Prince always found a way to transcend his own legendary eccentricities. And this music, more than all of that, is what will remain.

‘Sound Is,’ released in March 2009 by the then-newly formed Rob Mazurek Quintet, remains a treat for those with big, open ears.

Maurice White, who died today, was the mastermind behind Earth Wind and Fire’s focused, soul-lifting horns, sunburst harmonies and a thrilling propensity for shaken-up textures and rhythms.

S. Victor Aaron picks the best of 2015’s modern and mainstream jazz albums, including John Scofield, Matthew Shipp, Antonio Sanchez and others.

S. Victor Aaron picks the best of 2015’s non-jazz albums, including Erykah Badu, Shememkia Copeland, the Blind Boys of Alabama’s Sam Butler and others.

‘Sugar Mountain: Live at Canterbury House,’ issued on Dec. 2, 2008, presents Neil Young before he rose to solo stardom. But you’d never know it.

The Doobie Brothers’ ‘Minute by Minute,’ released on Dec. 1, 1978, features most people’s favorite Michael McDonald-era song. But mine’s not “What a Fool Believes.”

This Dennis DeYoung-led track illustrates all that Styx aspired to on the way to becoming one of the biggest late-1970s arena rock bands.

The Eagles’ ‘Long Road Out of Eden’ arrived on Oct. 30, 2007 sounding like nothing else out there. It was unabashedly an Eagles record.

The free-playing Barker Trio strikes wide contrasting moods, not allowing themselves to be limited by a limited number of instruments.