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David Molpus speaks with blues/R&B singer and guitarist Robert Cray. He's currently touring the States, and his new cd, Shoulda Been Home was just released on Rykodisc (cat # RCD 10611).

Scott Aiges reviews Rocket House, the latest album from Chris Whitley. Whitley's debut album a decade ago was called a masterpiece in postmodern blues. On this record, he mixes songs that are firmly rooted in the blues with hypnotic futuristic sound effects. The highly stylized sound doesn't obscure the solid foundation of the songs, and Aiges says the album is both rootsy and experimental.

Musician, producer, arranger, composer Quincy Jones has a new autobiography, Q: The Autobiography of Quincy Jones, (Doubleday) and a 4-CD boxset collecting his work, Q: The Musical Biography of Quincy Jones (Rhino). In his fifty year career hes worked with just about anyone who is anybody in the music business. As a teenager he played backup for Billie Holiday, along with his 16 year old friend, Ray Charles. At 18 he began playing the trumpet in Lionel Hamptons band beside Clifford Brown. He went on to work with Count Basie, Frank Sinatra, Dinah Washington, Sarah Vaughn, Lesley Gore and many others. He wrote the theme songs for the TV shows Sanford & Sons, and Ironside, and music for the films In Cold Blood, For the Love of Ivy, and The Pawnbroker. His biggest commercial success was producing and arranging Michael Jacksons 1982 hit album Thriller.

Scott Aiges reviews the latest CD from Dr. John, the New Orleans musician who mixes up blues, jazz, R&B, and Afro-Caribbean funk. It's called Creole Moon. The label is Blue Note.

Though he never became a household name, many music lovers regard Szigeti, who died in 1973, as the greatest classical violinist in living memory. This new collection captures his early recordings.

Join us on Sunday, July 10th at 1 PM on WRTI 90.1, and Monday, July 11th at 7 PM on WRTI HD-2 when our Philadelphia Orchestra in Concert series brings you a performance with soaring melodies recorded live in April 2022 featuring works by Vivaldi, Kreisler, and Chevalier de Saint-Georges. Gil Shaham is leader and soloist.

Jazz critic Kevin Whitehead reviews Up Popped the Two Lips, one of two new records by composer, saxophonist and flutist Henry Threadgill. Threadgill recorded the album with a new sextet called Zooid.

Storyteller Mitch Myers recounts the tale of Duke Ellington's performance at the Newport Jazz festival in 1956. It's a story of a journeyman saxophone player, Paul Gonsalves, and how his playing that night would become legend. (6:00) Music is from the CD Ellington at Newport on the Columbia Jazz label. The tune is called Diminuendo/Crescendo in Blue.

Jazz critic Kevin Whitehead reviews Ornette Coleman Trio at the Golden Circle, Vols. 1 and 2 (Blue Note).

Jazz critic Kevin Whitehead reviews El Arte del Sabor the new CD by the Bebo Valdes Trio (Blue Note).