Andrew Bird, Tom Waits, Jim James, Paolo Nutini, and Ani DiFranco are among the diverse artists who joined the Preservation Hall Jazz Band in New Orleans for this album benefiting the group’s time-honored home.

Proceeds from the project — which finds its cast of legendary and contemporary musicians tackling New Orleans classics — go toward Preservation Hall’s music-outreach program and upkeep. Also among the contributors are such established forces as Richie Havens, Dr. John, Pete Seeger, and the Blind Boys of Alabama.

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Terry Teachout’s Pops: A Life of Louis Armstrong sheds new light on the great Satchmo’s already well-documented life.

Taking a critical look at Armstrong’s dual roles as both artist and entertainer, Teachout, an arts critic for the Wall Street Journal, parses out the variously competing and complementary sides of the music icon’s legacy.

Along the way, he addresses the issues of race and identity that affected Armstrong’s persona, from his early days in New Orleans to his later years in the public eye. The result is a stunning new portrait of one of America’s most familiar yet enigmatic figures.

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