Rickie Lee Jones, Alexis Evans, Shawn Maxwell and others are part of the latest edition of Five for the Road, an occasional look at music that’s been in my car lately.

‘Welcome to Zamrock! Vol. 1 and 2’ is proof positive that one can still be inspired by the music of the world, no matter who started it – or even who borrowed it.

Yaya Diallo uses an old-meets-new approach on ‘Kachii: Traditions to Traditions’ to create something that is interesting, calming and thoughtful.

Mabuta’s fun ‘Finish the Sun’ works in the background at friendly get togethers, but also boasts the kind of musical detail that invites closer scrutiny.

Mohamed Assani’s “Lullaby for Guli” steals your heart, because of the ebb and flow of the melodies and the many textures created on the sitar.

How do you define Clannad’s career, an era and for all intents and purposes the genesis of a new genre, in just a couple of compact discs?

Indigenous Lifeforms’ ‘Siberia Extreme’ captures the essence of spiritual, shamanic story-telling, combining very Western improvisation with soaring vocals.

Like many other musicians, Pierre Bensusan’s touring plans were scuttled by the COVID-19 pandemic, and he turned to creating ‘Azwan’ instead.

A new favorite arrived from Calexico amid a sleigh full of reissues of holiday classics from Dean Martin, Phil Spector, Johnny Mathis and others.

Preston Frazier’s Best of 2020 (So Far) includes standout recordings from Rick Wakeman, Brownout, David Sancious, Nick Finzer, Susie Blue and others.