Music

We rebroadcast an interview with late mezzo-soprano Lorraine Hunt. She had been called the "reigning Handel diva of our day." She appeared in Peter Sellars' productions of Handel and Mozart. This interview originally aired on April 8, 1996.

Clarinetist Ben Goldberg is a key figure in the Bay Area improvisational scene, where he became known in the early 1990s as a member of the New Klezmer Trio.

Darrell Scott grew up on a tobacco farm in Kentucky, just like his father, Wayne. Now Darrell is a Nashville singer and songwriter with albums and awards to his credit. And his father, at 71, is releasing a debut album.

Our rock critic reviews Rockford, the new album by the rock band Cheap Trick, who were best known for their late 70's pop-rock hits.

Dave Alvin is best known for his work in the Blasters and X, as well as his solo career. His new CD West of the West is a tribute to California songwriters, and features Alvin performing songs by Jerry Garcia, Tom Waits, Brian Wilson, Merle Haggard and others.

Our rock critic reviews Springtime Can Kill You the new CD from singer-songwriter Jolie Holland.

At age 53, Texas singer James Hand has just released his debut album, The Truth Will Set You Free. Hand has been singing and playing for nearly four decades, but he's mostly performed in small town dives.

Hand is also a horse trainer when he's not singing. His sound has been compared to Hank Williams and Lefty Frizzell.

The brother-sister team of Eleanor and Matthew Friedberger has a new album called Bitter Tea, which they describe as "sissy psychedelic Satanism." Their other albums include Rehearsing My Choir, made with the participation of their 82-year-old grandmother.

Jazz critic Kevin Whitehead reviews It's All in the Game, by tenor saxophonist Eric Alexander.

Our film critic reviews A Prairie Home Companion, Robert Altman's film adaptation of Garrison Keillor's long-running public radio show.

Our rock critic reviews two new albums: “Death by Sexy” by Eagles of Death Metal, and “Curses” by Rye Coalition.

The Dixie Chicks are considered the biggest-selling female band in history. Martie Maguire, Emily Robison and Natalie Maines have gone from the bluegrass and country world to wider success with hits such as "Wide Open Spaces" and "Long Time Gone." Now, they are releasing their first CD in three years: Taking the Long Way, a collaboration with rock and rap producer Rick Rubin.

Few musicians are as identified with Texas as the late Doug Sahm. But Sahm also spent five years in exile in California, where rock historian Ed Ward got to know him. Ed takes a look at this period, in which he says Sahm and his band, the Sir Douglas Quintet, did some of their most lasting work.

Country music singer and songwriter Willie Nelson has written a new book, The Tao of Willie: A Guide to the Happiness in Your Heart. Nelson has been performing for over 50 years. He's recorded 250 albums and appeared in 25 films. He's also the author of a number of books, including the best-sellers Willie and The Facts of Life and Other Dirty Jokes.

Neko Case grew up in Tacoma, Wash., attended art school in Vancouver and performs and records with the Canadian pop-rock band The New Pornographers. As a solo artist, her music has often tended to be more influenced by country and folk music. Her new CD, Fox Confessor Brings The Flood, is her fourth studio album. Our music critic says it contains some of her most complex and beautiful music to date.

Leonard Cohen's poetry career began 50 years ago with the 1956 publication of Let Us Compare Mythologies. His new volume of poetry is called Book of Longing. Cohen, known better as the deep-voiced writer of songs that straddle the folk-rock fence, is also working on an upcoming album to be released later this year.

Music critic Milo Miles reviews the new album St. Elsewhere by Gnarls Barkley, a persona of two Americans: producer and DJ Brian "Danger Mouse" Burton and rapper and songwriter Thomas "Cee-Lo" Calloway.

British guitarist and vocalist Romeo Stodart of The Magic Numbers talks about the band's music. The other members are his sister Michele, and Sean and Angela Gannon (also siblings). In sound, they've been compared to early Beach Boys and the Mamas and the Papas.

Rock critic Ken Tucker reviews Living with War, a new CD by Neil Young that includes the song "Let's Impeach the President." He posted the entire album on his website last week for free. It's now on sale as a CD.

William Gottlieb died of a stroke last Sunday at the age of 89. In the '40s, Gottlieb learned photography and took hundreds of shots of the jazz greats of the time. Many of those shots are now well known through album covers, books, and posters. 200 of those photos appear in Gottlieb's book, The Golden Age of Jazz.