Music

Classical music critic Lloyd Schwartz says Russell Sherman's performances of these compositions are both technically accomplished and narratively powerful. A new recording has been released by the Albany Records label.

The early rock singer had a few big hits in 1957. By 1959, after a series of flops, he was washed up. What followed included jail time for a drug-related crimes and, eventually, death by a gunshot wound that may have been self-inflicted. Rock historian Ed Ward has this profile.

Jazz critic Kevin Whitehead thinks there's nothing better than Duke Ellington's masterful compositions, arrangements, and performances. He reviews two new CDs he thinks are particularly excellent.

Esteban "Steve" Jordan grew up partially blind in a poor family in Texas. Also known as El Parche, he became an accomplished accordionist playing conjunto and other regional styles. World music critic Milo Miles has this profile.

Mark Halliday returns to Fresh Air to recite two of his poems, about families, nostalgia, music, and memory.

Rock critic Ken Tucker reviews two albums representative of the new, technology fueled variation on the classic Jamaican style. He says its accessibility may give reggae the larger audience it deserves.

Classical music critic Lloyd Schwartz reviews a new recording of "Flavio" on the Harmonia Mundi label. He says it's perhaps the best performance of the opera since Handel's own time.

Rock historian Ed Ward talks about how the city's music scene in the late '70s and early '80s incorporated rockabilly with bands like X, and Mexican traditions with Los Lobos.

Jazz critic Kevin Whitehead says that some of the soloists Duke Ellington featured in the bandleader's big band left a lasting impression -- even after their departure. Whitehead reviews two new CD anthologies which feature trumpeters Bubber Miley and Louis Armstrong's collaborations with the jazz composer.

Kent Nagano conducts the Berkeley Symphony Orchestra. He's known for performing lesser known, experimental works, including pieces by Olivier Messiaen and Frank Zappa. Contrary to many other musicians, he doesn't place much value in recordings, and believes the only way to fully appreciate a work is to witness it performed live.

After a government decree that Indonesian musicians reject Western music and focus on local traditions, a new style emerged, called Jaipongan. It combines gamelan rhythms, a charismatic woman singer, and melancholy lyrics about jilted lovers. World music critic Milo Miles reviews two CDs featuring vocalist Euis Komariah.

Adler has a new memoir about his career in musical theater. He wrote songs with Jerry Ross for The Pajama Game and Damn Yankees. Ross died early in their partnership in 1955.

Rock critic Ken Tucker reviews the music featured in Days of Thunder, The Adventures of Ford Fairlane, and Dick Tracy. Whatever you may think of the movies, each soundtrack album has at least a few gems.

Classical music critic Lloyd Schwartz says the one downside of the current crop of Broadway CDs is that few releases feature excellent singers. A reissue of the once-rare Mary Martin Sings, Richard Rodgers Plays is a noteworthy exception.

Chester Arthur Burnett didn't become a professional musician until he was 38, when he adopted the stage name Howlin' Wolf. Rock historian Ed Ward profiles the musician's move from the South to the North, and the development of his urban blues sound.

Jazz critic Kevin Whitehead reviews "The Complete Blue Note Recordings of George Lewis," a box set featuring the music of early New Orleans clarinetist George Lewis. Whitehead says you don't need to be familiar with Lewis's historical significance to understand the timeless grace of his playing.

Troxel founded the Olympia-based vocal group with Gretchen Christopher and Barbara Ellis in the late-1950s. The Fleetwoods have a new best-of CD on Rhino Records.

World music critic Milo Miles returns to Fresh Air to discuss another popular genre from Trinidad and Tobago, called soca, which brought a faster, more danceable feel to calypso.

Film critic Stephen Schiff says Mo' Better Blues, about a trumpet player's struggles balancing his career with his romantic relationships is at best agreeably messy and, at worst, repugnant, especially in its flagrant, anti-Semetic portrayals of Jewish businessmen.

As the season comes to an end, Ken Tucker reviews some of his favorite new releases, including albums by The Time, Mariah Carey, The Allman Brothers, and Bonnie Raitt.