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When he stood up in a South African courtroom during his treason trial in 1964, Nelson Mandela declared that he was "prepared to die" for his cause. As Mandela turns 90, a documentary studies the pivotal moment when he became a worldwide symbol of the struggle for freedom and democracy.

Fela Kuti fathered the musical movement Afrobeat and its crown prince, 25-year-old Seun Kuti. The Nigerian singer is leading his father's band, Egypt 80. On his self-titled debut album, he's added some American influences but kept his songs sharply pointed and political.

Over the past 14 years, some of New York's hottest young jazz musicians have worked for peanuts, just to have the chance to play the Argentine composer's challenging mix of Latin rhythms, classical structures and singable melodies.

The genre-bending saxophonist with a ubiquitous tone has a new album out. Sanborn tells Scott Simon that the disc is partly a tribute to his early heroes of blues and soul: Ray Charles and his saxophonist, Hank Crawford.

His sharp-tongued lyrics have skewered rednecks, kingpins and heartless politicians. Newman has riled a long list of people — and it's likely to grow with the release of his new CD, Harps and Angels. He may be the most misunderstood songwriter ever.

As medal-winners step up to the podium in this year's Summer Olympics, commentator Miles Hoffman says, we're bound to hear quite a few national anthems, some of which come equipped with bad poetry and stilted music.

Faithfull's latest album, Easy Come, Easy Go, covers more ground than ever before. The veteran singer interprets songs by Randy Newman, The Decemberists, Dolly Parton and many others. To her, recording a cover is more about expressing the song than trying to emulate the original.

Despite a constant flood of new music, people still like to insist it was all better in times past. But Marianne Faithfull, who has survived a bunch of musical decades, recognizes that right now is a golden era of its own. Her new record, Easy Come, Easy Go, is all covers, but alongside old standards are what might be some new staples.

The folksy songwriter returns with his second album, Elvis Perkins in Dearland, now with a more upbeat, countrified sound. Yet even with the shift, Perkins continues to wrestle with his past.

For those who think all Cajun music sounds exactly the same, a new CD tries to dispel that pervasive and dangerous myth. Christine Balfa Plays the Triangle offers up nearly an hour of triangle solos, performed by a woman with an impeccable Cajun pedigree.