Music

Jazz Critic Kevin Whitehead reviews the new album by electric guitarist John Scofield. Scofield has recorded with a wide variety of musicians, including Kansas City pianist Jay McShann,, trumpeters Chet Baker and Miles Davis, and Charlie Mingus, but Scofield is also comfortable playing rock.

Robert Kaplow and The Punsters return to Fresh Air with advice on how to get through the new school year. The Punsters are Kaplow, Tim Korzun, Carmen Presti, Michael Townsend, Marc Lanzoff, Ken Cohen, and Lou Ippolitio. (Produced by Tim Korzun)

Rock critic Ken Tucker reviews "Too Long in the Wasteland," the debut album of singer and songwriter James McMurtry. Like his father, the novelist Larry McMurtry, James McMurtry writes of the drifters and loners of the high plains.

Tex-Mex rocker Doug Sahm. For many, he's still best known for his stint with the Sir Douglas Quintet, a group of Texans and Mexicans who were packaged to look like a British Invasion band. The group sported regal coats and fakey British accents and cranked out hits like "Mendocino" and "She'a About a Mover." Sahm has been playing a variety of styles ever since, including Tex-Mex, blues, rhythm and blues, rock. Sahm is now touring with Antone's Texas R&B Revue, and has just released a new album, titled Juke Box Music.

Classical Music Critic Lloyd Schwartz reviews a collection of waltzes by members of Vienna's Strauss family. The album is conducted by Carlos Kleiber, son of the great Viennese conductor Erich Kleiber.

Jazz Critic Kevin Whitehead reviews the first album by the trio New Winds, whose members have experiences in both jazz and classical music. Clarinetist J.D. Parran has played with an improviser's collective called The Black Artists Group, saxophonist Ned Rothenberg plays with a band that does covers of 60s songs, and flutist Robert Dick has played primarily with classical ensembles.

Rock Critic Ken Tucker reviews "Steel Wheels," the new album by The Rolling Stones. The release of the album is timed to the start of The Rolling Stones' extensive U.S. tour, their first since the early 80s.

Classical Music Critic Lloyd Schwartz reviews two recent reissues of composer Benjamin Britten conducting two of his works, "Albert Herring" and "Billy Budd."

Rock and roll historian Ed Ward profiles Memphis soul musician and producer Willie Mitchell. Mitchell was a trumpeter whose own tastes ran to jazz and soul. But Mitchell enjoyed his greatest success as a producer and talent scout. He launched the careers of Al Green, Ann Peebles and O.V.Wright.

Jazz Critic KEVIN WHITEHEAD reviews the latest album by jazz drummer and big band leader Louie Bellson. Bellson, the husband of Pearl Bailey, has been drumming since three. When he was 17, he won a nationwide competition sponsored by Gene Kruppa that launched his career. He's played for Benny Goodman, Tommy Dorsey, Harry James and Duke Ellington.

A concert with singer and songwriter Loudon Wainwright III. He writes very personal, eccentric songs that take a darkly humorous, sometimes caustic view of life. He first gained fame with his hit song "Dead Skunk in the Middle of the Road." His new album is titled "Therapy." (Interview with Sedge Thomson)

Guest critic Milo Miles has a primer on world music, and he examines why it should, by all rights, be more popular in the U.S. than it is. Miles is the former rock critic for The Boston Phoenix.

Rock critic Ken Tucker continues his look at current rap releases. This week he explores the music of The Beastie Boys, Queen Latifah and the 2 Live Crew.

Classical music critic Lloyd Schwartz reviews a recording of what he considers two of Mozart's most beautiful works of chamber music for string quartet and winds. The recording features the British Gabrieli String Quartet.

Songwriter Fred Koller. He's one of Nashville's top songwriters. His songs have been recorded by Loretta Lynn, Jerry Lee Lewis, Dave Edmunds and Hank Williams Jr. He has also collaborated with John Prine, John Hiatt and Pat Alger. But in his book How to Pitch and Promote Your Song, Koller guides the novice songwriter through the music business, with tips on how best to present your songs. (Interview by Sedge Thomson)

Rock historian Ed Ward profiles Bob Dylan as songwriter, focusing on Dylan's rocky transition from a folk singer into a rock and roller. The key, Ed says, was getting other people to do pop covers of Dylan's folk hits.

Jazz Critic Kevin Whitehead reviews "Bayou Magic," a new album by clarinetist Alvin Batiste. Since the 50s, Batiste has been a key figure in the modern jazz movement in New Orleans. Under the auspices of the State Department, he has toured the world extensively, and is also a teacher at Southern University in Baton Rouge, where his students have included Branford Marsalis and Donald Harrison.

Grammy Award-winning blues singer John Hammond performs two songs by blues musician Robert Johnson in Fresh Air's weekly performance segment. Hammond has performed for nearly twenty years, and in that time his style has evolved from straight-forward, rural blues to a harder-edged, urban style.

Pianist and singer Hadda Brooks. In the days following World War II, Brooks was a key figure in the West Coast jazz and blues scene. Her singing led to roles in movies and to a stint hosting a television show; she was the first black woman to earn that distinction. When her style of jazz and boogie woogie piano went into decline in the 50s, Brooks lived and performed overseas. She resumed her career in America in 1987, and was an immediate hit. She's currently appearing at Michael's Pub in New York City with singer Thelma Carpenter. (Interview by Sedge Thomson)

Rock critic Ken Tucker reviews new rap albums from LL Cool J, Kool Moe Dee, and a compilation album from Boogie Down productions.