Besides the weekly shows mentioned below, numerous special broadcasts occur throughout the year, pre-empting all regular programming for at least 24-hours. These include:
Birthday Broadcasts
Long ago it became tradition at WKCR to play 24 hours of a jazz great's music on his/her birthday. The musicians we celebrate are as follows:
January 10: Max Roach (b. January 10, 1924; d. August 16, 2007)
January 30: Roy Eldridge (b. January 30, 1911; d. February 26, 1989)
February 21: Nina Simone (b. February 21, 1933; d. April 21, 2003)
March 9: Ornette Coleman (b. March 9, 1930; d. June 11, 2015)
March 10: Bix Beiderbecke (b. March 10, 1903; d. August 7, 1931)
April 7: Billie Holiday (b. April 7, 1915; d. July 17, 1959)
April 22: Charles Mingus (b. April 22, 1922; d. January 5, 1979)
April 25: Ella Fitzgerald (b. April 25, 1917; d. June 15, 1996)
April 29: Duke Ellington (April 29,1899; d. May 24, 1974)
July 4: Louis Armstrong (b. August 4, 1901; d. July 6, 1971) --- he believed his birthdate to be July 4th 1900, so we celebrate both birthdays.
August 4: Louis Armstrong (b. August 4, 1901; d. July 6, 1971)
August 27-29: Lester Young (b. August 27, 1909; d. March 15, 1959) and Charlie Parker (b. August 29, 1920; d. March 12, 1955) --- we preempt August 28 as well, playing Lester Young until noon, when we switch to Charlie Parker.
September 23: John Coltrane (b. September 23, 1926; d. July 17, 1967)
October 10: Thelonious Monk (b. Oct. 10, 1917; d. February 17, 1982)
October 30: Clifford Brown (b. October 30, 1930; d. June 26, 1956)
November 21: Coleman Hawkins (b. Nov. 21, 1904; d. May 19, 1969)
Festivals
WKCR is perhaps most famous for its extended marathon festivals. Beginning with Albert Ayler in 1970, the Jazz Department has periodically pre-empted all programming in order to present, in chronological order, the complete recorded oeuvre of a jazz great (see Phil Schaap Interview for complete list).
Furthermore, every December, WKCR presents its annual Bach Festival, playing nothing but the music of Johann Sebastian Bach for the last 7-10 days of the year.
