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Friend and patron to several generations of composers and artists, Freeman was the catalyst behind the opera Nixon in China by John Adams, as well as pieces by John Cage, Harry Partch, Thomas Ades, Philip Glass and dozens of others.

Before Barack Obama's election, a group of musicians recorded and released a collection of 43 original songs, one for each U.S. president. Titled Of Great and Mortal Men, the three-CD set ended with the presidency of George W. Bush. Now, just in time for the inauguration, the creators are making their 44th song available for download here.

Jazz singer and pianist Blossom Dearie was a great singer with the tiniest of voices. Dearie died Feb 7. She was 82. Fresh Air remembers her with an interview from 1998.

With her wispy, delicate voice, Dearie was a darling of the jazz world for decades. Her biggest hit was "I'm Hip," and she even recorded with Schoolhouse Rock. The cabaret singer and pianist died Saturday of natural causes in her New York City home. She was 82.

This year's oldest Grammy nominee is Delta blues pianist Pinetop Perkins. He's played with the likes of Sonny Boy Williamson and Muddy Waters. He says he even performed for a U.S. president at the White House — though at 95, he can't remember which one.

Originally released in 1961, electric guitarist Grant Green's first album with Blue Note Records, Grant's First Stand, has been reissued. Green has a solid swinger's knack for skippy, airborne jazz rhythms, but some of his lines wouldn't sound out of place in a Chicago blues bar.

In the early 1960s, an argumentative duo of outsider musicians developed a psychedelic breed of folk music and found a small but dedicated following. The Holy Modal Rounders' members are now inspiring a new generation of innovative folkies, as well as a new documentary.

As a teenager, the singer-songwriter was already touring the world with his rock band. His new album takes him back to before then, when country music blasted out of Texas radio stations. He performs a solo acoustic set in NPR's Studio 4A.

As Case tours the country, driving her own van and showcasing that powerhouse voice, she appears strong and fearless. But on her new album, Middle Cyclone, her heart is cracked open. Her songs tremble with the stunning reality that love is the one thing we need the most, and the one thing that we can never control.

Anne Brown, who would have been 110 years old this month, was the first Black vocalist ever accepted at Juilliard.