Dec 29 Conversation: Patti Smith By Arts Desk When fashion photographer Steven Sebring began shooting footage of the daily life of poet and performer Patti Smith -- what Smith describes as high-aesthetic home movies -- neither fully anticipated the project becoming a feature length film. Continue reading
Dec 09 Wednesday on the NewsHour: Pianist Richard Glazier Is ‘Crazy for’ Gershwin By Arts Desk Movie musicals led a young Richard Glazier to the piano, first for classical training and then to develop a devotion to the music of a golden period of American songs, particularly the George and Ira Gershwin. Continue reading
Dec 02 Photos from the Beijing Underground Capturing the faces of an ever expanding and changing youth movement in China, photographer Matthew Niederhauser's ongoing project, "Sound Kapital," documents the emerging underground punk, indie rock, electronic and folk music scenes of Beijing. Continue reading
Nov 19 Conversation: Robert Kimball, Author of ‘Complete Lyrics of Johnny Mercer’ By Arts Desk On Wednesday, prolific songwriter and singer Johnny Mercer would have turned 100. In his lifetime, he worked with more than 200 collaborators and churned out lyrics for more than 1,500 songs for both Broadway and the silver screen, which were… Continue reading
Oct 15 Conversation: Joan Baez By Arts Desk Last night on PBS's American Masters, viewers got an intimate portrait of one of America's most famous singers. Joan Baez began performing with her guitar in coffee shops at just 17, but went on to help define the sound and… Continue reading
Oct 15 Andrew W.K. Rocks a Classical Sound Andrew W.K., a solo rock act known best for his bombastic 2001 debut album, "I Get Wet," has earned a reputation as a party-friendly, long-haired headbanger who combines earnest optimism with exuberant piano playing plus some distorted guitar and frequent,… Continue reading
Oct 14 Gustavo Santaolalla, Making Music For Both Stage and Screen The first thing Argentine musician Gustavo Santaolalla wants people to know about him is that he is an artist: one who works with a guitar rather than an easel. The 57-year-old has spent the last four decades recording, producing and… Continue reading
Sep 18 Conversation: Mark Knopfler By Arts Desk On his new solo album "Get Lucky," the Grammy-award winning singer/songwriter and guitar great Mark Knopfler takes an almost nostalgic look at the people and places he encountered growing up in Britain, painting their portraits through a blend of rock,… Continue reading
Sep 17 Mary Travers, Folk Star Who Sang in Protest, Dies at 72 By Arts Desk Mary Travers, member of the folk trio Peter, Paul and Mary, died of leukemia at the age of 72 on Wednesday. Continue reading
Aug 26 Island Hopping As hip-hop has evolved into an established international culture and multi-billion-dollar industry far removed from its underground urban origins, some artists are bringing the genre back to its conscientious and groundbreaking roots. The Blue Scholars, a Seattle-based, Hawaiian-influenced duo, is… Continue reading