MUSIC

British violinist Nigel Kennedy, who’s touring the United States (he was booked for a weekend stint with the National Symphony Orchestra in Washington), signed an unusual record contract with Angel/EMI Records. The five-year, $500,000 deal calls for recordings not only of a classical concerto or two, but also jazz and even rock music. Artists have crossed over into non-classical areas before (guitarist John Williams and violinist Itzhak Perlman, for example), but USA Today said Kennedy’s deal is the first that actually plans for such cross-pollination.