Music

Jazz pianist Marian McPartland. Though British-born, white and a woman, McPartland has had a forty-year career in a profession that is largely male and black. She is heard on many National Public Radio stations in her popular series with leading jazz artists.

Jazz Critic Francis Davis will review "Birth of a Notion," the first album by Shadow Vignettes, a 25-member ensemble, led by Chicago-based saxophonist and composer Edward Wilkerson.

Rock Critic Ken Tucker will review "Bad," the new Michael Jackson album.

Classical music critic Lloyd Schwartz will review a Nonesuch recording featuring 95-year-old pianist Mieczyslaw Horszowski.

Celebrated by critics and opera aficionados, the singer is finally reaching a larger audience with recent recordings, like her CD of Schubert, Hayden, and Mozart lieder. She joins Fresh Air to talk about her technique, and the differences between singing lieder and opera.

Few people are familiar with the Canadian guitarist, who doesn't often record. After listening to Greenwich's new, Coltrane-inspired album, jazz critic Francis Davis hopes he's resurfaced for good.

Soprano saxophonist Steve Lacy. He is midway through a rare U.S. tour. He now lives in Paris. His spans traditional jazz, including compositions by Thelonius Monk and more contemporary composers.

Humorist Alfred Gingold describes the sensation of sorting through a sprawling record collection with a loved one.

Singer Jane Voss and pianist Hoyle Osborne will perform an original composition.

Blues and country musician Roy Bookbinder joins Fresh Air to talk about his career on the road and the issues involved with being a white singer performing traditionally black music. He plays several songs in-studio.

The jazz musician served time for crimes related to his heroin addiction. He left prison with his chops intact--he was often able to practice sax and perform for his fellow inmates.

Ken Tucker thinks that a new album by the Washington, D.C.-based band Trouble Funk might help prove that the genre is more than just a passing fad.

Classical music critic Lloyd Schwartz reviews a new collection of piano pieces written by women in the early 20th century, and performed by Virginia Eskin. Schwartz says it's a delightful listen and an important social history.

Booker T. and the M.G.'s guitarist Steve Cropper cowrote and played on countless soul music hits during the 1960s. While he focuses more on producing nowadays, his musical legacy endures. Rock historian Ed Ward tells his story.

Poet Mark Halliday is inspired as much by popular culture and music as he is by the work of other poets. His latest collection is called Little Star.

Surf guitar legend Dick Dale joins Fresh Air to talk about how he developed his signature style. He's featured in the new Annette Funicello and Frankie Avalon movie Back to the Beach.

The musical theater actress walked away from Broadway, only to return to the stage as a cabaret singer. Cook was recently featured in a concert version of Follies and stars in a new musical revue.

Jazz critic Francis Davis says John Carter's new album, Dance of the Love Ghosts, is both experimental and structurally sound; each "electrifying" track needs to be heard in its entirety.

Folk musician Michael Cooney returns to Fresh Air to perform two classic love songs.