Offbeat in more than just their rhythms, jazz musicians have always had an affinity to the extraordinary, living lives syncopated against the regular tread of society. Maybe it was the informality of their training, or the influence of brothels, bars and back streets that were their concert halls, but the likes of Buddy Bolden and Django Reinhardt have left a legacy of autobiography every bit as bold and unusual as their music. It is in this legacy that Alessandro Baricco’s fictional pianist Novecento claims his share, in a 90-minute monologue that riffs on the unlikely melody of his life to create a beautifully absurdist fable.

This month's epic collection has a somewhat retro feel, with CDs by Ray Davies, Neil Young, Elvis Costello and Bob Dylan. The CD of the Month is all-conquering Tennessee rock band Kings of Leon. The Box Set of the Month comes from the vaults of Apple records and there's an amazing compilation of music from Angola in the 1970s. The rest of the selection is bang up to the minute, with the latest electronica, jazz, grime and alt-country dissected by theartsdesk's team of critics, Adam Sweeting, Howard Male, Russ Coffey, Joe Muggs, David Cheal, Peter Quinn, Thomas H Green, Bruce Dessau, Kieron Tyler and Peter Culshaw.

Here, we present the exclusive first showing of a new video by the Brighton/London band Belleruche. This clip for “Fuzz Face” is highly arresting, an ingenious and slightly disturbing collision of hi and low-tech, made using thousands of photocopies, and its indicative of a band who are taking some very interesting ideas into the mainstream. But more importantly from theartsdesk's point of view, Belleruche's increasing profile is indicative of a broader cultural shift in the music world.

In 1920s London, those who could afford to indulged in a craze for wild parties - pyjama parties, sailor parties, pool parties - the wilder the better, with American jazzers such as the Blackbirds Revue providing the stomping music. Resplendent in glittering finery at the heart of this social whirl was a new generation who rejected the dark tragedy of World War I in favour of sheer hedonism.

Paradoxically, the greater the number of established artists you find yourself comparing a new talent to, the more original you are eventually forced to conclude this new talent is. So let’s get those comparisons out of the way: this Kansas City gal sounds a bit like Cassandra Wilson, Joan Armatrading, Me’Shell NdegéOcello, Joni Mitchell, Nina Simone, Sly Stone, Bob Dylan, Bill Withers… and the list could go on. But more importantly Krystle Warren already seems to exude the same kind of gravitas as all of this illustrious roll call.

After only a couple of songs there are shouts from the audience to turn Mulatu up. But these people have missed the point. The clue is in the name of the instrument he's playing: the vibraphone, or vibes for short. The word "vibe" has long been slang for “a good feeling” or a mood, and that’s precisely what its role was in last night’s concert; to add some of that ambient mysteriousness intrinsic to the five-note Ethiopian scale.

Steven Ellison is one of the most fascinating figures in modern music. Son of Motown songwriter Marylin McLeod and nephew to Alice Coltrane, he's inspired in equal part by his own musical heritage, the slow-and-low hip hop of his home state of California, and British electronica and drum and bass. His fans include Damon Albarn, Erykah Badu and Thom Yorke (the latter appearing on this year's triumphant Cosmogramma album), his Brainfeeder and Low End Theory collective of musicians and DJs are among the hippest on earth, and the world is pretty much his oyster.

Three years ago, the adventurous young company Second Movement got into its stride at Covent Garden Studios with a triple bill of unusual operatic bedfellows. An Offenbach update raised a laugh or two, Shostakovich's completion of ill-fated pupil Fleischmann's Chekhov mini-opera Rothschild's Violin was touted as the highlight, but most of the audience were bowled over instead by a 1920s slice of opera-cum-jazz-cum-surrealism, Martinů's The Knife's Tears (pictured below).

Struck by its success, conductor Nicholas Chalmers and director Oliver Mears decided to investigate a lengthier slice of Martinu's wacky Paris years, The Three Wishes or The Inconstancy of Life.

This month's most fascinating or interesting new CDs filtered out by theartsdesk's reviewing team includes the controversial but fun new one from M.I.A., "the first real pop star of the 21st century" Janelle Monae, and the latest from Arcade Fire. We go to Nashville for Caitlin Rose, Dakar for Cheikh Lo, Ghana and Togo for Afro-Beat Airways and everywhere for the sadly missed Charlie Gillett's last compilation. There's some terrific new piano jazz from Vijay Iyer and several groovy videos. CD of the Month is the "re-invention" of Welsh belter Tom Jones. Our reviewers are Howard Male, Graeme Thomson, Adam Sweeting, Joe Muggs, Peter Culshaw, Bruce Dessau, Thomas H Green and Marcus O'Dair.

This month's most fascinating or interesting new CDs filtered out by theartsdesk's reviewing team includes the controversial but fun new one from M.I.A., "the first real pop star of the 21st century" Janelle Monae, and the latest from Arcade Fire. We go to Nashville for Caitlin Rose, Dakar for Cheikh Lo, Ghana and Togo for Afro-Beat Airways and everywhere for the sadly missed Charlie Gillett's last compilation. There's some terrific new piano jazz from Vijay Iyer and several groovy videos. CD of the Month is the "re-invention" of Welsh belter Tom Jones. Our reviewers are Howard Male, Graeme Thomson, Adam Sweeting, Joe Muggs, Peter Culshaw, Bruce Dessau, Thomas H Green and Marcus O'Dair.

“You see! This is America! All races, genders and everything else blending together to make something beautiful!” This a quote from an American fan living in the Middle East currently on Pink Martini’s website. Thomas Lauderdale, the musical director of the band was involved in politics, about to run for Mayor in Portland, Oregon when he put Pink Martini together.