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Jubilant Sykes is an artist who feels at home with all kinds of music -- from Bach to Billboard to Broadway standards. With his latest CD, "Wait For Me," the baritone singer adds folk, pop and gospel to his repertory. All Things Considered host Michele Norris talks with the classically trained musician about his passion, his faith and his fierce work ethic.

William Russo, who composed and arranged music for Stan Kenton, also wrote works performed by the Chicago Symphony Orchestra and the New York Philharmonic. He died recently at 74. Tony Sarabia of Chicago Public Radio offers an appreciation.

In his latest book, Soul of Nowhere, author and Morning Edition commentator Craig Childs explorers the wild and dangerous desert in the U.S. Southwest and Mexico. NPR's Howard Berkes recently hiked and camped with Childs, who finds beauty in "this cracked ugly place."

Annie Proulx (The Shipping News) writes about strange people in lonely places. Her latest novel, That Old Ace in the Hole, explores the vanishing Texas panhandle. Proulx, 67, says it may be her last novel, though she'll keep writing short stories. Tom Vitale reports.

The documentary Rocks with Wings, set to air on PBS, highlights an all-Navajo high school girls' basketball team crowned New Mexico state champs in 1988. It also tells the tale of the filmmaker who spent 14 years on the project. Paul Ingles reports. Correction: This story contains an error about the Lady Chieftains basketball team's record. The story stated that the team won state championship titles every year from 1988 through 1995. The story should have said that the Lady Chieftains won four state championship titles between 1988 and 1992, and made it to the state finals in '93, '94 and '95. We regret the error.

Author Richard Conniff has written about the natural world for National Geographic and Smithsonian magazines.

Actress and singer Nell Carter, the star of the 1980s TV sitcom Gimme A Break and of the Broadway smash Ain't Misbehavin', dies of complications from diabetes. She was 54. NPR's Bob Mondello has an appreciation.

The independent nature of the annual Sundance Film Festival has been eroded in recent years as more films shown there have already landed distribution deals. But despite criticism that it's become too "corporate," Sundance still produces surprises. Hear NPR's Bob Edwards and Los Angeles Times film critic Kenneth Turan.

The Hours is a new film based on Michael Cunningham's Pulitzer Prize-winning novel about the writer Virginia Woolf and two women living in a later time who Woolf profoundly influences. Nicole Kidman, Meryl Streep and Julianne Moore star. Los Angeles Times film critic Kenneth Turan offers a review.

He's not just a convincing actor in the new movie Antwone Fisher. Denzel Washington also steps behind the camera for the first time as the film's director. The real Antwone Fisher helped turn his life into a film. Hear NPR's Bob Mondello, NPR's Michele Norris and Antwone Fisher.