WKCR 89.9FM NY

WKCR is thrilled to announce a special 24-hour broadcast on April 29th celebrating the 126th anniversary of the birth of Duke Ellington (1899-1974).

Join us during Amazing Grace (8-10 AM) this Sunday, April 13, for an interview with Cheryl Wills, author of Isn’t Her Grace Amazing! The Women Who Changed Gospel Music. Host Rachel Smith will accompany the interview with musical selections drawn entirely from the discographies of the trailblazers in Wills’s work. As always, listeners can tune in at 89.9 FM or stream WKCR online at wkcr.org.

WKCR is pleased to announce our annual birthday celebration for celebrated bassist and pianist Charles Mingus, broadcast on FM and HD radio and online 24 hours straight from 12:00 am to midnight on April 22, 2025.

WKCR is honored to announce a special 24-hour broadcast in celebration of the 97th birthday of one of the most iconic and influential voices in jazz history, Billie Holiday. Tune in on April 7 to WKCR 89.9 FM for a full day of music from the legendary “Lady Day,” whose haunting, soulful voice left an indelible mark on jazz and the American musical landscape.

WKCR merchandise is now available to purchase! All of the designs available are limited edition and purchasable now through April 18th. The "Pixel Hoodie" features a brand new design while the "WKCR scribble shirt" and "'The Alternative' Tee" highlight iconic archival logos. If you didn't get a chance to support WKCR through our fund drive, purchasing merchandise is a great way to do so as all of the proceeds go to WKCR's operating budget!

All merchandise can be found by clicking the MERCH tab at the top of our page or through clicking the link below.

Tune in on March 30th from 2-7 for an over view of the career of Hazel Scott. The show will include live interviews with Dr.Cornel West, Grammy award winning pianist Michelle Cann, and son of Hazel Scott and Adam Clayton Powell jr., Adam Powell III.

Only on WKCR 89.9 FM NY & wkcr.org

WKCR is excited to announce our annual birthday broadcast of the legendary Bix Beiderbecke. Bix was born Leon Bismarck Beiderbecke in Davenport, Iowa, on March 10, 1903. He began playing piano when he was only two or three years old and could recreate almost any tune he heard by the age of seven. As a teenager, Bix taught himself to play cornet by listening to the Original Dixieland Jazz Band on his brother’s Victrola phonograph.

WKCR is excited to announce our annual birthday broadcast of the legendary Ornette Coleman. Born March 9th, 1930 in Fort Worth, Texas, Ornette Coleman had a searing, unrepentantly human sound and endless melodicism that fully embodied Bird's vocal angularity, the sprawling, rough-and-tumble expressiveness of the Southwest saxophone lineage, and the blues.

Tune in on March 2nd at 7 PM EST to hear Anupam Shobhakar's new album Liquid Reality and an interview with the artist held by the host

Tune in from 6pm-Midnight on Saturday 2/22 to celebrate 90 years of the Village Vanguard with WKCR, live from the legendary venue itself!

WKCR is very excited to announce our annual birthday broadcast in honor of an icon of the 20th century: Nina Simone. Listeners will enjoy 24 straight hours of Nina Simone on Friday, February 21st. Simone’s music was often labeled as jazz, but her genius defies the boundaries of genre. Artists such as Aretha Franklin, Lauryn Hill, and Tracy Chapman have cited her as an important influence. In fact, Simone was inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame in 2018.

Sid Gribetz presents the music of trumpeter Bill Hardman this Sunday, February 16, 2025 from 2-7 PM.

Hardman was a crisp trumpeter with the brashness and elan of the bebop and hard bop ethos, colored also by a lyrical and even romantic aspect in his tone. While perhaps not achieving tremendous fame, he was a valued figure in our jazz scene of his time.

Bill Hardman was born in 1932 (or 33 depending on the source) and raised in Cleveland, where he came up with musicians such as Tadd Dameron.

WKCR is honored to announce our annual 24-hour memorial broadcast for our very own Phil Schaap (1951-2021), held on the anniversary of his very first broadcast on WKCR back in 1970. The day will be full of archival programs––several of which have not been heard in years––to honor the legacy of the late great Phil Schaap. Born to jazz scholar Walter Schaap and pianist and librarian Marjorie Wood Schaap, Phil’s love of jazz started young.

WKCR is very excited to announce our 24-hour annual birthday broadcast for jazz great Roy Eldridge, “Little Jazz,” this January 30, 2025. We will preempt all regularly scheduled programming to bring you a full day of the music of this influential player of the swing era. Eldridge was born in Pittsburgh in 1911, to a wagon teamster and a gifted pianist. At the age of five, Eldridge was already playing blues on the piano. He dedicated himself to the trumpet, at the advice of his older brother Joe, at age 11.

WKCR announces a Lunar New Year Broadcast, this year combined with a Teresa Teng Birthday Broadcast, for 12-hours on FM and HD radio and online, from 12:00am to 12:00pm on Wednesday, January 29th. It will run from the last hour of Tuesday’s Just as Bad until the conclusion of Cereal Music. The broadcast will preempt all regularly-scheduled Wednesday programming within those hours.

WKCR is excited to announce a special 24-hour birthday celebration for Antônio Carlos Jobim, broadcast on FM and HD radio and online all day on Saturday, January 25, 2025 in celebration of his 98th birthday. The special broadcast will run from the middle of Mambo Machine until the end half of Saturday at the Opera at 12:00 am on Sunday.

Tune in to Jazz Alternatives this Tuesday, January 14th from 6-9 pm EST, to hear a selection of the great Peter Cox's wonderful jazz collection. Peter was an avid jazz fan and donated many of his materials to the WKCR library, allowing it to be as robust and unique as it is today and shareable to our airwaves. Kurt Gottschalk will be hosting the broadcast in honor of what would've been Peter Cox's 90th birthday.

Listen at 89.9 FM NY and HD, or stream it at wkcr.org.

WKCR is delighted to announce our 24-hour annual birthday broadcast for jazz great Max Roach this January 10, 2025. All regularly scheduled programming will be preempted to bring you 24 straight hours of one of jazz’s finest and most influential drummers.

Sid Gribetz presents a five hour retrospective of Grant Green this Sunday, January 5, 2025 from 2-7 PM. Grant Green was one of the all time greats of jazz guitar. His flame burned brightly for a time, but he is to a certain degree been a “forgotten” star. Green’s approach to the guitar was like that of a horn player. He played single note lines that were melodic and improvisational. His playing was free flowing and swung with a soulful spirit and deep grooves.

This Sunday December 22 from 7-9PM WKCR will broadcast a special memorial tribute to the tabla maestro, Ud Zakir Hussain. We'll be sharing two interviews with the great maestro and an excerpt from his 2020 performance at Ragas Live Festival and more.

After his passing on December 15, 2024, his collaborator for more than 50 years, John McLaughlin wrote, "The King, in whose hands, Rhythm became Magic, has left us… RIP my dearest Zakir, we will meet again.

WKCR is pleased to announce the return of the annual Bach Festival 2024. For eight days, starting at midnight on December 24th, both 89.9 FM and wkcr.org will exclusively broadcast the works of composer and organist Johann Sebastian Bach.

Join us on December 9th, all day, as we celebrate the 92nd anniversary of the birth of Donald Byrd. Born Donaldson Toussaint L’Ouverture Byrd II in Detroit, Michigan, Byrd impacted the course of jazz significantly as a leader, sideman, and mentor. As a young musician in his early twenties, he came to New York and made his mark quickly, joining Art Blakey’s Jazz Messengers within a year. His time in the Messengers was brief but important, as he stayed with Blakey through a transition period from the original band.

WKCR is excited to be broadcasting Talks & Tracks live from Press Play at Pioneer Works! From 12pm - 6pm on December 7th and 8th, tune in to hear a phenomenal lineup of speakers and tunes you will not want to miss! Check out the full line up here.

Press Play is a weekend-long fair of books, small presses, records, art, ephemera, and publications of all kinds, organized by Pioneer Works that is free and open to the public.

WKCR announces our annual celebration of the extraordinary Coleman Hawkins with a 24-hour birthday broadcast on November 21st, the 120th anniversary of his birth. Born on November 21st, 1904, Hawkins was a larger-than-life figure in the jazz world. It’s safe to say “Hawk” (who was also called “Bean”) influenced every saxophone player to come after him, directly or indirectly. With his signature sound and harmonic approach, he helped make the saxophone an essential instrument in jazz.

Unquestionably one of the greatest musicians of all-time, Roy Haynes generated an endlessly hip, dancing and undulating rhythmic current that powered innumerable bandstands and inspired countless listeners. Born in Boston on March 13, 1925, Haynes quickly established himself within the forefront of the music upon moving to New York in 1945 to join Luis Russell and remained the epitome of modern drumming for the rest of his career.

WKCR will honor the groundbreaker Lou Donaldson tomorrow, Tuesday Nov. 12th, with a memorial broadcast from 9:30am-9pm. As announced by his family, Donaldson passed away on November 9 at the age of 98.

WKCR is thrilled to announce the return of its highly anticipated Hip Hop Festival, an event that honors both the vibrant history of the genre and the station’s longstanding commitment to playing alternative and less-heard hip hop. The festival, preempting all regular programming on Friday November 15th, is a testament to WKCR's deep connection to hip hop's roots, its evolution, and its place in music history.

WKCR is very excited to announce the return of our fabled 48-hour Country Music Festival this upcoming weekend. Pre-empting all regular programming for Sunday and Monday, this festival will give listeners the opportunity to dive deep into the varied and rich traditions of country music. Being one of only a few tri-state area stations that honors traditional, eccentric, or less-heard country styles, we are more than proud to put this festival on and to have a bigger opportunity to play a variety of the music that the country genre has to offer.

WKCR is very excited to announce an eight-and-a-half-hour broadcast celebrating the 81st birthday of legendary musician Joni Mitchell. Known for her unique tunings, transcendent voice, and lyrical abilities, Mitchell has come to be seen as one of the defining singer-songwriters of the 20th century, with her albums Blue, Ladies of the Canyon, and Court and Spark all going platinum.