Fresh Air, Steve Levine and Terence Blanchard, October 25, 2007

Hear journalist Steve Levine and New Orleans trumpeter and composer Terence Blanchard on this edition of Fresh Air.

Steve Levine has been a foreign correspondent for 18 years, with posts in the Soviet Union, Pakistan, and the Philippines. He's reported for The Wall Street Journal, The New York Times, and The Washington Post. In his new book, The Oil and the Glory: The Pursuit of Empire and Fortune on the Caspian Sea, he writes about the high-stakes political gamesmanship to get access to and control the rich oil resources in the Caspian Sea.

Then, Terence Blanchard, whose new recording, A Tale of God's Will, is a requiem for Katrina. Portions of the recording were used in Spike Lee's HBO documentary When the Levees Broke. Blanchard has scored a number of Spike Lee films, including Inside Man, 25th Hour, Mo' Better Blues, Malcom X, and Bamboozeled. And he has also scored the films Talk to Me, Eve's Bayou, Barbershop, Soul of the Game, and Clockers. Blanchard got his start with Art Blakey's Jazz Messengers. He is artistic director for the Thelonious Monk Institute at the University of Southern California. [Broadcast Date: October 25, 2007]