That's a Wrap-Up

Various Artists
Latin Jazz: La Combinación Perfecta
(Smithsonian Folkways)
Tracks by Tito Puente, Mongo Santamaria, Machito and the Afro-Cubans and other classic Latin jazz masters surface on the pleasing Combinación Perfecta alongside interpretations by Charlie Parker and Dizzy Gillespie. Some of the recordings have the canned quality of vintage television and film scores, lending the music an old-school feeling that would delight Ricky Ricardo. More contemporary artists include Panamanian pianist Danilo Perez and tenor saxman David Sanchez of Puerto Rico. Perfecta, indeed. -- Hutchinson

Various Artists
The Silk Road: A Musical Journey
(Smithsonian Folkways Recordings)
On the beautifully packaged two-CD Silk Road, the vast musical landscape of inner Asia is revealed by way of Turkey, Armenia, Iran, Mongolia, Tajikistan and other far-flung and exotic points in what used to be known as the Orient. The first disc focuses on Masters and Traditions, while disc two features Minstrels and Lovers. From the insistent and ethereal strains of the santur (Iranian hammered dulcimer), the percussive pluckings of the Jew's harp or the bizarre-sounding throat singing of the Turkish Khakas, the vocals and instrumentation on this document are as diverse as the nations spanned by the Silk Road. Prepare to embrace your inner Marco Polo. -- Hutchinson

Various Artists
Soundbombing III
(Rawkus)
More than simply a rap roundup, Soundbombing III is a model for 21st-century hip-hop. The album destroys the fiction that this music is one-dimensional by drawing upon artists as different as Styles P. and Pharoahe Monch, who share "The Life," and Zap Mama, a multi-culti ensemble joined by Common and Talib Kweli on "Yelling Away." But the disc also establishes commonality between generations by pairing Kweli with DJ Quik on "Put It in the Air" and teaming Monche and Kool G Rap on Jonell's "Round & Round Remix." Blending so many elements into a cohesive whole isn't easy, but mixers Mr. Choc and Cipha Sounds make it work, emerging with a CD that's smart and incendiary. -- Roberts

Various Artists
60: Capitol Records Sixtieth Anniversary, 1942-2002
(Capitol)
This six-CD boxed set is not only a repository of great songcraft, but it also serves as an absorbing chronicle of an important label and, by extension, the music business as a whole. Anniversary documents the post-big band and swing of the '40s, the vocal sophistication of Frank Sinatra in the '50s, the parallel innovations of the Beatles and the Beach Boys during the '60s, the contrast between art rock and pop disco that marked the '70s, the corporate-rock invasion that dominated the '80s, and the scattershot market fragmentation that occurred between 1990 and the present, exemplified by the juxtaposition of Garth Brooks and Radiohead. It's not a coherent story, but every word of it is true. Or close, anyway. -- Roberts

ELECTRONIC/DANCE

Dot Allison
We Are Science
(Mantra)
Some of those who work with electronics seem to believe that their primary job is to turn on the gadgets, gizmos and whizbangs at their disposal and get out of the way. But Allison, a onetime member of One Dove prior to embarking on a solo career, isn't among them, thank you. She can get slinky, as on the seductive "Hex," but she's at the top of her game when she ups the drama; on "Performance," she manages to construct an entire universe of sonic atmosphere around her ethereal reading of four brief lines. Listeners won't be blinded by Science. Rather, they'll have their eyes opened to a cult figure whose cult deserves to grow. -- Roberts

Future Bible Heroes
Eternal Youth
(Instinct)
Nobody writes lyrics like Stephin Merritt, whose work with Magnetic Fields and the 6th's has won him a well-earned following among wry brainiacs, and his latest Heroic effort should add to their number. The wordplay on "I'm a Vampire" ("I am what I am/And I'm impossibly glam") and "Losing Your Affection" ("I would rather be the queen of the guillotine/In a bloody insurrection") is sharper than ever. Adding to the enchantment are the musical backdrops painted by the gifted Christopher Ewen and the singing of Claudia Gonson, whose affectlessness makes her the perfect mouthpiece for Merritt's darkly witty views. Eternal Youth may not live forever, but it will still sound great long after most electro-pop has faded away. -- Roberts

DJ Jazzy Jeff
The Magnificent
(BBE/Rapster)
Another stellar release from BBE's Beat Generation series, The Magnificent places DJ Jazzy Jeff (who teamed up with Will "Fresh Prince" Smith in the '80s) in the role of musical director. Jeff guides his A Touch of Jazz production crew through a soulful sound that recalls the jazzy melodicism of the Native Tongues and the Large Professor. The DJ reunites with Jill Scott, whose career he helped jump-start, on the hometown homage "We Live in Philly," while an impressive array of other guests -- J-Live, Freddie Foxxx and Raheim -- help The Magnificent shine. -- Mayo

Moby
18
(V2)
Critics say 18 is a glorified mixed tape, but even so, there's no denying that Moby is the best mixed tape maker on the scene today. Falling into step with 1995's Everything Is Wrong and 1999's Play, this disc is heavy on soul-searching ambient house and electro-rock with bluesy samples. And when he gets his second wind, the bald New Yorker doesn't cut corners with pop and hip-hop blowouts and four-on-the-floor club anthems. -- Lemieux