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Bluesman Pinetop Perkins has endured much in his life, including physical injuries, to keep playing his music. Now the 91-year-old pianist has been nominated for a Grammy for his latest CD, Ladies Man. Hear Perkins and NPR's Scott Simon.

Music critic Banning Eyre has a review of the latest CD from African superstar Youssou N'Dour. It's called Egypt, and Eyre says it's very different than anything N'Dour has done in the past, and calls it "a work of grandeur and conviction."

One of the most popular songs in Ukraine today is a new song of protest inspired by the recent election demonstrations. Legendary folk singer, songwriter and musicologist Oscar Brand talks about the tradition of protest music.

Meredith Ochs reviews a new music CD by Capt. James T. Kirk, also known as William Shatner. The album, Has Been, is a funny and philosophical collaboration between the former Star Trek star and musician Ben Folds, among others.

The third solo album of singer-songwriter Kasey Chambers debuted at number one in her native Australia. Now, Wayward Angel is out in America and Chambers recently toured the country to promote it. She performs some songs for NPR's Liane Hansen.

Percussionist T.S. Monk talks about his new CD, Higher Ground, and a new two-disc CD/DVD package of some of his father's previously unreleased live recordings.

The new multi-million-dollar headquarters of jazz at New York City's Lincoln Center opens Monday night. Artistic director Wynton Marsalis calls it the "house of swing." But some question whether vast concert halls will encourage the same creativity that once sprung from smoky jazz joints. Howard Mandel reports.

Luciano Pavarotti's former manager, Herbert Breslin, and classical music critic Anne Midgette have written The King and I, a biography of the legendary tenor. NPR's Linda Wertheimer talks to the authors about Pavarotti's life and music.

One of the great composers of the early 20th century, Béla Bartók was also one of the founders of the field of ethnomusicology. Hungarian musicologist Peter Laki joins NPR's Fred Child to explore the folk and classical elements in Bartok's music.

A major figure in the American musical scene died on Dec. 7 at his home in Siesta Key, Fla. Frederick Fennell was a legendary conductor and educator known for his musicality and interpretive abilities. NPR's Fred Child remembers him through his music.