Kevin Whitehead

The alto saxophonist's new record with his band Five Elements is a two-disc set, in which most pieces are played twice, in differing elastic versions.

Early in his career, clarinetist Andy Biskin worked as an assistant to the folklorist Alan Lomax. Biskin's new album features new settings of songs drawn from Lomax's The Folk Songs of North America.

Last year, Tufts University hosted a symposium on Art, Race and Politics, which included a panel discussion (and later a concert) with musicians Daniel Carter, Matthew Shipp and William Parker.