One of the original performers at Newport Folk Festivals of yore, Judy Collins came back with a voice that remains stunning. Another Newport alum, Joan Baez, joined Collins onstage for "Diamonds and Rust."

In 1993, English composer Peter Maxwell Davies wrote A Spell for Green Corn: The MacDonald Dances, which spawned this warm and spirited Saint Paul Chamber Orchestra farewell concert for conductor Nicholas McGegan, whose hands have conjured up 20 years of musical feasts in St. Paul. This past spring, McGegan concluded his formal relationship as one of the "Artistic Partners" of the Saint Paul Chamber Orchestra by leading an all-English program from three centuries.

In the Twenties, Chicago’s South Side "bright-light" district "The Stroll" was the heart of the jazz scene. Peppered with nightclubs, pool halls, tattoo parlors, and vaudeville houses, it was home to the city’s 100,000 African Americans. During the day, the city was segregated, but at night differences between black and white became somewhat blurred. Chicago nightlife knew no boundaries, and the sound of jazz seemed to seep up out of the sidewalks.

November's new CD recommendations: Snow Road, Pieces of Old Sky, Psychedelic Blues, Detroit