Music

The accomplished musician shares his approach to improvisation and teaching. He considers the changing approach and education of younger musicians is affecting the future of jazz.

The Village Voice writer has a new anthology of his music writing called Riding on a Blue Note. His tastes have expanded from jazz to pop vocals, including Bing Crosby and Frank Sinatra. Giddins also finds much to love about contemporary European and avant-garde jazz.

Fresh Air broadcasts a program produced by Newark, New Jersey based-station WBGO which features performances from the renown jazz festival, along with interviews with notable musicians.

The Scottish musician performed with the folk band Silly Wizard, which developed a loyal following in Europe and the United States. Now based in rural Pennsylvania, he has embarked on a solo career. He performs some traditional tunes in-studio and previews music from a forthcoming album.

Aboriginal Australian musicians perform some of their traditional songs and talk about music's role in their culture. Two scholars discuss recent efforts to promote and preserve this culture.

Michael Hashim is the alto-saxophonist for the Widespread Depression Orchestra, known for the arrangements of 1930s and 1940s jazz. He joins the show to discuss his influences and the music and inner-workings of the Orchestra. The band will be changing its name to The Widespread Jazz Orchestra.

Harry Rigby and Terry Kramer are co-producers of the burlesque musical revue "Sugar Babies." Rigby co-conceived the show with theater historian Ralph Allen, and is known as the producer who brought revivals back to Broadway. Kramer is known for producing a number of plays, including "I Love My Wife" and "Knock, Knock." Her mother was also a theater producer. "Sugar Babies" is back in Philadelphia with its original stars, film legends Mickey Rooney and Ann Miller.

Producer, writer, and composer Ralph Allen is one of the writers of the book for "Sugar Babies," the latest hit musical on Broadway. Allen joins the show to discuss musical theater, burlesque, vaudeville, and music.

Folk singer and composer Tom Paxton is known for his work as a musician in the Greenwich Village of the 1960s, where many of his songs became standards at the clubs in the area. His latest album is "The Paxton Report," and is full of topical songs about such subjects as nuclear power and the ERA. Paxton also brings his guitar for an in-studio concert.

Oliver Lake is a jazz and funk saxophonist and composer. He is in town to play a concert with his newest band Jump. Lake joins the show to discuss his career and audience, the music industry, and what it means to be considered an avant-garde musician. (Interview by Danny Miller)

Country musician Kinky Friedman is know by some as "Texas Jew Boy." His songs, including "They Ain't Makin' Jews Like Jesus Anymore" and "Ride 'Em Jew Boy," often have anti-semitic, racist, and sexist lyrics. While some take the lyrics seriously, others appreciate the satire. He joins the show to discuss his work.

Sheila Jordan is a jazz singer. Rather than make music she doesn't agree with, Jordan has kept her "day job" as a typist for her entire career. That might be changing as more people become aware of her work. She joins the show to discuss her life and career.

Bobby Short is a singer and pianist who is known for keeping the tradition of the American Songbook alive. He has recently gained fame amongst a new audience for his work in television commercials. He joins the show to discuss American composers such as the Gershwins, Cole Porter, Cy Coleman, Rodgers and Hart, Burt Bacarach, and Stephen Sondheim.

Ronee Blakely is an actress, singer, and pianist. She is best known for her role in the Robert Altman film "Nashville." In the film, her character, a country music star is assassinated. Many have referenced the scene of her death in discussing the murder of John Lennon. Blakely has also worked with Bob Dylan with the Rolling Thunder Review and on the film "Renaldo and Clara." She describes her personal style as "new wave country." She joins the show to discuss her career.

Critic John Szwed reviews a new collection of old Lennie Tristano recordings, "Lennie Tristano, Requiem." Lennie Tristano is a jazz pianist. (PARTIAL AUDIO)

Trumpeter and cornet player Nat Adderley is the son of a jazz musician and the brother of saxophonist Julian "Cannonball" Adderley. Adderley joins the show to discuss his musical journey, career, and the current state of jazz.

Steven Feld is a ethnomusicologist who teaches sound communication at the University of Pennsylvania. Ethnomusicology combines anthropology and music theory, and attempts to learn about culture through music. Feld is also a jazz musician who has incorporated the genre into his work. His work has taken him to Papua New Guinea, where he studied the Kaluli tribe, and the Southwestern United States. He joins the show to discuss his work. (INTERVIEW BY DANNY MILLER.)

Bruce Mills is a pianist based in New Jersey. He has played several times on Fresh Air. He joins the show for an in-studio concert of Christmas, Hannukah, and New Year music.

Mercer Ellington is a trumpeter, composer, and band leader. He is also the son of jazz legend Duke Ellington. Mercer Ellington is the conductor for the musical based on Duke Ellington's work, "Sophisticated Ladies." Mercer Ellington joins the show to discuss the musical and his father.

George Hearn is an actor currently starring in the tour of "Sweeney Todd," playing now in Philadelphia. "Sweeney Todd" is a musical with music by Stephen Sondheim based on the legend of "The Demon Barber of Fleet Street," a barber whose quest for revenge leads to murder. Hearn plays the title role. He joins the show to discuss the musical, playing Sweeney Todd, and his career in theater, television, and film. (INTERVIEW BY DANNY MILLER).