Segments by Date

Rock historian Ed Ward profiles General Norman Johnson, and the long, convoluted path that led him to the group, the Chairmen of the Board.

Poet Michael Ryan. Ryan's poems have earned him a Guggenheim Fellowship and a nomination for the National Book Award. He's just released his third collection of poems, called "God Hunger."

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.

Linguist Geoffrey Nunberg takes a look at enunciation and diction.

Jazz critic Kevin Whitehead reviews "Fractured Fairy Tales," the new album by alto saxophonist Tim Berne and his septet. Kevin says Berne started out by putting out his own records and eventually worked his way up to a deal with Columbia. Ironically, they dropped him at the same time he was winning his largest critical acclaim.

Television critic David Bianculli reviews the season premiere of "Beauty and the Beast."

South African pianist/composer Abdullah Ibrahim (E-bra-HEEM). His music is influenced by South African vocal and popular music, early American Jazz, church music, and American Jazz of the 1960's and 1970's which was influenced by African music. One of his songs, "Mannenberg is Where It's Happening (Capetown Fringe)," a vocal, was a hit in South Africa and became the anthem for the Soweto uprisings of 1976. Ibrahim formerly went by the name Dollar Brand, and has several albums under that name. Ibrahim lives in New York in self-imposed exile from South Africa.

PART II: Rock guitarist Eric Clapton. His friends call him "Slowhand," his fans call him "God." Whatever name he goes by, Eric Clapton is at or near the top of any list of the greatest guitar players in rock history. In the 60's Clapton started playing the blues with the Yardbirds (For Your Love) and then played with John Mayall's Bluesbreakers before forming Cream, one of the 60's most influential bands (Crossroads, White Room).

Poet Mark Halliday reads two poems about the passage of time.

Rock guitarist Eric Clapton. His friends call him "Slowhand," his fans call him "God." Whatever name he goes by, Eric Clapton is at or near the top of any list of the greatest guitar players in rock history. Clapton started out playing blues with the Yardbirds (For Your Love) in the early 60s, then played with John Mayall's Bluesbreakers before forming Cream, one of the 60s most influential bands (Crossroads, White Room).

Rock critic Ken Tucker reviews the new album from the Mekons (pronounced MEE-kons). The Mekons formed in England at the height of the punk movement. Their musical style embraces punk, country, reggae and just about everything else. The one unifying theme in their music is politics, particularity the politics of the music industry. The new album is called "The Mekons Rock 'n' Roll."

Character actor Vincent Gardenia.

Film critic Owen Gleiberman reviews two new cynical comedies: "The War of the Roses." It stars Kathleen Turner and Michael Douglas as the once-perfect couple going through the world's ugliest divorce, and Danny DeVito as divorce lawyer caught in middle. And "She-Devil" starring Meryl Streep, Roseanne Barr, and Ed Begley, Jr.

Classical music critic Lloyd Schwartz reviews a new recording of 17th century composer Henry Purcell's "The Fairy Queen."

Tom Shales, Pulitzer Prize-winning television critic for the Washington Post. He has a new collection of essays, "Legends: Remembering America's Greatest Stars," which takes a look at such stars as Jackie Gleason, Bing Crosby, Natalie Wood, and Gilda Radner.

Critic Maureen Corrigan reviews an English translation of the novel, "The Beautiful Mrs. Seidenman," by Polish writer Andrzej Szczypiorski. Although it was a bestseller in Europe, the novel was banned in Poland because of the writer's involvement with Solidarity. With the recent political changes, Szczypiorski's book is now published in Poland and in July he was elected to the Polish Senate.

French actress Isabelle Adjani. Her most famous role was in the film "The Story of Adele H." Her latest film, for which she won the French equivalent of an Oscar for Best Actress, is about the life of Camille Claudel. Claudel was French sculptor Rodin's mistress and a sculptor in her own right.

Academy Award-winning film director Costa-Gavras. His films include, "Z," "State of Seige," "Missing," and "Betrayed." His new film, "The Music Box," stars Jessica Lange as an attorney who must defend her Hungarian immigrant father against accusations of committing a series of war crimes.

Rock historian Ed Ward takes a look at the early days of the Yardbirds with Eric Clapton and Jimmy Page.

Book critic John Leonard reviews "Take Time for Paradise," a collection of essays about sports by the late baseball commissioner A. Bartlett Giamatti.