Music
For classical pianist Jeremy Denk, life is like a series of music lessons
Denk talks about what he learned from his teachers, and his failures, frustrations and pivotal moments as an artist. His new memoir is Every Good Boy Does Fine. Originally broadcast March 21, 2022.
Remembering jazz pianist and composer Jessica Williams
Williams was a dazzling player and a favorite at Fresh Air. She died March 10 at 73. We'll listen back to her 1997 performance and interview.
For classical pianist Jeremy Denk, life is like a series of music lessons
The MacArthur "genius" grant winner talks about what he learned from his piano teachers, and his failures, frustrations and pivotal moments as an artist. Denk's new memoir is Every Good Boy Does Fine.
Radiohead's Jonny Greenwood On Scoring Films
Greenwood is nominated for an Oscar for writing the music for The Power of the Dog. He also recently scored Spencer and Licorice Pizza. Originally broadcast Feb. 7, 2022.
Singer-songwriter Mitski brings surging energy and emotions to 'Laurel Hell'
Mitski claims new ground on her sixth album, spreading herself across different kinds of pop music with each new song. The result is more varied than anything she's created thus far.
For Radiohead's Jonny Greenwood, there are no rules to composing for film
Jonny Greenwood talks about the two aspects of his life: being lead guitarist for the band Radiohead, and writing film scores for directors Paul Thomas Anderson and Jane Campion. He recently wrote scores for their films 'Licorice Pizza' and 'The Power of the Dog.'
Remembering Ronnie Spector, lead singer of the Ronettes
Spector, who died Jan. 12, was part of the 1960s girl group that gave us "Be My Baby." She left the music business for some years but returned to recording in the 1970s. Originally broadcast in 1988.
Remembering Oscar-winning lyricist Marilyn Bergman
Bergman and her husband Alan worked together for more than 60 years, writing songs for Frank Sinatra, Tony Bennett, Barbra Streisand and others. Marilyn died Jan. 8. Originally broadcast in 2007.
Jazz trio Artifacts gets to the point quickly, and sticks to it, on a new album
Flute player Nicole Mitchell, cellist Tomeka Reid and drummer Mike Reed all came up on Chicago's new jazz scene about 20 years ago. Now they revisit their roots on ... and then there's this.
Dave Grohl retraces his life-affirming path from Nirvana to Foo Fighters
The Foo Fighters frontman (and Nirvana drummer) talks about his journey from playing small punk clubs to giant stadiums in his memoir, The Storyteller. He reflects on how he taught himself drums, his friendship with Kurt Cobain, and reinventing himself after Cobain's death. "I was heartbroken," he says. "I didn't really know if I ever wanted to play music again, until I realized that music was the one thing that had healed me my entire life." Originally broadcast Nov. 24, 2021.