Fresh Air Weekend: Singer Cecile McLorin Salvant; 'The Danish Girl'; Sam Phillips

Fresh Air Weekend highlights some of the best interviews and reviews from past weeks, and new program elements specially paced for weekends. Our weekend show emphasizes interviews with writers, filmmakers, actors and musicians, and often includes excerpts from live in-studio concerts. This week:

Jazz Singer Cécile McLorin Salvant Doesn't Want To Sound 'Clean And Pretty': McLorin Salvant first studied classical voice, but turned to jazz because it offered her more range. "In jazz, I felt I could sing these deep, husky lows," she tells Fresh Air's Terry Gross.

Polite Period Drama 'Danish Girl' Misses The Heart Of Its Subject: Reviewer Justin Chang says that despite its hand wringing about the importance of being true to one's inner self, Tom Hooper's new film about an early transgender icon winds up feeling "timid, incurious and weirdly devoid of feeling."

The Man And The Mistakes That 'Invented Rock 'n' Roll': In his new book, Sam Phillips, music writer Peter Guralnick profiles the founder of the Sun Records label. Guralnick says Phillips rejected perfection in favor of spontaneity and individuality.

You can listen to the original interviews here:

Jazz Singer Cécile McLorin Salvant Doesn't Want To Sound 'Clean And Pretty'

The Man And The Mistakes That 'Invented Rock 'n' Roll'

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