Jazz critic Kevin Whitehead says that some of the soloists Duke Ellington featured in the bandleader's big band left a lasting impression -- even after their departure. Whitehead reviews two new CD anthologies which feature trumpeters Bubber Miley and Louis Armstrong's collaborations with the jazz composer.

Rock critic Ken Tucker reviews the new albums from The Residents and Kris Kristofferson. The Residents are a bizarre California-based art band, who make spooky, dreary, multi-layered music. Recently, the Residents have been releasing a series of albums paying homage to great American composers and performers. After having covered artists such as John Phillip Sousa and Hank Wiliams, the group has just issued "The King and I," their homage to Elvis Presley (it's on Enigma). Kristofferson's new album is called "Third World Warrior," (on Mercury).

Bandleader and clarinetist Artie Shaw died Dec. 29 at the age of 94, apparently of natural causes. In the 1930s and '40s, Shaw's band ranked with the Goodman, Dorsey and Miller bands in popularity. But he largely rejected pop tunes and stuck with music by composers like Porter, Gershwin and Berlin. We remember Shaw.

In New York City, the 92nd Street YMCA, is better known as The 92nd Street Y a cultural arts center. Maurice Levine the director of the 92nd Street Y's "Lyrics & Lyricist" series for 26 years died on Monday at the age of 79. The program spotlighted American lyricists and composers like Alan Jay Lerner, Stephen Sondheim, and Dorothy Fields. The series had consistently been a sell-out. (Originally aired 12/11/96)

A live stereo concert with Lenny Pickett and the Borneo Horns. Pickett says the Borneo Horns play rhythmically compelling music using wind instruments, not percussion, to track the rhythm. He formed the band with horn players he met in David Bowie's band. These days, in addition to leading his band, Pickett is an accomplished composer and arranger, and he plays in the band on Saturday Night Live.

"Society" Pianist Peter Mintun performs many forgotten songs from the first half of this century. His new CD is "Your's for a Song: The Women of Tin Pan Alley." (Premier Recordings) Peter Mintun’s music is synonymous with San Francisco society. He has performed with symphony orchestras, entertained royalty, film and stage stars, and sometimes the composers themselves.

Film director Paul Morrissey. He first gained fame as the alter ego of pop artist Andy Warhol during the filming of Warhol's low-budget experimental films like "My Hustler" and "Chelsea Girls." He later directed Warhol-produced films like "Flesh" and "Trash." Morrissey's latest film is titled "Beethoven's Nephew," and is the story of disarray of the composer's private life and his ugly personality. The music is performed by The Vienna Symphony Orchestra.

Husband and wife song writing team, Barry Mann and Cynthia Weil, the duo responsible for such songs as “You’ve Lost that Loving Feeling,” “On Broadway,” “We Gotta Get Out of This Place,” “Here You Come Again,” “Don’t Know Much,” and more. The two met when they were both working in the famous songwriting landmark, the Brill Building— Mann as a composer and Weil as a lyricist. The two have been writing ever since. In edition to their many pop hits, Mann and Weil have also written songs for films.

Merce Cunningham is an influential choreographer and dancer. He began studying tap as a child before moving on to modern dance, and he joined the Martha Graham Company in 1939. He eventually formed his own company in 1953, and his work has rejected certain dance conventions such as story, emotion, and choreographing to coincide to the music. Cunningham often works with composer John Cage as well as modern artists. Cunningham says he is interested in movement for its own sake.

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.)

J.J. Johnson, a pioneer of the modern jazz trombone died Sunday at his home in Indianapolis. He was 77. It was an apparent suicide. Johnson was considered the definitive trombonist of the bebop generation. He played with the Count Basie Orchestra, Benny Carter, Dizzy Gillespie, Wood Herman, and Miles Davis, often balancing that with leading his own band. Later in life, Johnson moved to Hollywood to work as a composer and arranger for television.

Singer-songwriter Ben Vaughn talks with Fresh Air producer Amy Salit about Lee Hazlewood, who died Saturday at age 78. Hazlewood was best known for writing Nancy Sinatra's hit "These Boots are Made For Walkin'," and his songs were recorded by other pop stars including Elvis Presley, Nick Cave and Courtney Love. But he had a recording career of his own as well, and he influenced a generation of rockers. Vaughn is a singer, songwriter, producer and composer who's scored many network TV shows and films, in addition to recording 12 albums of his own.

Saxophonist Branford Marsalis. He's just released "Footsteps of Our Fathers," the debut release on the artist's own Marsalis Music label. In the nearly two decades that he has released solo albums, he's won two Grammy Awards and was nominated for a third in 1995. He was the first band leader for Jay Leno's "The Tonight Show" and appeared on the show from 1992-1995. In addition to the solo and ensemble records he's released, Marsalis has participated in various film scores as both composer and featured soloist.

"Society" Pianist Peter Mintun for a concert and interview in the Fresh Air Studio. He specializes in popular song classics of the 1920s, 30s and 40s. He just finished an engagement at the Carlyle Hotel's Bemelmans Bar in New York City and returns there in August. His recordings can be found on the Premier Recordings Label.

Badalamenti composed the music for David Lynch's Twin Peaks, Blue Velvet, and Wild at Heart. Before writing film scores, he had a workaday musician's life, arranging and playing piano in bands.

Koglmann plays both composed classical and improvised music. Jazz critic Kevin Whitehead says the unconventional approaches on his new album, About Yesterdays Ezzthetics, may not be be new, but they succeed in making a unique record.

Abumrad set out to compose film scores, but instead turned his focus to journalism. He has a new podcast miniseries called The Vanishing of Harry Pace.

Jones' band, Booker T. & the MG's, composed the instrumental classic, "Green Onions," and played background to Otis Redding. His new memoir is Time is Tight. Originally broadcast March 26, 2007.

Poet Mark Halliday. He'll read "Memory Sampler," a poem he composed in an attempt to dispose of a whole series of troubling past experiences. Halliday is an English professor at the University of Pennsylvania. His first volume of poetry is titled Little Star.