RNZ: New Horizons

William Dart listens to the recordings of Scottish folksinger Alasdair Roberts in anticipation of his new album, The Fiery Margin, due out soon.

American singer-songwriter Tom Russell describes himself as a blend of Jack Kerouac and Johnny Cash. William Dart finds him in top form on his new album October in the Railroad Earth.

The world of bossa nova is much poorer with the loss of the great João Gilberto, who passed away on 6 July. William Dart pays tribute to the Brazilian master.

Jazz bassist and singer, Esperanza Spalding's new album 12 Little Spells is surely about as personal as you can get: a collection of songs about various parts of the body. William Dart checks out the album itself and the journey to get to it.

William Dart makes good for some of the tracks that he regrettably had to leave out of previous programmes this year. You'll hear a kooky Doris Day tribute, a Menotti opera aria; we'll take a visit to Julia Holter's Aviary and remember the great Dr John, whom we lost only a month ago.

William Dart celebrates the welcome return of two much-missed local musicians: Scott Mannion with his glockenspiels chiming undimmed, and Caroline Easther in an album with just the right title: Lucky.

Fate brings together two men who both play fiddle and whistle. One, John Hartford, now sadly no longer with us, had a yen for bluegrass; the other, Andrew Bird, is drawn more to the art of soundscaping

Jan Hellriegel's new album, autobiography, and podcast come with the eyebrow-raising title, Sportsman of the Year. William Dart looks into the mystery.

The British singer Morrissey is not always Mr Sad; he can occasionally - very occasionally - deliver smiley-faced pop. William Dart listens to his new album of covers, California Son.

William Dart enjoys the admittedly self-conscious brilliance of Vampire Weekend's much anticipated new album, Father of the Bride.