Scheffer Videos

Lena Horne performed in all-white nightclubs at a time when blacks were still relegated to the back of the bus. But according to a new biography, the award-winning Brooklyn-born singer also battled discrimination and self-doubt. We talk with James Gavin, author of Stormy Weather: The Life of Lena Horne. This is a repeat edition of Soundcheck Blog: John Schaefer on Lena Horne's stormy life

Three outstanding new releases picked by the Soundcheck staff. Read full reviews of our picks of the week. Jonsi & Alex – Riceboy Sleeps (XL Records) - picked by John Schaefer Céu – Vagarosa (Six Degrees – picked by Gisele Regatao The Phenomenal Handclap Band (s/t) (Friendly Fire) – picked by Joel Meyer

The hip hop trio Tanya Morgan hails from Brooklyn and Cincinnati, and naturally their new album is called Brooklynati. The loose concept album is built around a fictional city that honors hip-hop giants and offers a chance at the good life. MCs Von Pea and Donwill join us to perform in our studio.

Leif Ove Andsnes is among today’s most enterprising concert pianists, tackling the music of his fellow Norwegian, Edvard Grieg, the works of Beethoven and Debussy, and today’s most scintillating modern works. The latter are featured on his latest CD, The Shadows of Silence. He joins us to share some of it and to perform in our studio.

Blues guitarists Bonnie Raitt and Taj Mahal have been friends since the late 1960s and worked together on Raitt's 1973 album, Takin' My Time. But they’ve led separate touring careers ever since -- until now. Today, they join us to talk about reuniting and about their respective brands of rootsy blues. This is a repeat broadcast of Soundcheck.

Fans are revolutionizing music photography with digital cameras, iPhones and social networking sites. But has the art of the image suffered? Today: two photographers from different generations, Bob Gruen and Elizabeth Weinberg, explain how they have responded to this revolution. This is a repeat edition of Soundcheck. Blog: John Schaefer on concert photography

Franz Joseph Haydn is considered the father of the symphony and the string quartet. He might also be history’s most underrated composer. As the music world marks the bicentennial of Haydn's death, we explore how the composer’s gift for humor may be at the root of why he’s not taken seriously. Austria's Haydn Trio Eisenstadt join us to perform two of their namesake’s works. Also with us is Fred Plotkin, author of several books on music including Classical Music 101.

In the 1980s and '90s, young lovers traded cassette mixtapes instead of sending love letters. But in this decade, iPods and file-sharing changed the way we romance one another with music. Today: Jason Bitner, editor of the essay collection Cassette From My Ex: Stories and Soundtracks of Lost Loves, explains why old mixtapes are still powerful. And, authors (and exes) Rick Moody and Stacey Richter attempt to recreate the playlist of a long-lost mixtape. Tell us: Why do some people have such fond memories of the cassette mixtape? Did it ever play a role in an old romance? Share your story.