Music

For his latest release, producer and troubadour Joe Henry worked with giants in soul music, from Allen Toussaint to Mavis Staples. It was quite a departure for Henry, whose songs include "Richard Pryor Addresses a Tearful Nation."

The Breakthrough is the new recording by singer Mary J. Blige. It's her seventh studio album.

The 1951 film version of the Offenbach opera The Tales of Hoffmann, now on DVD, is recognized as a masterpiece of dark storytelling from the British team of Michael Powell and Emeric Pressburger.

Pianist Erwin Helfer is a son of New Orleans who adopted Chicago as his home. His music is a blend of the jazz he grew up with and the blues he discovered. Eleven songs — a mix of standards and originals — illustrate his wide-ranging, energetic sound on the CD Careless Love.

A disc devoted to concert music by Leonard Bernstein is among four new releases featuring conductor Marin Alsop, who became head of the Baltimore Symphony in 2005.

Blue Note has recently reissued recordings that feature three so-called "second-tier" saxophonists: The Complete Blue Note 45 Sessions by Ike Quebec; Tex Book Tenor by Booker Ervin; Let Me Tell You 'Bout It by Leo Parker.

Rock critic Ken Tucker reviews two new country records that are bestsellers: Carrie Underwood's Some Hearts and Martina McBride's Timeless.

Reggaeton is an international hybrid of reggae, hip-hop and salsa. Several compilation albums offer an overview of the genre: Mas Flow, Mas Flow 2, and La Trayectoria.

For lovers of jazz music, the year 2005 brought a wealth of reissues by critical artists from Jelly Roll Morton to John Coltrane.

Fresh Air rock critic Ken Tucker offers his picks for the best music of the year, including Fiona Apple's latest album and a Bob Dylan DVD. He also addresses the topic of women in music, and he talks about the year in hip-hop. Tucker is the film critic for New York magazine.

In time for the holidays, Fresh Air presents an in-studio concert. Singer Rebecca Kilgore, trombonist Dan Barrett and pianist Rossano Sportiello played at the NOLA studios in Manhattan.

Neil Diamond's new CD 12 Songs is the result of his work with the producer Rick Rubin, who previously put his personal touch on albums from Jay Z, Tom Petty and Johnny Cash, to name a few. The move is a departure from the work Diamond is better known for: hummable hits like "Sweet Caroline," "Cracklin' Rosie," and "Cherry Cherry."

When rock singers want to learn how to use their voice without ruining their vocal chords, they often turn to Melissa Cross, otherwise known as the "Scream Queen." Cross teaches metal, punk and hardcore performers how to growl, bark, bellow — and scream. Cross, who is classically trained, has a new instructional DVD, The Zen of Screaming: Vocal Instruction for a New Breed.

The singer Nico recorded inimitable songs on solo records and with the Velvet Underground in the 1960s, beginning with 1967's Chelsea Girl.

Confessions on a Dance Floor, the new CD from Madonna, represents her renewed devotion to dance music. The songs echo propulsive disco favorites of the '70s, updated with Madonna's flair for the dramatic.

Jelly Roll Morton: The Complete Library of Congress Recordings by Alan Lomax presents the exhaustive recordings made by the sound documentarian.

The solo album by John Simon, a record producer who worked with many groups from the late 1960s and early '70s, is being reissued. Among one of Simon's most popular projects was his work with The Band and Blood, Sweat and Tears.

Rock journalist Bob Spitz's new biography of the Beatles is decidedly not prettified: venereal disease, drugs, and bad business are all part of the story of the Fab Four. The book is The Beatles: The Biography.

Baby is the new album by the group The Detroit Cobras, who specialize in playing raucous cover versions of other musicians' songs.

Singer June Carter Cash was a Grammy-winning singer, a songwriter, musician, actress and author. She was married to Johnny Cash, and she came from the Carter Family, the country music pioneers. She died of complications from heart surgery at age 73, just four months before Johnny Cash died. This interview originally aired on June 19, 1987.