From the live in-studio performance series, here's part two of our favorite sessions from 2018. Hear everything from a Cuban orchestra to a famous South African choir, along with music from My Brightest Diamond that came from our live performance series, The Soundcheck Podcast.

The big band collective Orquesta Akokán channels the spirit of dance orchestras of the 1940’s and 1950’s of Havana and plays original Cuban Mambo music. Then, tenor sax superstar Joshua Redman and string quartet Brooklyn Rider, along with all-star rhythm section of Scott Colley and Satoshi Takeishi perform "chamber jazz" with swoops, dives, groove and bite.

Hear a song by the great South African a cappella choir Ladysmith Black Mambazo, with their uplifting vocal harmonies and signature dance moves. There’s also a performance by My Brightest Diamond, aka the classically-trained vocalist, composer, and self-taught multi-instrumentalist Shara Nova, who has continued to reinvent herself on her journey through the worlds of chamber music, art-pop, rock, and new music. Plus, Ben Dickey, Ethan Hawke, and Charlie Sexton perform “Clay Pigeons” by little-known outlaw country legend, Texas singer/songwriter Blaze Foley.