Classical music critic Lloyd Schwartz reviews a new recording of music originally written for The Ballets Russes. The five ballets featured in the recording all have music written by French composers, among them Erik Satie and François Poulenc.
Rock historian Ed Ward profiles Jive Five, a soul band led by Eugene Pitt that flourished briefly in the mid-60s. Pitt was one of the few rhythm and blues artists to successfully make the transition to soul. He's best remembered for the song "What's Your Name."
Book Critic John Leonard reviews Nice Work, the new novel by David Lodge. It's a comedy about the clash of cultures between a college professor and a factory worker.
The master of funk, George Clinton. He began his musical career as a teenager when he formed The Parliament. But in the early 70s, Clinton put together a second group, "Funkadelic," that became enormously influential on the pop music scene. Their 1970 album, "Osmium," set the tone for Clinton's wickedly eclectic style; songs ranged from metaphysical gospel to country and acid rock. But their big hit came with the album "Mothership Connection." In songs like "Tear the Roof Off the Sucker," "Get Up on the Downstroke" and "Think!
Writer and performer Bobbie Louise Hawkins. In addition to her poetry and prose, Hawkins is an artist, playwright and actress. Her books include One Small Saga, Back to Texas, Frenchy and Cuban Pete, Almost Everything. Her new book, My Own Alphabet, is a collection of stories, essays and memoirs. Hawkins also tours with Terry Garthwaite and Rosalie Sorrels in a performance that combines jazz, story-telling and folk music.
Actress Martha Plimpton. She appears in the new Ron Howard movie "Parenthood" as an independent, rebellious teenager. Although only 17, this is already Plimpton's 6th feature film. Her other film credits include "The Mosquito Coast," "The Goonies," "Another Woman," and "Running On Empty."
Jazz critic Kevin Whitehead reviews the new reissue of Ella Fitzgerald's 1961 album, "Clap Hands, Here Comes Charlie." Kevin calls the album an amiable mix of jazz and pop standards, novelty numbers and maudlin torch songs.
Myra Lewis. In 1958, when she was only 13 years old, Myra married rock star Jerry Lee Lewis, who was also her second cousin. The public controversy over that marriage ruined Lewis' career for over a decade. In 1982, Myra Lewis wrote a memoir of her life with Jerry Lee Lewis, titled Great Balls Of Fire. That book is the basis of the new movie starring Jerry Lee Lewis and Winona Ryder.
Rock critic Ken Tucker reviews two new albums from Los Angeles groups. The first is the debut album from Mary's Danish, a band that Ken says combines the roughness of punk with a sense of melody and humor. The other is the latest solo album from Don Henley, a former member of the Eagles.
Bioacoustics researcher and field recordist Bernie Krause. Krause has a new album called "Gorillas in the Mix." It features selections from new age to dance tunes. What makes the album remarkable is that every sound on it is from nature. Krause recorded and mixed together whales, apes, insects, the sound of shifting sands, and hundreds of other natural sources. Krause was a Motown session musician in the 60s, before earning a Ph.D. in bioacoustics.
Film writer Aljean Harmetz. She covers the movie industry for The New York Times, reporting on the business side of Hollywood. To coincide with the 50th anniversary of the release of "The Wizard of Oz," Harmetz has just re-released her first book, The Making of the Wizard of Oz. In it, she details the behind-the-scenes intrigue that almost scuttled what it is probably the most popular movie ever made.
Comedy writer Alan Zweibel. He was one of the original writers for "Saturday Night Live." He wrote the `Samurai' skits for John Belushi, and the Emily Litella and Roseanne Roseannadanna skits for Gilda Radner. He now has two projects on television - "The Gary Shandling Show" and "The Boys," a comedy special on the Showtime cable network.
Film Critic Stephen Schiff reviews "Parenthood," a comedy starring Steve Martin and Rick Moranis, and directed by Ron Howard. Howard's previous films include two hits and a flop: "Splash," "Cocoon" and ""Willow."
Writer Joe Kane. In 1985, Kane, who had been a freelance writer living in San Francisco, was asked to follow the first attempt to navigate the entire Amazon River, starting in the Andes of Peru and ending in the Atlantic Ocean. Kane was going to follow the group at intervals, publicizing their progress for the American and European press.
Classical Music Critic Lloyd Schwartz reviews the final three performances of the PepsiCo Summerfare Arts Festival at Purchase, New York. For ten years, the Pepsi-Cola company has underwritten an annual international arts festival that will best be remembered for its ambitious presentations of operas by Mozart and Handel that were directed by Peter Sellars. In this segment, Lloyd reviews performances of Mozart's three great Italian operas, "The Marriage of Figaro," "Don Giovanni" and "Cosi fan tutte."
Dancer and choreographer Marta Renzi. Typical of her work is "Mountainview," a half-hour dance narrative that premieres this Thursday, August 3 on the PBS program "Alive From Off Center." "Mountainview" is set at the bar of rundown resort run by three generations of the same family. The families loves and jealousies are played out to the sounds of the jukebox, which features the music of Bruce Springsteen, Tammy Wynette and Aretha Franklin. RENZI choreographed the dances and other movements and collaborated with filmmaker John Sayles on the camera work.
