 2022. NPR hide caption
A return to venues, guided by 'The 7th Hand'
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