Top Picks: The Bill Charlap Trio's 'Notes From New York,' the movie 'Room,' and more

Revisit Prince's Rock and Roll Hall of Fame performance, identify the sights at national parks with an app, and more top picks.

Jazz magic

What does New York sound like? The Bill Charlap Trio answers that question with brio on their swinging, sophisticated new album, Notes From New York. Pianist Charlap and his talented, longtime cohorts bassist Peter Washington and drummer Kenny Washington work their jazz magic on some undiscovered Broadway show gems and familiar standards and the result is Manhattan nightclub-style jazz at its zenith. Close your eyes and you’ll swear you’re tapping your patent leather shoes at the Rainbow Room.

Extraordinary acting

In the movie Room, Brie Larson and Jacob Tremblay are extraordinarily good as a mother and son who are being held captive in a small shed. Larson won an Oscar for the role, and director Lenny Abrahamson brings us deep inside the boy’s wide-eyed bafflements with great delicacy as the boy discovers a new world. The film is now available on DVD and Blu-ray.

Prince at his best

Following the death of musician Prince, look back at his performance of While My Guitar Gently Weeps at the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame induction ceremony in 2004 alongside such music greats as Tom Petty and Steve Winwood. The lineup for the song is astonishing, but all eyes are on Prince when he starts his solo. See the video at bit.ly/princerock. 

Riding the metro in North Korea

Glimpses of life in North Korea are few and far between, but writer and photographer Elliott Davies of the website Earth Nutshell had the chance to ride on the Metro there and captured his experience in Stopping All Stations. Check out the images of murals in the subway stations, Davies’s fellow passengers, and more at bit.ly/earthnutshellnorthkorea.

Identify sights at national parks

What was that fish you just spotted at a national park, or that beautiful flower? The Park Wildlife app for the National Parks Conservation Association lets you select the national park that you’re at, then search through lists of animals and plants, complete with information on where they can be found, fun facts, and photos. It’s available free of charge for iOS and Android.