Celebrated by critics and opera aficionados, the singer is finally reaching a larger audience with recent recordings, like her CD of Schubert, Hayden, and Mozart lieder. She joins Fresh Air to talk about her technique, and the differences between singing lieder and opera.
TV critic David Bianculli isn't sure how best to describe PBS's show Alive from Off Center, which features music, dance, and performance art--but little dialog. He recommends an upcoming episode about composer Meredith Monk called Ellis Island.
Few people are familiar with the Canadian guitarist, who doesn't often record. After listening to Greenwich's new, Coltrane-inspired album, jazz critic Francis Davis hopes he's resurfaced for good.
The former girl group singer is making a comeback with a new album. Spector was the frontwoman of the Ronettes and former wife of Phil Spector, who forbade her from performing during their marriage.
Soprano saxophonist Steve Lacy. He is midway through a rare U.S. tour. He now lives in Paris. His spans traditional jazz, including compositions by Thelonius Monk and more contemporary composers.
The jazz musician served time for crimes related to his heroin addiction. He left prison with his chops intact--he was often able to practice sax and perform for his fellow inmates.
Film critic Stephen Schiff doesn't think The Big Easy is a particularly smart film, but he praises star Dennis Quaid who, along with costar Ellen Barkin, delivers one of the sexiest scenes of the summer.
Blues and country musician Roy Bookbinder joins Fresh Air to talk about his career on the road and the issues involved with being a white singer performing traditionally black music. He plays several songs in-studio.
Classical music critic Lloyd Schwartz reviews a new collection of piano pieces written by women in the early 20th century, and performed by Virginia Eskin. Schwartz says it's a delightful listen and an important social history.
Phil Tippett worked on TV ads before creating stop-motion animation for feature films. He says there was no demand for his skills in the industry until recently, in part because the technique was associated with B-movies. His credits include Return of the Jedi, Dragonslayer and RoboCop.
Writer Jay Stevens has a new book about the creation of LSD in the 1940s, research into its therapeutic and weaponized potential in the 1950s, and its role in the 1960s counterculture--fueled in part by the influence of people like Timothy Leary, Ken Kesey and Aldous Huxley.
While vacationing in France, linguist Geoff Nunberg visited a museum exhibit showcasing an early edition of the Grand Larousse dictionary. He considers the cultural significance of this text, and what it says about how the French view language.
Fresh Air book critic John Leonard reviews a new book by Robin W. Winks, which tells the story of the OSS and CIA's recruitment of scholars at Yale University.
Booker T. and the M.G.'s guitarist Steve Cropper cowrote and played on countless soul music hits during the 1960s. While he focuses more on producing nowadays, his musical legacy endures. Rock historian Ed Ward tells his story.
