WKCR 89.9FM NY

Tune in tomorrow, January 7, at 7 AM to hear an interview with jazz titan and multi-instrumentalist David Murray in advance of his performance at NYC Winter JazzFest. Host Rachel Smith talks with David Murray about the iconic quartets he has led and been a part of throughout his career, his creative and compositional process, and his latest two albums.

As always, you can listen at 89.9 FM on your radio dial or stream the interview online at wkcr.org

New York, NY — WKCR is proud to announce its annual 24-hour birthday broadcast honoring the life and legacy of legendary jazz drummer, composer, educator, and civil rights activist Max Roach, airing from midnight to midnight on Saturday, January 10, 2026, in celebration of what would have been his 102nd birthday.

Happy BachFest!

Happy BachFest!

Sid Gribetz presents “Ben Webster in the 1940s”, this Sunday December 21, 2025 from 2-7 PM.

Ben Webster was nicknamed “The Brute” due both to his sometimes tempestuous temperament and also for his vigorous power on the tenor saxophone. But he was “The Beautiful” as well, with a personal sensitivity within his soul, and an elegant, romantic approach on the softer numbers, projecting a breathy tone with “air to spare”.

WKCR pays tribute to the life and work of Mr. Rafael Ithier tomorrow, December 17, 2025, from 5 AM through 3 PM (ET). Born in San Juan in 1926, Mr. Ithier began playing music as a child, following in the footsteps of his namesake Rafael Cortijo. He was drafted into the military in 1952; when he finished his service, he played with The Bourqueneers Mambo Kings in NYC before moving back to his Puerto Rico. There, he joined Cortijo's salsa orchestra, Cortijo y Su Combo. He founded El Gran Combo in 1962, where he would make his incredible legacy in salsa and Latin music.

We celebrate the centennial of Gigi Gryce (Basheer Qusim) with a five hour radio program to be presented by Sid Gribetz this Sunday, November 23, 2025, from 2-7 PM on WKCR.

Gryce became a leading figure in his brief career in the 1950s. as a saxophonist, composer, arranger, music publisher, and teacher and mentor to many musicians.

WKCR is pleased to announce our annual celebration of the 121st birthday of the extraordinary Coleman Hawkins with a 24-hour broadcast. This will pre-empt all regularly scheduled Friday programming.

Due to scheduled maintenance our FM signal will be inaccessible today (11/17) from 8 AM- 4 PM. The work continues tomorrow (11/18) and Thursday (11/20).

Our webstream available via wkcr.org will remain unaffected.

The companion map to the October 25th, 2025 edition of Hobo's Lullaby is now fully live! In celebration of the Appalachian Trail Conservancy's centennial, host Ale Díaz-Pizarro, took listeners on a folk music tour up the Appalachian Trail, playing music from all 14 states on the trail from Georgia to Maine. The map is a digital, interactive version of the program, including historical and recording information for every song that was played on the program.

WKCR honors the life and music of Jack DeJohnette, who passed away on October 27, 2025 at the age of 83, with a 16-hour memorial broadcast. He was born in Chicago in 1942. He started his career not as a jazz drummer, but as a classical pianist. He fell in love with jazz by listening to the 78s that his uncle, who was a DJ, played on the radio.

WKCR is pleased to announce our special broadcast celebrating what would have been the 95th birthday of American trumpeter Clifford Brown, broadcast on FM and HD radio and online for 24 hours on Thursday, October 30th, 2023. The broadcast will preempt all regularly-scheduled Monday shows.

On October 22, 1925, Henry Cowell and The New Music Society of California would host their first ever concert- sparking the dissemination of “ultra-modernist” composition within the musical ecosystem of the United States. Cowell sought to “present musical works embodying the most progressive tendencies of this age”, shedding light on the compositions of Carl Rugges, Edgard Varese, Arnold Shoenberg, and more. Nearly one hundred years later, New Music has evolved far beyond the 300-person concert in LA’s Biltmore Hotel.

Pioneer Works is excited to present the 14th annual Ragas Live Festival featuring 24 hours of transcendent music in the Pioneer Works Main Hall. The entire program will be broadcast live on video at Pioneer Works' Youtube & WKCR 89.9 FM in NYC (audio only).

Sid Gribetz presents pianist Dodo Marmarosa Sunday October 12, 2025 from 2-7 PM on “Sunday Profiles”.

Michael Marmarosa was born on December 12, 1925 to a working class Italian immigrant family in Pittsburgh. Dodo was a childhood nickname, and he began taking serious classical music lessons as a young child. He also befriended slightly older Steel City jazz pianists such as Billy Strayhorn, and especially Erroll Garner. With Garner and other young musicians, he explored their developing mutual jazz interests.

WKCR is pleased to announce a special broadcast celebrating saxophonist Pharoah Sanders on what would be his 85th birthday. The broadcast will preempt all regular jazz slots and more, from 5-8:30 AM and from 12-10 PM.

Tune in to WKCR on Friday, October 10, for our 24-hour birthday broadcast honoring the great Thelonious Sphere Monk (1917-1982). Born in North Carolina, Monk would move into the San Juan Hill (now Lincoln Center) neighborhood of Manhattan Pannonica de Koenigswarteriano at the age of 9 and would drop out of high school to pursue a career in music. In 1941, drummer Kenny Clarke hired Monk to be the house pianist at Minton’s Playhouse, the epicenter of “modern” music, and the rest is history.

On Tuesday, September 23, WKCR-FM (89.9 FM / wkcr.org) will present its annual 24-hour broadcast honoring the life and music of John Coltrane, commemorating what would have been his 98th birthday.

WKCR is very pleased to present a birthday broadcast for avant-garde composer John Cage on the 113th anniversary of his birthday. The broadcast will run for 24 hours, preempting all regularly scheduled programs.

WKCR is elated to announce two very special birthday broadcasts, spanning a combined 3 days: Lester Young, known also as “Prez,” and Charlie “Bird” Parker. We celebrate each of these saxophone giants with a 24-hour birthday broadcast: Prez on August 27 and Bird on August 29. We bridge the two legends’ birthdays on August 28 by playing Prez until noon, then switching to Bird.

At the onset of World War I, approximately 380,000 African American soldiers joined the war effort with 200,000 of them deployed to Europe. Many spent time in France where they gained exposure to an accepting, celebratory, and seemingly colorblind attitude toward Black people–an incredible upgrade from the Jim Crow laws of their homeland. The French gained their own exposure to the exciting sounds of jazz music brought over by the 369th Infantry Regiment, better known as “The Harlem Hellfighters” and their band led by James Reese Europe.

Sid Gribetz presents organist Charles Earland July 27 from 2-7 PM on “Sunday Profiles”.

Charles Earland is one of the primary “Hammond Heroes” of the original generation of soulful jazz organists on the B-3.

Earland swings brightly with his easy-going, syncopated, dance able rhythms on great pop tunes, but that sets things up for his hard-driving intensity on searing, adventuresome numbers. His dynamic power earned his nickname “The Mighty Burner”.

WKCR is very excited to present the second installment of our annual birthday broadcast for cornet, trumpet, and vocal jazz legend Louis Armstrong. Satchmo is the only figure at WKCR with the distinct honor of two birthday broadcasts every year: one on July 4 (which he cited as his birthday in his autobiography Swing That Music) and one on August 4 (which records suggest was his true birthday).

New York, NY — July 7, 2025 — WKCR 89.9 FM is excited to announce a 10 hour broadcast on Saturday, July 13, in celebration of the life and music of avant-garde saxophonist Albert Ayler (1936–1970). Known for his radical reimagining of jazz, Ayler forged a deeply spiritual and emotionally raw sound that redefined the genre and remains unmatched to this day.

WKCR is pleased to announce a special broadcast in honor of Gustav Mahler’s 165th birthday, for 24 hours on July 7, 2025. The special broadcast will preempt all regularly-scheduled Monday programming and feature both his masterpieces and lesser-known works.

NEW YORK, NY — July 4, 2025 — WKCR-FM is proud to continue its long-standing tradition of honoring the life and legacy of the legendary Louis Armstrong with a 24-hour broadcast exclusively featuring his music, beginning at midnight on Friday, July 4th, 2025. All regular programming will be preempted for this annual tribute to one of the greatest icons in American music.

Lambert, Hendricks, and Ross brought the art of ensemble group vocals to a higher level. Bebop singers Dave Lambert, Jon Hendricks and Annie Ross each individually were pioneers of vocalese, the style of writing lyrics to recorded instrumental solos to create new songs. The synergy of the group was even more remarkably creative.

WKCR is excited to announce our upcoming Anthony Braxton Birthday Broadcast, in honor of the musical pioneer’s 80th birthday. The broadcast will run for 8.5 hours from 9:30 AM-6 PM in place of regularly scheduled programming.

WKCR pays tribute to the life and work of Al Foster, who passed away on May 28, 2025 at the age of 82. Aloysius Tyrone Foster was born on January 18, 1943 in Richmond, Virginia, where he began playing the drums at age 13. He began his career when he was only 20 years old, making his recording debut with Blue Mitchell. He is best known for his work with Miles Davis, who first heard Foster play in 1972.

Sid Gribetz presents a five hour tribute to pianist Harold Mabern this Sunday, May 18, 2025, from 2-7 PM on WKCR.

Mabern was born March 20, 1936 in Memphis and raised in that Southern town, surrounded by many great young jazz players in his school. Mabern’s own mentor and friend, only a couple of years older, was Phineas Newborn. His schoolmates and lifelong associates included Frank Strozier, George Coleman, and Booker Little.