A concert and conversation with Eric Comstock. He's a cabaret singer and pianist whose love is rediscovering lesser known songs in American popular music history. InTheater magazine wrote, "Comstock tickles the ivories like a virtuoso and sings in a clear, warm straightforward style that owes much to Fred Astaire." For today's concert, he'll be joined by Dean Johnson on bass. Comstock has a new album, called "Young Man of Manhattan." (Harbinger Records)
Classical music critic Lloyd Schwartz has been following the work of choreographer Mark Morris. Today he talks about Morris' career and some of his recent work.
Science writer Timothy Ferris. He's the author of the bestseller "Coming of Age in the Milky Way." His new book is "The Whole Shebang: A State-of-the Universe(s) Report" (Simon & Schuster). Ferris is an emeritus professor at the University of California, Berkeley.
Journalist Stan Sesser. He is a former staff writer for the New Yorker and the senior fellow of the Human Rights Center at the University of California at Berkeley. Sesser has been following the events leading up to today's takeover of the British-ruled Hong Kong by the Chinese government.
Esterita "Cissie" Blumberg writes a monthly column for the Catskill/Hudson Jewish Star. She grew up in a hotel in the Catskills, and later owned and operated it with her husband. Her new book is "Remember the Catskills: Tales by a Recovering Hotelkeeper" (Purple Mountain Press)
Music critic Milo Miles reviews two "outstanding" world music CDS from 1996: "The Subtle Body" (Bar/None label) by Brazilian singer/guitarist Arto Lindsay, and "Money No Be Sand" (Original Music) an anthology by world music pioneer John Storm Roberts.
The blues singer and guitarist has been credited with helping bring the traditional acoustic sound of Mississippi Delta Blues to contemporary blues audiences. He has a new CD called "Fish Ain’t Bitin’," by Alligator Records. His first album is titled Between MIdnight and Day.
Biographer Laurence Bergreen talks with Terry about his newest book "Louis Armstrong: An Extravagant Life". It is published by Broadway books. While this is certainly not the first biography of Armstrong, Bergreen used many of Armstrong's previously unexplored personal letters and diary entries. Bergreen traces Armstrong's life from his birth in New Orleans in 1901, through his four marriages, and his many contributions to American Jazz.
Russo gained critic's recognition for his portrayal of life in a declining upstate New York mill town with his novels Mohawk and The Risk Pool. His latest novel His book "Nobody's Fool" was adapted into a film starring Paul Newman. His latest novel is "Straight Man." It is published by Random House.
Smith's work has won acclaim in the independent film community, including awards at the Cannes and the Sundance film festivals. His new film "Chasing Amy" is the third installment of his New Jersey Trilogy, a series set in central New Jersey, where Smith grew up and still lives. "Chasing Amy," like Smith's other films, deals with the complexities of human relationships during the confusing time before adulthood with an off-beat sense of humor.
Classical music critic Lloyd Schwartz reviews "Elusive Muse," the Academy Award-nominated documentary on ballet dancer Suzanne Farrell, who married choreographer George Balanchine. The documentary will be shown in an edited-for-TV version as a part of the PBS series "Dance in America" on June 25.
Rock critic Ken Tucker says he believes that the most popular country music is the blandest, while an underground movement of "alterna-country" performers is more passionate and raw. He'll review two such albums: Robbie Fulks's "Country Love Songs" and Joy Lynn White's "The Lucky Few."
Author Robert Kanigel discusses his new biography, "The One Best Way: Frederick Winslow Taylor and the Enigma of Efficiency." (Viking) Taylor was a nineteenth century pioneer of business management. He developed Taylor's Scientific Management, a system which would encourage higher efficiency by creating more stressful work which was rewarded with higher wages.
Carlin has written his first book called "Brain Droppings" (Hyperion Books). It's a collection of original humor pieces. He has been working in comedy for forty of his sixty years.
