In-Studio Performances

A live concert featuring Kansas City pianist Jay McShann. As a big band leader in the 40s and 50s, McShann helped start the careers of jazz stars like Charlie Parker and Big Joe Turner.

Singer Jane Voss and pianist Hoyle Osborne will perform an original composition.

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.

The jazz singer and songwriter is known for his distinctive voice and, most recently, his work on the children's show Schoolhouse Rock. He performs several songs in-studio for Fresh Air listeners.

Singer, writer, and translator Susannah McCorkle performs selections from the Great American Songbook with pianist Ben Aronov and bassist Chip Jackson. She discovered much of that music while living in Europe, watching American films.

Larry Adler grew up in Baltimore and started playing the Vaudeville circuit as a teenager. He later pursued classical music, even though no repertoire existed for his instrument. Blacklisted during the McCarthy era, Adler moved to England, but still returns to the States to perform.

The singer-songwriter, known also for his acting and humor, recently turned 40. His new album, More Love Songs, features lyrics about getting older. He performs several of them on air.

Folk singer Michael Cooney returns to Fresh Air to perform two songs originally written in the 1920s

The jazz pianist blends traditional forms with avant-garde harmonies. A favorite of the Fresh Air staff, he was commissioned to write and perform the program's theme song. He is joined by tuba and bass player Ralph Hamperian.

Blues singer and guitarist Homesick James can't remember how he got his moniker. He says it's a misnomer -- though he hails from Chicago, he doesn't call any place home. He performs two songs for Fresh Air.