MUSICTeaching Music to Kids: Conductor Seiji Ozawa...

MUSIC

Teaching Music to Kids: Conductor Seiji Ozawa and jazz trumpeter Wynton Marsalis are joining forces to make an educational TV series for children. In “Marsalis on Music,” the jazzman and the maestro draw on jazz and classical styles to explain the basics of music. Cellist Yo-Yo Ma joins Marsalis in one segment on how to practice. The $3-million project, consisting of four one-hour shows, premieres on PBS in the fall of 1995.

Concert Salute: PBS will air “A Salute to Slava,” taped at a June 17 farewell concert for famed cellist-conductor Mstislav Rostropovich, the departing music director of Washington’s National Symphony Orchestra. The Sept. 7 TV special, which uses a combination of film and music to tell the story of the former Russian exile’s life and career, is the premiere program in PBS’ new performance series “The Kennedy Center Presents.” The concert features performances by violinist Isaac Stern, conductors Sir Neville Marriner and Maxim Shostakovich, flutist Jean-Pierre Rampal, pianist Awadagrin Pratt, soprano Maria Guleghina, cellist John Martin, the Oratorio Society of Washington and the Choral Arts Society of Washington. The special is hosted by “CBS This Morning” co-anchor Paula Zahn, an accomplished cellist.

Rediscovering Weill: Five Kurt Weill songs that have not been performed in more than 40 years will be revived at the Hollywood Bowl in the “Great American Concert,” Friday, Saturday and Sunday night shows featuring conductor John Mauceri and the Hollywood Bowl Orchestra, along with fireworks. Weill’s “Huckleberry Finn Songs,” from the unfinished musical “Raft on the River,” were the last pieces written by Weill before his death in 1950. The songs have been performed only once before, at a 1953 Weill memorial tribute in New York.

MOVIES

Hurtling Toward the Screen: The recent comet explosions on Jupiter helped spawn a new Paramount Pictures project combining the talents of producers David Brown and Richard Zanuck, Steven Spielberg’s Amblin Entertainment and screenwriter Bruce Joel Rubin (“Ghost”). “Deep Impact,” which is expected to start production next year, begins with the discovery of a comet hurtling toward a catastrophic collision with Earth. The discovery triggers a massive international race against time by governments, scientists and others to save the human race from extinction.

Writing Focus: Austin, Tex., will be the site of the first film festival to recognize the writer’s contribution to film. The Austin Heart of Film Festival, to be held Oct. 13-16, will include nighttime premieres, screenings and retrospectives, daytime conferences and a screenwriter’s competition. The entry deadline is Monday.

TELEVISION

Roseanne and ‘Larry’: Roseanne may have wavered before deciding to return to her hit ABC sitcom this fall, but she apparently was eager to appear in the season finale of HBO’s late-night talk-show parody “The Larry Sanders Show.” In the episode that filmed Friday and will run Oct. 2, she reportedly makes reference to her crumbling marriage to Tom Arnold before falling in love with the obnoxious talk-show host played by Garry Shandling. The two even share a passionate kiss. A “Sanders” source says she will be back next season to pick up the romance.

Apollo Highlights: Tony Bennett, the Temptations, Nancy Wilson, Mavis Staples, the Neville Brothers, Heavy D. and the Boys, Oleta Adams, Digable Planets and comedians Richard Pryor, David Alan Grier and Chris Rock are among the performers to be showcased on NBC’s two-hour Sept. 6 special “Met Life Presents the Apollo Theatre Hall of Fame.” Queen Latifah, Robert Townsend and Malcolm-Jamal Warner host the star-studded concert.

COMEDY

Helping a Friend: George Carlin, Rodney Dangerfield, Norm Crosby, Sid Caesar, Jack Carter, Jackie Gayle, Shelly Berman, Pat McCormic and John Francis will perform at Melrose Avenue’s Improvisation comedy club tonight to raise money for fellow comic Adam Keefe, who suffers from diabetes and is faced with mounting medical expenses. Keefe is best known for his stand-up appearances on the “Ed Sullivan Show” and Johnny Carson’s “Tonight Show.”

POP/ROCK

Concert Dates: Elton John will perform at the Greek Theatre Sept. 19-22 in a series of concerts benefiting his Elton John AIDS Foundation. The show features guest percussionist Ray Cooper, who performed with John in an acclaimed acoustical tour 15 years ago. Tickets go on sale Monday.