Music

Rock historian Ed Ward profiles Jive Five, a soul band led by Eugene Pitt that flourished briefly in the mid-60s. Pitt was one of the few rhythm and blues artists to successfully make the transition to soul. He's best remembered for the song "What's Your Name."

The master of funk, George Clinton. He began his musical career as a teenager when he formed The Parliament. But in the early 70s, Clinton put together a second group, "Funkadelic," that became enormously influential on the pop music scene. Their 1970 album, "Osmium," set the tone for Clinton's wickedly eclectic style; songs ranged from metaphysical gospel to country and acid rock. But their big hit came with the album "Mothership Connection." In songs like "Tear the Roof Off the Sucker," "Get Up on the Downstroke" and "Think!

Jazz critic Kevin Whitehead reviews the new reissue of Ella Fitzgerald's 1961 album, "Clap Hands, Here Comes Charlie." Kevin calls the album an amiable mix of jazz and pop standards, novelty numbers and maudlin torch songs.

Myra Lewis. In 1958, when she was only 13 years old, Myra married rock star Jerry Lee Lewis, who was also her second cousin. The public controversy over that marriage ruined Lewis' career for over a decade. In 1982, Myra Lewis wrote a memoir of her life with Jerry Lee Lewis, titled Great Balls Of Fire. That book is the basis of the new movie starring Jerry Lee Lewis and Winona Ryder.

Rock critic Ken Tucker reviews two new albums from Los Angeles groups. The first is the debut album from Mary's Danish, a band that Ken says combines the roughness of punk with a sense of melody and humor. The other is the latest solo album from Don Henley, a former member of the Eagles.

Bioacoustics researcher and field recordist Bernie Krause. Krause has a new album called "Gorillas in the Mix." It features selections from new age to dance tunes. What makes the album remarkable is that every sound on it is from nature. Krause recorded and mixed together whales, apes, insects, the sound of shifting sands, and hundreds of other natural sources. Krause was a Motown session musician in the 60s, before earning a Ph.D. in bioacoustics.

Classical Music Critic Lloyd Schwartz reviews the final three performances of the PepsiCo Summerfare Arts Festival at Purchase, New York. For ten years, the Pepsi-Cola company has underwritten an annual international arts festival that will best be remembered for its ambitious presentations of operas by Mozart and Handel that were directed by Peter Sellars. In this segment, Lloyd reviews performances of Mozart's three great Italian operas, "The Marriage of Figaro," "Don Giovanni" and "Cosi fan tutte."

Rock historian Ed Ward profiles Gene Vincent, an early rocker who, it has been said, "sounded more like Elvis than Elvis." After Elvis burst onto the scene, record companies scrambled to find Elvis look-alikes and sound-alikes. He became a bigger hit in England than America, but he's easily remembered for his hit "Be-Bop-A-Lula."

Musicologist David Lewiston. Since the early 60s, Lewiston has traveled the world collecting the music of the indigenous cultures. He's recorded the Andean music of Peru, the fiestas of southern Mexico and the marimba music of Guatemala. In addition, he's travelled extensively in the Himalayas and other remote, mountainous areas of the Far East. These recordings have been released as part of the Nonesuch Record Company's Explorer Series. Over the last few years, Lewiston has focused on the music and rituals of the people of Tibet, now living in exile in northern India.

Jazz critic Kevin Whitehead reviews a new reissue of the late tenor saxophonist Albert Ayler. A key part of the free jazz movement of the 1960s, Ayler's sound has been likened to speaking in tongues.

Book critic John Leonard reviews the memoir of rock musician Frank Zappa.

Blues musician John Hammond returns in Fresh Air's weekly performance segment with a demonstration of his slide guitar style. He plays songs by Son House and Big Bill Broonzey.

Joel Rosenman and John Roberts. Twenty years ago Rosenman and Roberts were in their 20s when they came into a large inheritance. They decided to take the money and promote a rock concert in upstate New York. What they ended up organizing was Woodstock, possibly the one event that best sums up an entire era of American history.

Rock critic Ken Tucker reviews two new reggae albums, "One Bright Day," by Ziggy Marley (son of the late Bob Marley) and "Cumbolo" by the Jamaican group Culture.

Classical music critic Lloyd Schwartz reviews two new compact discs of music conducted by Arturo Toscanini. Schwartz says these two discs are rare examples of Toscanini conducting live performances while still at the height of his powers.

Pianist Dubravka Tomsic. Tomsic came to the United States from her native Yugoslavia as a teenager. Her playing so impressed Arthur Rubinstein that he personally intervened with the Yugoslavian government to fund her music studies here. Tomsic returned to Yugoslavia after her graduation from Juilliard. She is now back in the United States for the first time in 30 years, for a small number of concerts and recording sessions.

Rock Historian Ed Ward traces the origin of the 60s psychedelic ballroom scene, not to San Francisco, but to Austin, Texas.

Jazz Critic Kevin Whitehead reviews "Goin' Home," the second album by tuba player and composer Bob Stewart. Stewart, who stresses that the tuba is a world instrument, heard everywhere from New Orleans to Surinam, mixes genres in this album, jumping from "Sweet Georgia Brown" to Thelonius Monk's "Bemsha Swing."

Critic-at-Large Laurie Stone reviews the work of the young singer Alva Rogers. Rogers has performed in clubs throughout the New York City area over the last several weeks.

Grammy Award-winning blues singer John Hammond performs two songs 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 of blues. He is the son of music impresario John Hammond Sr. who helped launched and nurture the careers of Bob Dylan, Benny Goodman and Billie Holiday.