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Saxophonist Rahsaan Barber carries a missionary zeal for Music City’s jazz scene.

The release of Dennis Taylor’s debut album “Stepping Up” was supposed to be a landmark in the middle of a long fruitful career.

Besides the lives and homes lost in last weekend’s floods across the state, Nashville is taking stock of its musical heritage. From cherished institutions to vintage instruments, the damage has been widespread. WPLN’s Craig Havighurst reports.

Duos from Nashville have usually been siblings channeling the close harmonies of the Everly Brothers or the romance of classic George Jones/Tammy Wynette country duets. But in today’s eclectic Music City, one of the most exciting and buzzed about duos is Sam & Ruby, who draw their strength from just how different each is from the other. WPLN’s Craig Havighurst has this profile.

A star by the age of 13, Brenda Lee became one of the most stylistically diverse and world-famous singers to ever come out of Nashville. Now she’s the latest member of the Country Music Hall of Fame to be featured in a close-up exhibit in the hall’s museum. WPLN’s Craig Havighurst recently took a tour, with Little Miss Dynamite herself as his guide.

Nashville’s 50-year-old Fairgrounds Speedway has a storied past but an uncertain future. City officials are considering selling the 117-acre fairgrounds site to developers, a move that would likely mark the end of a racing tradition that goes back more than a century. While that debate goes on, teams still race there most Saturday nights. It’s an old country sport living in the middle of the city. WPLN’s Craig Havighurst reports.

While the CMA Fest is a direct outgrowth and promoter of Music Row’s country music industry, Bonnaroo has had only a slight relationship with Nashville’s emergent rock and pop scenes. But as WPLN’s Craig Havighurst reports, some are hoping to change that.

The internet and the tribulations of the major label system have opened a window of opportunity for artists who don’t fit into a mainstream radio and retail formula. In the conclusion of our series Music City Remixed, WPLN’s Craig Havighurst reports on efforts to foster these emerging music scenes, in part by rewriting the definition of success.

A study released in 2006 found that Nashville’s music business — plus music related tourism — accounted for nearly 20,000 jobs and more than $6 billion in yearly economic activity. The recent struggles of the recording industry may be pinching that, but as WPLN’s Craig Havighurst reports in part five of our series Music City Remixed, efforts are underway to make sure Nashville maintains its historic place as a major entertainment center.

Ten years ago, Napster and the personal computer spawned a digital music revolution. For record labels, it meant a wave of song sharing and downloading that undermined CD sales. For everyone else, it ushered in a new era of music access, creation and marketing. In part four of Music City Remixed: Transition In An Industry Town, WPLN’s Craig Havighurst visits Nashville’s music technology entrepreneurs to see if the city’s digital skills are catching up to its songwriting and recording legacy.