Though somewhat less distinctive in his moment than Frank Foster, reedman Frank Wess has outlived his late long-time partner in the Count Basie Band — and that’s provided an opportunity to reassess his contributions, in particular on the flute.

George Benson’s chart successes in the 1970s and ’80s as a breezy R&B crooner have largely obscured his initial promise as a boss jazz guitarist with a intelligent, liquid tone — an heir to Wes Montgomery’s throne.

It’s difficult, as this plays, to believe that The Beautiful Old focuses on sheet-music favorites from before the advent of electricity. These 19 gusts of folk-tinged turn-of-the-century Americana still hold boundless insights.

Van Halen fans are rightly thrilled with the news that David Lee Roth is retaking the road after Eddie Van Halen’s recent health scares. But that’s not the only band he’ll apparently be fronting in 2013.

Neil Young returns with original music with Crazy Horse. Keith Emerson returns to the prog-rock glories of his time with Emerson Lake and Palmer. Black Country Communion, however, is busting up — but they left one last terrific album.

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.

Hey, I wonder what Susan Dey’s been up to? Silly question? Yeah, sort of. But there was a time when it wouldn’t have been.

Let’s get one thing out of the way right now: doo wop music was not created to be used as fodder for public television fund-raisers.

If you’ve paid any attention at all to what I’ve been writing about over the years, a simple conclusion can be reached: this stuff is very important to me.

With today’s passing of Earl Scruggs at age 88, we returned to a stirring tribute to the three-finger banjo style of this Country Music Hall of Famer by Ricky Scaggs.