This month we’re covering a variety of recent releases while also reflecting on selected albums released earlier in 2011.  First up are reviews of the new Howlin’ Wolf box set and Discovery: The Rebirth of Mississippi John Hurt, plus Chicago blues singer Demetria Taylor’s latest CD on the Delmark label. Under the umbrella of rock/pop are albums from Lenny Kravitiz, Tom Morello, Ben Harper, and newcomer Theophilus London. Soul/R&B artists covered this month include JC Brooks & the Uptown Sound, Mary J. Blige, Lalah Hathaway, and Brian McKnight, while hip hop artists include The Roots, Shabazz Palaces, Pharoahe Monch, Saigon, J. Cole, and DJ Idee.  Last but not least are reviews of the new biography of IU’s famed jazz prof David Baker, the Disney jazz project Everybody Wants to be a Cat, and Les Nubians’ Nü Revolution.