A while back the downloadable “song of the day” from The Current, a service of Minnesota Public Radio, was a tune by Inara George. Inara, as in Ināra? Is she Latvian?

No, but her name is. The Los Angeles-based George got her first name from a Latvian friend of her parents, according to an interview in SF Burning.

Her late father, Lowell George, was a member of the 1970s rock band Little Feat, according to The New York Times. And her godfather is Jackson Browne.

George’s musical style is described as alternative, folk-rock and pop. Her latest album is An Invitation, released on Everloving Records.

More information on the singer is available from her Web site, www.inarageorge.com.

A recent question in the daily “Brain” quiz on draugiem.lv asked what instrument the quartet n[ex]t is known for playing. The cello, I guessed. But I was wrong: The answer is the saxophone.

The Rīga-based n[ex]t today consists of Inga Meijere on the soprano and alto saxophone, Jelena Kovaļenko on the alto saxophone, Arnita Akmentiņa on the tenor sax and Kristīne Avota on the baritone. When n[ex]t began in 2002, members included Meijere, Akmentiņa, founder Ilze Paegle and Madara Matroze.

The group’s name, as explained on its Web site, emphasizes “ex,” as in the past, and “next,” as in the future. In other words, n[ex]t plays compositions by classical composers (ex-composers?), as well as works by modern composers. The women also throw in jazz standards and music from movie soundtracks.

And, based on the video and audio clips posted on the quartet’s site, they have fun performing.

The foursome has yet to release an album, but has been laying down a number of tracks that could possibly end up in a recording, Meijere said in an e-mail.

Meanwhile, the four women have been busy touring around Latvia and abroad. Most recently they appeared in Estonia, but also have played in concerts in countries such as Finland, Germany, Norway and Russia.

For more on n[ex]t, visit the quartet’s Web site, www.nxt.lv, where you can also hear samples of the group’s music.

Reading on Notikumi.lv about the Aug. 9 festival “Satiksmies Piebalgā” in Vecpiebalga, this line jumped off the page: “Šogad mūzikas festivāla īpašais viesis būs pasaules slavenā dziedātāja Endija Rezgale no Dienvidāfrikas.” A world-famous singer from South Africa named Endija Rezgale? Gee, never heard of her. Or, rather, I had heard of her, but in a different context.

Rezgale—known as Endia in places like Cape Town, Durban, Johannesburg and Pretoria—is somewhat famous in South Africa and perhaps folks remember her back in Kansas, too. At Wichita State University she was destined to be a stand-out cross country runner, until an injury slowed her down (she did make All-Conference in 2001).

Born in Salacgrīva, Latvia, Rezgale met her future husband (and so now she’s Endija Rezgale-Strydom) while at Wichita. He is from South Africa, which explains why she is living so far away from her homeland. In South Africa, her singing talent blossomed. A nice article about her appeared in a July 2006 edition of Republika.lv. If you read Afrikaans, here’s a 2006 article from Die Burger.

The soprano has had good reviews in the South African press, including one for her 2003 performance in the stage production “G String.” Rezgale released a solo album, titled Klasika on compact disc in 2006.

Rezgale has a spartan Web site, www.endia.co.za, but at least visitors can learn how to order her CD.