Zeb and Haniya, the Pakistani song duo, could set you to wondering all over again why musicians aren't asked to run the world.

Alan Lomax (1915 - 2002) gave American folklore a soundtrack in a lifetime of classic recordings of non-commercial musicians.

Anthony Burgess, the novelist most remembered for "A Clockwork Orange," dreamed of being famous for the music he composed.

Frank Sinatra -- in James Kaplan's new "life" -- is both tortured volcanic man and transcendent musician and artist.

Harvey G. Cohen on how Duke Ellington changed "the American conception of what serious music and art was in the United States."

Jazz pianist Vijay Iyer brings rare stuff to his music, starting with a Brahmin Indian name and heritage, and a Yale degree in physics.

Yehudi Wyner, the Grammy-finalist "serious" composer, put us on the piano bench with him -- making new music with ear, hands and instrument, and talking as we go.

Koo Nimo is Ghana's most revered traditional musician -- and a giant of "world music" that embraces all without compromising his own sound.

Terry Teachout's "Pops!" affirms Louis Armstrong's standing at the level of the angel Gabriel among horn players, and Shakespeare among culture-changers. A great black hero, too.