Love At First Listen: 'The Jazz Baroness'
Jazz great Thelonius Monk had a unique sound that won him millions of fans and it certainly stole the heart of the Baroness Nica de Koenigswarter. In a new documentary, The Jazz Baroness, filmmaker Hannah Rothschild explores the unusual friendship between the American jazz pianist and the Englishwoman, and the impact they made on modern music.
'Thelonious Monk': Jazz Eccentric
Robin D.G. Kelley's new book, Thelonious Monk: The Life and Times of an American Original, focuses on the career of the eccentric jazz pianist and composer. It reveals new details about Monk's life, music and mental health problems, and provides a glimpse into the New York jazz scene of the mid-twentieth century.
Book Suggestions For A Passionate Holiday
The act of passing on a passion is one of the greatest gifts you can give. Book critic Maureen Corrigan promises that the books on this list mostly slim, unforgettable volumes about places or things that the writers themselves deeply love are merrily infectious.
Geoff Muldaur Takes Texas Sheiks On The Road
For decades, singer songwriter Geoff Muldaur has been reinterpreting blues and jazz of the '20s and '30s. Today, we'll play some of the tracks from Muldaur's new album, Texas Sheiks, and he'll perform some songs live. Muldaur's band, also called Texas Sheiks, is currently on tour.
'Brothers': Family Ties, Unraveling In Wartime
Tobey Maguire and Jake Gyllenhaal are Sam and Tommy Cahill, one an upright Army captain on his way back to Afghanistan, the other a delinquent, newly paroled after a three-year sentence for robbery. But the real center of Jim Sheridan's movie isn't the brothers, but their whole teetering clan, which will collapse and rebuild itself in complicated new ways.
Nervous And Nerdy, From 'Office' To Silver Screen
Comedian Ed Helms came to attention of the comedy world as a correspondent on The Daily Show. Helms is now a regular on NBC's The Office and starred in the recent film The Hangover, which is now out of DVD.
Eugene Htz, Gogol Bordello's Gypsy-Punk Hero
Gogol Bordello has been making supercharged music since first forming in 1999, six years after frontman Eugene Htz landed in the U.S., having fled the Chernobyl disaster in his native Ukraine. The band's philosophy: to make the contradictions of life sound harmonious with a head-spinning mix of ska, punk, metal, rap, flamenco, roots reggae, dub and more.
Judy Davis, Inspiring 'Brilliant Career's 30 Years Later
The Oscar-nominated 1979 film My Brilliant Career stars Judy Davis, as a young woman growing up in rural Australia at the end of the 19th century. Film critic John Powers gives Davis credit for creating the template for the Australian screen actress: bravery, incandescence, and occasional cussedness.
Peter Bergen, Assessing The Threat In Afghanistan
President Obama has said he wouldn't send more troops to Afghanistan if he didn't think the security of the American people was at stake. Peter Bergen gives us an update on the threat: what's left of the Taliban and its connection to al-Qaida.
NPR: 11-30-2009 Fresh Air
Stories: 1) The Smothers Brothers: A 'Dangerously Funny' Pair 2) Hal Holbrook, Basking In 'That Evening Sun'
NPR: 12-01-2009 Fresh Air
Stories: 1) Songs Of Survival And Reflection: 'At The Cut' 2) Correspondence Creatively Critiqued In 'Yours Ever'
NPR: 12-01-2009 Fresh Air
Stories: 1) The Smothers Brothers: A 'Dangerously Funny' Pair 2) Hal Holbrook, Basking In 'That Evening Sun'
NPR: 11-27-2009 Fresh Air
Stories: 1) An Animated Chat With 'Up' Director Pete Docter 2) A Messenger For The Marines: Steve Beck's Story
Loudon Wainwright Looks 'High' For Inspiration
Story: Loudon Wainwright's new double album, High Wide and Handsome: The Charlie Poole Project, is a tribute to the old-time country banjo player who died in 1931. The singer-songwriter explains the motivations behind the project — and why Poole was such an influential country pioneer.
NPR: 11-25-2009 Fresh Air
Stories: 1) '40/40' Celebrates The Carpenters' 1969 Debut 2) At The End Of The World, Another 'Road' To Trudge
NPR: 11-24-2009 Fresh Air
Stories: 1) The Secret Political Reach Of 'The Family' 2) Sam Fuller, Embodying The Best Of Pulp Fiction
NPR: 11-23-2009 Fresh Air
Stories: 1) Wes Anderson Covers New Ground With 'Mr. Fox' 2) Larry David's Dysfunctional Family Reunion
NPR: 11-20-2009 Fresh Air
Stories: 1) Judd Apatow On The Alchemy Of 'Funny People' 2) A 'New Moon' Destined For A Quick Eclipse
NPR: 11-19-2009 Fresh Air
Stories: 1) After Obama Visit, Assessing U.S.-China Relations 2) Judith Fox Turns A Close-Up Lens On Alzheimer's
An Open-Source Approach To Better Prosthetics
When Marine engineer Jonathan Kuniholm returned to his industrial-design shop after a tour of duty in Iraq, one of his first projects was personal: He wanted to improve on the design of the prosthetics he'd been using since he lost part of his right arm in an ambush. Kuniholm and his colleagues founded the Open Prosthetics Project, an open-source collaboration that shares its innovations freely.
Woody Harrelson Goes To War In 'The Messenger'
This month Woody Harrelson stars in a powerful new movie about the costs of war. He plays Capt. Tony Stone, a veteran of the Army's Casualty Notification service, charged with the task of notifying the families of fallen soldiers. The film opens Nov. 13, but Harrelson's performance is already generating Oscar chatter.
Strong And Simple As A 'Shadow On The Ground'
You may not recognize the name James Hand, but that's just because you've never heard anything like him. The 57-year-old Texan has been in hidden away in country music scene for years, and if his third album Shadow of the Ground shows his age, critic Ken Tucker says it's just that Hand doesn't care what you think.
For Wounded Soldiers, Prosthetic Help At Home
Advances in military medicine mean that more soldiers are surviving on the battlefield, but many are coming home with missing limbs. When they come home, those soldiers turn to Colonel Paul Pasquina, medical director of the amputee program at Walter Reed Army Medical Center for the latest in prosthetics.
Losing Jazz's Preconceptions With 'Historicity'
In the last few years, some enterprising younger players have reinvented the piano-bass-drums jazz combo. It's not just that these trios play contemporary pop; it's also a shift in attitude. Vijay Iyer's trio doesn't worry about swinging all the time, although the buoyancy of swing inflects its rhythms as much as hip-hop does.
An American In Japan, Investigating The 'Tokyo Vice'
Working for Japan's Yomiuri Shinbun newspaper, reporter Jake Adelstein uncovered a world unknown to many of the Japanese public, let alone to foreigners: the world of organized crime. He details its landscape and the dangers of covering it in a new memoir.
Come And Play: 'Sesame Street' Celebrates 40 Years
Four decades after its premiere, Sesame Street is the same happy neighborhood it always was. TV critic David Bianculli takes a look at the newest episode which features special guest Michelle Obama and assesses the show's enduring legacy.
The Man Behind Miss Piggy
Film director Frank Oz was one of the defining creative forces behind the Muppets. He joined The Muppet Show creator Jim Henson in 1963 and went on to provide the voices of Miss Piggy, Cookie Monster, Fozzie Bear and Bert.
Composing Silly Songs For 'Sesame Street'
Writer and humorist Christopher Cerf has been associated with the Children's Television Workshop since 1970, developing products, producing music albums and writing parodies of rock-and-roll songs for Sesame Street.
A Stroll Among The Memories On 'Sesame Street'
The venerable children's TV show celebrates its 40th anniversary on Nov. 10, with a demonstration from First Lady Michelle Obama on how to plant your own vegetable garden. The late Jeff Moss, one of the program's co-creators, talked to Terry Gross in 1998; we'll listen back to excerpts from that conversation.
La Roux: Full-Throated Ardor, Calibrated To Please
La Roux is a British pop duo 21-year-old singer Elly Jackson and synth player-producer Ben Langmaid with a style that blends passionate vocals with strict mechanical beats. The pair's self-titled debut album went No. 1 in England and Europe this year, and now it's out stateside. Rock critic Ken Tucker reviews.