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Mamie Smith was the first black artist to record a blues song: 1920's "Crazy Blues." The recording opened the door for a brand new market known from the 1920s to the 1940s as "race records."

Milo Miles talks about the music of Brazilian singer, songwriter, and bandleader Marisa Monte. Monte produces her own records, organizes bands and shapes every aspect of her career. She released a pair of albums earlier this year, Universo ao Meu Redor, and Infinito Particular.

It might come as a surprise that such superstar conductors as Claudio Abbado, Simon Rattle, and Daniel Barenboim think that most important thing going on in the world of classical music is not taking place in one of the European capitals but in Venezuela.

A documentary on the life of composer and lyricist Frank Loesser is about to debut on many PBS stations. Heart & Soul: The Life and Music of Frank Loesser highlights the creative genius behind Guys and Dolls and How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying.

Rock critic Ken Tucker reviews I Am Not Afraid of You and I Will Beat Your A**, the new CD from the band Yo La Tengo.

Jazz critic Kevin Whitehead reviews a recently re-released 1940 recording from pianist Frank Melrose called Bluesiana.

French musician Benjamin Biolay has been a hit-maker in his home country for years, praised for his songs and his innovative collaborations with other performers. But he's not well known in the United States. Music critic Chris Douridas of member station KCRW talks about Biolay's work with Madeleine Brand.

Actor, musician and vocalist Jamie Foxx discusses his activism in the Stanley Tookie Williams case, and his new album Unpredictable.

Ed Gordon talks with Quincy Jones, who scored the music for new film Get Rich or Die Tryin, starring rapper Curtis "50 Cent" Jackson.

Stevie Wonder's new album A Time To Love is his first in a decade. He collaborates with Prince, gospel singer Kim Burrell and his own daughter, Aisha Morris, last heard splashing in the tub on the 1976 hit "Isn't She Lovely."