Rhys Chatham is a classically-trained, minimalist composer who incorporates rock influences into his music. He joins Fresh Air to talk about his choice of instrumentation, and the evolution of his work over the years.
Leonard S. Bernstein — the writer, not the composer — once owned and managed a garment factory. In his first work of fiction the octogenarian crafts quaint parables about the comic futility of life.
Singer Susannah McCorkle performs a tribute to composer Irving Berlin, who turns 100 on May 11. McCorkle will perform tributes to Berlin each week at this time throughout the month.
When Hersch invited jazz, pop and opera composer Spalding to perform three nights with him at the Village Vanguard, he thought she'd bring her bass. Instead, Spalding just wanted to use her voice.
Part 2 of the Fresh Air interview with composer Steve Reich. He talks about a new compostion called Electric Counterpoint, written for guitarist Pat Metheney. Metheny pre-recorded ten tracks, then performed the solo part live.
The latest CD from New Orleans trumpeter and composer Terence Blanchard is A Tale of God's Will, whose subtitle is "A Requiem for Katrina."
Parts of the recording were heard in Spike Lee's HBO documentary When the Levees Broke. Blanchard, who's scored many films, including Eve's Bayou and Malcolm X, got his start with Art Blakey's Jazz Messengers.
He is artistic director for the Thelonious Monk Institute at the University of Southern California.
Classical music critic Lloyd Schwartz says that some composers elevate film scores, including Bernard Hermann, who wrote the music for several Alfred Hitchcock movies. A new collection of those compositions is now out on CD.
To celebrate the centennial of the birth of composer Hoagy Carmichael we feature a tribute to him, as part of our American Popular Song series. Carmichael wrote, "Star Dust," "Heart and Soul," "The Nearness of You," "Skylark" and many more. We feature performances by singer Rebecca Kilgore and pianist Dave Frishberg. We'll also talk with Richard Sudhalter, who has written a forthcoming biography of Carmichael. And we talk with Carmichael's son, Hoagy Bix Carmichael who now manages his father's music catalogue.
We rebroadcast a tribute to the great vocalist and composer Thomas "Fats" Waller from May 19, 2004. Guitarist and singer Marty Grosz and cornet player Randy Reinhart join us for a special in-studio performance in honor of Waller's 100th birthday. Waller wrote many hit songs, appeared in films in the 1930s and '40s, and wrote Broadway musicals.
Rock critic Ken Tucker reviews the new collaboration between composers and musicians Brian Eno and John Cale. Tucker says it's a gentle, pleasant departure from their more avant-garde work.
Jazz critic Kevin Whitehead reviews two new albums by composer, saxophonist and clarinetist Anthony Braxton. Although Braxton's music has been much criticized, Kevin calls him one of his heroes. Braxton's new albums are "19 Solo Compositions 1988" and "Seven Compositions (Trio) 1989."
Another edition of our American Popular Song Series, profiling composer Jerome Kern. He wrote the songs "All the Things You are," "Can't Help Lovin' That Man," "I'm Old-Fashioned," "Ol' Man River," and "The Way You Look Tonight." A number of those songs are from the broadway musical "Showboat" which he wrote. We'll focus on the music he wrote before then, before 1927.
This year marks the centennial of the birth of composer Richard Rodgers. He was born on June 28, 1902. Rodgers was one of Americas most prolific and best-loved composers. He collaborated with Lorenz Hart on the songs "My Funny Valentine," "The Lady is a Tramp," "Blue Moon" and "Bewitched." Later he went on to collaborate with Oscar Hammerstein on the musicals Oklahoma!, Carousel, South Pacific, The King and I and The Sound of Music. Well hear a concert of Rodgers songs performed by singer Rebecca Kilgore and pianist Dave Frishberg.
Classical music critic Lloyd Schwartz reviews "X," the opera by composer Anthony Davis, about the life and times of Malcom X. It's just came out on CD. The opera is Wagnerian in scale and style, but it also has allusions to the music of Duke Ellington, Charles Mingus, Fats Waller, Cab Calloway, and John Coltrane, and others.
Classical music critic Lloyd Schwartz just returned from Tanglewood, where composer Elliot Carter was a guest of honor at the Festival Of Contemporary Music. Carter will be 90 on December 11, 1998, and his birthday has been celebrated all year long in recordings and performances. Schwartz has a review of the Tanglewood performance.
Jazz critic Kevin Whitehead says Carla Bley is an exceptional composer and piano player, but he's frustrated by how uneven her output has been throughout the 1980s. Her new album, Duets, with bassist Steve Swallow is a reminder of how good her music used to be. A reissue of an excellent, earlier record, Social Studies, is also available.
