For John Clayton, the gig was a complete mystery. He knew that Diana Krall would be on piano, but not who the singer would be. “They wouldn’t say who it was,” the Grammy-winning jazz bassist reveals. Because it was Paul McCartney.

In one way or another, each of these recordings confounded and delighted me. Pushed me to new vistas, either in the way I approached the artist, their own original work, or the tunes they covered. Made me think, and feel differently.

This isn’t a ring-a-ding thing, a Rat Pack thing, a Sands hotel thing. And that’s a very good thing. What you’re struck by, as Paul McCartney cuts a quietly emotional figure on this live companion to his standards set Kisses on the Bottom is how un-dashing he is, how un-Sinatra.

Whether you like the Beatles or not, their music can certainly take you to some interesting places — as reflected in our latest edition of Desert Island Discs.

New Music Monday finds a couple of old-line favorites returning in Heart and Van Morrison, another terrific Grateful Dead reissue in the Dick’s Picks series, and two cool left turns from Diana Krall and Charlie Hunter.

From its vampy cover image to titles like “There Ain’t No Sweet Man that’s Worth the Salt of My Tears,” this album has the look and feel of a liberated woman pushing back — and hard — against convention.

A new benefit project for model Christy Turlington Burn’s Every Mother Counts program will include tracks from a bevy of big names in rock.

Paul McCartney will stream a live concert featuring songs from his forthcoming release Kisses on the Bottom this Thursday from Capitol Studios.

Recording a collection of well-known standards for the forthcoming Kisses on the Bottom, despite its cheeky title, was something of a challenge for Paul McCartney.

Before the Beatles, before he put on that first Little Richard record and saw a whole new world open up before him, Paul McCartney listened to this kind of music.