Phil Lesh, the legendary bassist with the Grateful Dead, opened an emotional Saturday night performance at the late Levon Helm’s studio with “Cumberland Blues.”

Jon Anderson, having just completed a lengthy American solo tour and with more shows to come in South America, is creating a similarly brisk pace — four years after he split with Yes

Stewart Copeland takes readers inside the studio for a trio of key Police cuts, revealing the struggles the band had to get its sound right, and the overdubs that made one song all but impossible to replicate.

< >> *** STEELY DAN SUNDAY INDEX *** For only the second — and last — time in this series, we’re discussing a cover song.

Trombonist Bill Cantrall’s new concert recording gets going fast, with a hard-blowing track called “BBM” that will have you recalling those primary-colored Blue Note sides by Art Blakey and Horace Silver.

No wonder they’re called the Miracles. Toting tunes capable of moving mountains, stopping wars, healing the sick, raising the dead and turning water to wine, the Detroit, Michigan group chalked up a couple of dozen Top 40 hit singles

Frank Zappa brought the question up — “does humor belong in music?” — after many years of providing the answer every time he took out his black dot-writing pen or stepped onto the stage.