And now for something different. We kick it off with MJQ, the Modern Jazz Quartet combining blues and swing with European music forms. We follow with Netsayi, a London born, Zimbabwe reared, Shona songwriter/singer. And we close it out with Arto Lindsay and Prince. BoL’s word for today is hybridity!

This is BoL’s second anniversary. Mtume chooses the best of Kalamu’s picks and Kalamu chooses the best of Mtume’s picks. The classic picks are: Alice Coltrane, Bobby Blue Bland, A Tribe Called Quest, and Freddie Hubbard. The contemporary picks are: Sara Tavares, Terry Callier, Angie Stone/Beathunters, Joi, Sergio Mendes. The cover picks are: Cassandra Wilson, Angelique Kidjo, Ceu, Me’Shell Ndegeocello, and Nina Simone. Happy Father’s Day.

This week, BoL features classics by Herbie Hancock, new music from Jhelisa, and 12 (count ’em, 12) versions of the Billie Holiday-associated song "Strange Fruit" (Josh White, Billie Holiday, Abbey Lincoln, Lou Rawls, Jimmy Scott, Sting, Cassandra Wilson, Dee Dee Bridgewater, Bill Withers, Marcus Miller, Nina Simone and Rene Marie) PLUS a related track by Cinematic Orchestra—truly an in depth overview.

We got more Soul! Classics from Freda Payne, Smokey Robinson & the Miracles, Nina Simone, Billy Stewart, The Temptations, and Bill Withers. Rock Steady and Reggae versions of Soul classics by Ken Boothe, Busty Brown, The Chosen Few, The Cougars, Alton Ellis, and Marcia Grifiths. Plus modern Soul singers Beverley Knight and Joy Denalane.