PLAYLIST

Live at Antone's: Joe Ely (Rounder). Honky-tonk hero Joe Ely captures the rough-riding spirit of Texas in his rollicking rock/country/folk/Norteño sound and sings its stories with a whiskey-voiced authenticity.

--Jay Walljasper

Rhythm Is Our Business: Duke Heitger and his Swing Band (Fantasy). Though it's dismissed by mainstream critics because it isn't "new," the swing revival continues to move millions of Americans--literally, right onto the dance floor. New Orleans trumpeter Duke Heitger is one of new swing's rising stars, and he shows why here with resonant shrieks on the horn and a band that's hotter than its hometown on an August afternoon.

--J.W.

Drama Queen: Judith Edelman (Compass). Whether she's inhabiting the head of a swing shift worker or a Catholic school student, Edelman the storyteller rings true, and her country-folk music swings with a loping grace.

--Keith Goetzman

Chasin' the Gypsy and Layin' in the Cut: James Carter (Atlantic). The prolific Carter blows great gusts of saxophone on two new albums: a sultry tribute to Django Reinhardt and a hard-charging session with a group of plugged-in young jazz lions. Both recordings smoke, but at different speeds.

--K.G.

The New America: Bad Religion (Atlantic). Still railing against all the right things, these veteran punk-poppers have mastered the art of the infectious three-minute tirade.

--K.G.

Drama Queen: Judith Edelman (Compass). Whether she's inhabiting the head of a swing shift worker or a Catholic school student, Edelman the storyteller rings true, and her country-folk music swings with a loping grace.

--Keith Goetzman

Chasin' the Gypsy and Layin' in the Cut: James Carter (Atlantic). The prolific Carter blows great gusts of saxophone on two new albums: a sultry tribute to Django Reinhardt and a hard-charging session with a group of plugged-in young jazz lions. Both recordings smoke, but at different speeds.

--K.G.

The New America: Bad Religion (Atlantic). Still railing against all the right things, these veteran punk-poppers have mastered the art of the infectious three-minute tirade.

--K.G.