Music

Jazz critic Kevin Whitehead reviews Pioneer Recording Bands 1917-1920, a new collection of jazz recorded before 1920 by the Original Dixieland Jazz Band and the Earl Fuller Orchestra.

Music critic Milo Miles tells us about a New York group of hip-hop DJs known as the X-Ecutioners. Their new CD is called Revolutions.

Classical music critic Lloyd Schwartz reviews The Art of Joseph Szigeti (pronounced sa-GEH-tee) on DVD. Hungarian-American violinist Szigeti (1892-1973) made more than 100 recordings before retiring in 1960.

Rock critic Ken Tucker reviews the debut CD from country music singer Gretchen Wilson, Here for the Party.

Members Michael Hearst and Joshua Camp talk about their new CD, As Smart as We Are, which is a blend of literature and music. Each track is written by a different author, including Paul Auster and Margaret Atwood.

Rock critic Ken Tucker reviews C'Mon DJ, the third album by the Boston based duo Mr. Airplane Man, featuring singer-guitarist Margaret Garrett and drummer-organist Tara McManus.

He's been playing piano and singing at the Carlyle Hotel in New York City since 1968. He's considered one of the great cabaret singers of our time. The 79-year-old song stylist was slated to retire from the Cafe Carlyle this coming New Year's Eve, but he's extended his schedule, and he's not going anywhere for the time being. Short has been named a "living landmark" by New York's Landmark Conservancy and a "national living legend" by the Library of Congress.

Rock critic Ken Tucker reviews the new album from Jules Shear. It's a collection of cover tunes by artists ranging from Bob Dylan to the Dave Clark Five.

One of their most beloved musicals — Fiddler on the Roof — is back on Broadway. The production, at the Minskoff Theatre, stars Alfred Molina as Tevye and includes a new song they wrote. There's a new cast recording of the show. Bock and Harnick collaborated on Fiorello (which won a Pulitzer Prize), She Loves Me and The Rothschilds.

He died earlier this month. Lacy was considered "the foremost interpreter of Thelonius Monk" and in fact trained and performed with Monk when he was in his mid-20s. Lacy was also known as the "father of the modern soprano saxophone." (This interview first aired Nov. 20, 1997.)

Rock Critic Ken Tucker reviews the new Loretta Lynn CD Van Lear Rose. The CD features Jack White, lead singer and guitarist for the rock band The White Stripes.

The great singer and pianist Ray Charles died Thursday, June 10, at the age of 73. He was about to go back on tour, but died of complications of liver disease. Charles shaped American music since the 1950s, at first copying the styles of black vocalists like Nat King Cole and Charles Brown. But he soon developed a style all his own. His career grew along with Atlantic records, which signed him as a fledgling label. Charles' first hit was "I've Got a Woman" in 1955. He went on to record more bluesy, gospel-charged hits, country, jazz and rock.

The great singer and pianist Ray Charles died Thursday, June 10, at the age of 73 (Rebroadcast from Oct. 19, 1998.)

Music critic Milo Miles remembers Robert Quine, a respected guitarist in the New York punk and underground jazz scenes. He was found dead on June 5 of an apparent heroin overdose.

Burns, along with drummer John Convertino, make up the band Calexico. The Tucson, Ariz. band is known for music that is inspired by southwest border region they live in, blending multiple musical genres including folk, rock, pop, country and mariachi. Their latest album is Feast of Wire.

Classical music critic Lloyd Schwartz reviews music from the film The Triplets of Belleville, now on DVD.

Critic Kevin Whitehead reviews the new recording by tenor saxophonist Fred Anderson and drummer Hamid Drake. It's called Back Together Again.

Rock historian Ed Ward talks about some of the soul music that came out of the Vietnam war.

Rock critic Ken Tucker reviews Now Here Is Nowhere, the first major-label release by the trio Secret Machines.

Jones was considered one of the most influential drummers in jazz history. He died Tuesday at the age of 76. He was best known for his work with John Coltrane. He also toured with bassist Charles Mingus and pianist Bud Powell. Jones had been a bandleader for over 30 years. His brother Hank Jones is a respected jazz pianist and his brother Thad Jones was a composer, arranger and bandleader who died in 1986. (Originally broadcast on Jan. 7, 1998.)