Music

Rock historian Ed Ward continues his series on cities and their contribution to music. Today's city is Memphis. Artists discussed include Chuck Berry, Sam Phillips, B.B. King, Howlin' Wolf, Elvis Presley, The Marquees, Sam & Dave, Al Green

Rock critic Ken Tucker reviews the new CD by PM Dawn, "Jesus Wept."

Rock historian Ed Ward continues his series on cities and rock and roll. Today's city is New Orleans. Artists discussed include Dave Bartholomew, Fats Domino, Lloyd Price, Little Richard, Allen Toussaint, Lee Dorsey, Dr. John (Mac Rebennack), The Meters, The Neville Brothers,

Classical music critic Lloyd Schwartz reviews a new CD of early recordings by Mary Martin, "Mary Martin--The Decca Years 1938-1946" (Koch label). It includes songs by Cole Porter, the Gershwin's, Frank Loesser, and others.

Rock historian Ed Ward begins a special series on the contribution of various cities to rock and roll. He begins with Los Angeles. Artists discussed Roy Milton, Johnny Otis, Esther Phillips, Richie Valens, Eddie Cochran, Beach Boys, Phil Spector, The Ronettes, and The Byrds.

Milo Miles reviews a tribute album to Harry Nilsson "For the Love of Harry," (Music Masters

Composer and jazz musician Ornette Coleman and his son, producer Denardo Coleman. They've just collaborated on a new album, "Ornette Coleman & Prime Time: Tone Dialing." It's on a new label that Coleman has founded: Harmolodic (a division of Verve Records). In 1959 Coleman he started the era of "free jazz." Since then Coleman has been one of jazz's most innovative and controversial composers. In 1994 Coleman was a recipient of the MacArthur Fellowship Award

An excerpt of a 9/12/1990 interview with trumpeter Don Cherry. He died recently. He played with Ornette Coleman's free jazz revolution which began in 1959.

Dennis Diken of the band The Smithereens. He's just compiled a collection of recordings by the English record producer Joe Meek. Meek's heyday was in the late 50s and early 60s, and was responsible for "the best pop to come out of pre-Beatles England." Meek committed suicide in 1966. The new CD is "It's Hard to Believe It: The Amazing World of Joe Meek" (Razor & Tie Music, P.O. Box 585, Cooper Station, New York, N.Y. 10276)

Rock critic Ken Tucker reviews Emmylou Harris' new album, "Wrecking Ball." (Elektra/Asylum)

Lead singer and songwriter for The Kinks, Ray Davies. He's just written his "unauthorized autobiography." The book is written in the third, nameless person, and takes place in a corporation-run future. It's called, Ray Davies: X-Ray. (The Overlook Press). Ray started The Kinks in 1964 with his brother. They are said to be the pioneers of the rowdy garage band genre of rock music. Their many hits included: "You Really Got Me," "Lola," "All Day and All of the Night," and "Tired of Waiting for You."

We talk with Raul Malo the lead singer for the country music band The Mavericks. The group's latest CD is "Music For All." by MCA Nashville 1995.

Rock critic Ken Tucker comments on the way rock music may be once again uniting people of different race and class again.

Critic Milo Miles reviews the newest book by Walter Mosely. It's not an Easy Rawlins book. It's R.L.'S Dream, (Norton) a book about the blues told in the voice of down and out, country-blues musician Soupspoon.

Jazz critic Kevin Whitehead reviews a new box-set of film music by Italian composer Ennio Morricone, "A Fistful of Film Music" (Rhino).

Music director and conductor Michael Tilson Thomas. This month he took over the San Francisco Symphony. He's been conducting for 25 years. At the age of 24 years old he was appointed assistant conductor of the Boston Symphony, and began filling in regularly as conductor when the musical director's health began to fail. THOMAS was mentored by Leonard Bernstein. However, Thomas's roots are in the theater: His grandparents were Boris and Bessie Thomashefsky, who founded the Yiddish theater in New York. There's a new book about him, Michael Tilson Thomas: Viva Voce.

Classical music critic Lloyd Schwartz reviews a reissue by the late mezzo-soprano Cathy Berberian: Luciano Berio's "Recital I for Cathy and Folk Songs." (RCA)

Guest film critic Steve Vineberg reviews "Nadja" a vampire movie set in contemporary New York City. David Lynch was executive producer, and has a cameo role.

British writer Nick Hornby. His autobiographical memoir about being an obsessed soccer fan, Fever Pitch (1992, now in paperback, Penguin) achieved cult status. With his second book, and his first novel High-Fidelity one reviewer writes that Hornby has "established himself in England as a maestro of the male confessional." High-Fidelity (Riverhead Books, div. of Putnam) is about 36-year old Rob Fleming, an obsessed record-collector, who's just lost his girlfriend, a casualty of his devotion to music.

Rock writer and critic Robert Palmer. He was the New York Times's first full-time rock writer and chief pop critic, and he's a contributing editor at Rolling Stones. He's written several books on blues and rock and roll, and was the writer and music director for the award-winning documentary films, "The World According to John Coltrane," and "Deep Blues." His latest work is chief advisor to the ten-part PBS documentary, "Rock & Roll: An Unruly History," currently airing on PBS. He's also a companion book (Harmony Books).