Music

New York cabaret legend Bobby Short died Monday of leukemia at age 80. The singer performed at New York's Carlyle Hotel for nearly four decades. Short was born in Danville, Ill., and began his career at age 9, known as "The Miniature King of Swing." He was named a Living Landmark by New York's Landmark Conservancy and a National Living Legend by the Library of Congress.

Classical music critic Lloyd Schwartz reviews the latest project by Russian conductor Valery Gergiev — recordings of Shostakovich's Fourth, Fifth, Seventh and Ninth Symphonies.

Roky Erickson was the front man for the 13th Floor Elevators, the first band to be called psychedelic. While they never became superstars, the Texas band's influence can still be felt today. Rock historian Ed Ward has a retrospective on Erickson's career.

Film critic David Edelstein reviews The Upside of Anger starring Joan Allen and Kevin Costner.

Jazz critic Kevin Whitehead reviews two new box set releases from the mail-order house Mosaic: The Complete Argo/Mercury Art Farmer/Benny Golson/Jazztet Sessions and The Complete Roulette Dinah Washington Sessions.

In his 30-year career, musician Fred Hersch has performed in solo, duo, trio and quintet settings. In 2003 he received the prestigious Guggenheim Memorial Fellowship, which he used to work on his latest project, Leaves of Grass. For it, Hersch leads a 10-piece ensemble, which includes vocalists singing the words of Walt Whitman set to compositions by Hersch. He is touring the ensemble this month.

The RZA is one of the founding members of the kung-fu-meets-hip-hop group the Wu Tang Clan. He has also written film scores, including 'Kill Bill' and 'Ghost Dog'. Now he has turned his efforts to a new book, 'The Wu Tang Manual'.

Rock historian Ed Ward tells us the story of the pop group the Chairman of the Board.

The Great Destroyer is the new CD from Low, the trio from Duluth, Minn. With the release, Low marks their transition to the Sub Pop label -- and a more assertive sound. Rock critic Ken Tucker has a review.

Singer John Raitt died over the weekend at age 88. He was a legend on Broadway, starring in the original 1945 production of Carousel. He starred in both the stage and screen versions of The Pajama Game. His daughter is singer Bonnie Raitt.

With his latest CD, Ivey Divey, bandleader Don Byron pays homage to saxophonist Lester Young. Byron is a prolific musician who gets inspiration from all kinds of music. One of Byron's most-played recordings is Bug Music, heard, among other places, on NPR.

Rock critic Ken Tucker reviews the new solo effort Happiness in Magazines, from Graham Coxon who was the lead guitarist for the British band Blur.

French composer and conductor Pierre Boulez. He turns 80 years old next month. In celebration of his birthday next month, the record label Deutsche Grammophon is issuing five new recordings of Boulez's work. Classical music critic Lloyd Schwartz has a review.

Jazz critic Kevin Whitehead reviews And now... The Revolutionary Ensemble. The three-man group uses instruments ranging from violin and harmonica to acoustic bass and a wide range of percussion.

Cake has five albums to their credit. The band includes trumpeter Vincent DiFiore, bassist Gabriel Nelson, and guitarist Xan McCurdy. The popular alt-rock group combines caustic lyrics with pulsing guitar music and is influenced by many different styles: rock, funk, synth-pop, mariachi and cuban. Sometimes they shoot for a cheap, lo-fi sound, says McCrea. Their new CD is Pressure Chief.

Classical music critic Lloyd Schwartz reviews The Callas Conversations on DVD and Maria Callas: Legend, a CD and DVD.

Get Lifted is the first solo album by R&B singer and piano player John Legend, who made his name playing with star producer Kanye West. Rock critic Ken Tucker has a review.

Classical music critic Lloyd Schwartz reviews two new albums of Handel arias by opera singers Renee Fleming and Lorraine Hunt Lieberson (on the Universal and Avie labels).

Ed Ward reviews Goodbye, Babylon, a six-CD anthology that culls strange, rare and fiery finds of American gospel and other religious music from the early 20th century. The box set is produced by maverick label Dust-to-Digital.