WKCR 89.9FM NY

In keeping with the spirit of Memorial Day and with a many-years old tradition, WKCR will be dedicating all Jazz programming this Holiday Weekend exclusively to the Big Band Sound. This glorious event will begin on Saturday at 6pm during Traditions in Swing.

Saturday, May 23:
6-9pm Traditions in Swing

Sunday, May 24:
1-6am Jazz 'til Dawn
2-7pm Jazz Profiles

Tune in tonight on Som do Brasil to listen to an interview with Walson Botelho, founder and director of the Balé Folclórico da Bahia (Folkloric Ballet of Bahia). They will be performing at the Brooklyn Academy of Music (BAM) as part of DanceAfrica 2015.

In honor of Richard Wagner's birthday on May 22nd, Afternoon Classical on Thursday May 21st (3:00-6:00 PM) and Friday May 22nd (3:00-4:30 PM) will be dedicated exclusively to Richard Wagner.

Thursday's Afternoon Classical will feature an unforgettable live 1956 performance of Der Fliegende Holländer from Bayreuth with the legendary George London in the title role, Astrid Varnay as Senta, and Joseph Keilberth conducting. Elisabeth Stam hosts.

WKCR will be celebrating and mourning the illustrious life of the one and only B.B. King from 6am to 6pm on Saturday, May 16. King's music can be heard in the airwaves on 89.9FM NY or online at WKCR.org.

Mitch Goldman and drummer Pheeroan akLaff put Eric Dolphy in Deep Focus tonight, Monday May 11th, during Jazz Alternatives from 6:00 PM to 9:00 PM. Startling rare recordings from the WKCR archives will be brought to light. Please join us.

For the third consecutive year, Columbia Baseball hosts Dartmouth in the Ivy League Championship Series. The Lions seek their third straight Ivy Title and another trip to the NCAA tournament. Coverage begins Saturday at 11:55 a.m. on the MP3 stream for Game 1. Game 2 will begin 30 minutes after the conclusion of Game 1 and can be heard both online and on 89.9 FM. If necessary, Game 3 would be played on Sunday, with coverage beginning at 12:50 p.m. on 89.9 FM and online. Follow @WKCRsports for further updates.

In honor and celebration of Russian composer Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky's 175th Birthday, the WKCR Classical Department will be dedicating select Classical programming exclusively to Tchaikovsky's compositions. Please join us in commemorating Tchaikovsky's birthday and his remarkable contributions to classical music by tuning in to the following programs:

Tune in this Saturday as the two-time defending champion Lions face their biggest game of the season. Columbia and Penn both finished tied atop the Lou Gehrig Division with records of 16-4. The winner of Saturday's game will host the Ivy League Championship Series next weekend. Coverage begins with Lions Countdown at 12:50 p.m.

Tune in to Out to Lunch on Tuesday May 5 to hear a live interview with Helen Merrill. She’ll play some of her favorite songs and talk about her recordings with Clifford Brown, her time in Japan, and her collaborations in the 1980’s with British pianist Gordon Beck. Join us in celebrating her illustrious sixty year career.

Tune in this Wednesday at 11:59pm to listen to an interview with Marisa Monte and Arto Lindsay. They will be performing on May 1st and 2nd at the Opera House of the Brooklyn Academy of Music (BAM) the show Samba Noise, an exclusive musical project crafted for BAM. Marisa Monte is from Rio de Janeiro and has a unique singing style with influences from samba, pop and experimental music.

Join us on Wednesday, April 29th as we celebrate the 116th anniversary of the birth of Edward Kennedy "Duke" Ellington, one of the most significant figures in the history of jazz. His innovations in orchestration and composition have informed much of the development of the music. Originally from Washington DC, he moved to New York City where, in 1927, he began his tenure at the Cotton Club. It was there that he rose to international stardom.

As promised, this week's Saturday Night At The Opera is an electrifying live performance of Giuseppe Verdi's La Forza del Destino. Recorded while the Teatro Alla Scala was on tour in Stuttgart, the performance features a legendary cast in its prime, including: Cesare Siepi; Giuseppe di Stefano; and soprano sfogato Leyla Gencer as Leonora. Stepan Atamian hosts.

For the first studio recording of Vivaldi's sixteenth opera Ercole sul Termodonte, no expense was spared to ensure a spectacular cast of Baroque specialists. Rolando Villazon, in excellent voice, leads an all-star cast including Joyce DiDonato, Diana Damrau, Vivica Genaux, Philippe Jaroussky, and Topi Lehtipuu, with Fabio Biondi leading the Europa Galante. Stepan Atamian hosts. Due to the length of La Forza del Destino, it will be broadcast following the conclusion of WKCR's fundraiser.

WKCR Sports will be preempting the MP3 Stream today to bring you coverage of Columbia-Penn baseball. Both teams (14-2) are tied coming into the final weekend of the regular season for the second straight season. Coverage begins at 12:55pm on the mp3 stream. Game two begins 30 minutes after Game One's conclusion. We will resume normal programming in between games. For our regular programming, please tune-in on your FM dial to 89.9!

On Wednesday April 22nd 2015 at 12:00 AM, WKCR will celebrate the birth of one of the great innovators of American music, bassist and composer Charles Mingus. He was able to accomplish what so many of today's musicians strive for: his music was always original, transcending genre boundaries yet always remaining deeply rooted in the jazz tradition. Early in his career, he performed with such greats as Louis Armstrong, Kid Ory, and Lionel Hampton.

Tune in for a special edition of the Firing Lion this Wednesday at 9 p.m. as Columbia's new Athletic Director, Peter Pilling, joins the panel live in studio as our special guest. We'll discuss the state of Columbia Athletics and give our normal update on the weekend in Columbia sports. If you have any questions for Pilling, be sure to send us an email!

Tune in Wednesday evening from 6-9 PM to hear this week's edition of the Musician's Show, where we will be joined by guitarist Rez Abbasi. Born in Pakistan, Abbasi moved to Southern California at the age of four with his family. He studied jazz and classical music at the University of Southern California and Manhattan School of Music and Indian classical music with tabla virtuoso, Ustad Alha Rahka, accompanist to Ravi Shankar and father of Zakir Hussain.

Members of the Association for the Advancement of Creative Musicians (AACM) George Lewis, Petr Kotik, and Muhal Richard Abrahms join us to discuss their work with the AACM in light of the tribute to the ensemble's 50th anniversary that will take place on April 28th and 29th at the Bohemian National Hall. With members as diverse as Jack DeJohnette, Anthony Braxton, Wadada Leo Smith, and Roscoe Mitchell (among many others), the group has maintained their position at the avant garde for the whole of their time together.

Momenta Quartet performs a program of modern works for string quartet at the WKCR studios in advance of their performance at the 2015 Mata Festival this Thursday, April 16. Featured composers this evening include: Eric Nathan, Guy Barash, Matthew Greenbaum, Julián Carrillo, Philip Glass and Arthur Kampela.

The director of the Barnard College Music Department and the Barnard-Columbia Chorus, Gail Archer is particularly famous as an organist. Tune in to Friday's Bach Hour for an exclusive interview on her recording of the Great 18 Chorale Preludes, as well as for her upcoming appearance leading the Barnard-Columbia Chorus in the St. Matthew Passion.

Last year, the late Robert Ashley's final opera Crash premiered to sold-out houses and rave reviews at the Whitney Biennial. Audiences will have another chance to see the opera when it returns to Roulette next week. Tune in to Thursday's Cereal Music to hear Mimi Johnson, Ashley's wife, and members of the cast come discuss this fascinating, final work. Stepan Atamian hosts.

Tune in on Wednesday, April 8 at 8PM for an interview with writer and educator Dr. Farah Jasmine Griffin, author of If You Can't Be Free, Be A Mystery: In Search of Billie Holiday (2002), as part of WKCR's weeklong Billie Holiday Centennial Festival. Dr. Griffin will be a part of "When the Moon Turns Green: The Myth and Music of Billie Holiday", a panel discussion with other Lady scholars Dr.

Tune in tonight at 8PM for an interview with vocalist and educator Christine Correa on the lasting influence of Lady Day as part of WKCR's weeklong Billie Holiday Centennial Festival. As an avant-garde jazz vocalist, Christine has studied, performed and recorded with Steve Lacy, Ran Blake, John LaPorta, and Jeanne Lee, among others, and has appeared at numerous festivals and clubs in the US, Europe, Africa, the Middle East and India.

Tune in to Saturday Night At The Opera for our annual Parsifal broadcast over Easter weekend. In many ways, Parsifal is Richard Wagner's true magnum opus, a final work that represents the culmination of his entire operatic career. This year, we will be playing Rafael Kubelik's often overlooked 1980 recording that features the Bavarian Radio Symphony Orchestra & Chorus.

Tune in Wednesday evening from 6-9 PM to hear this week's edition of the Musician's Show, where we will be joined by drummer, composer, songwriter, and producer Nate Smith. Smith was born and raised in Chesapeake, Virginia and came to the drum set at age 11. He was recruited by jazz vocalist Betty Carter to be a part of her Jazz Ahead program, alumni of which include Jason Moran, Cyrus Chestnut, and Jacky Terrasson. While attending graduate school at Virginia Commonwealth University as a member of the Carpenter Fellowship Program, he met jazz bassist and composer Dave Holland.

Tune in to is Raag Aur Tal this Sunday, March 29th from 7pm to 9pm where we will premiering selections from the new release from the Brooklyn Raga Massive. Next, we will be joined by special guests vocalist Anurag Harsh and raga pianist Utsav Lal who will be performing at Carnegie Hall the following weekend. Hosted by David Ellenbogen.

Tune in Saturday for WKCR's guest, Robert Parks, who will present a selection of recordings related to the 150th anniversary of the premiere of Wagner's Tristan und Isolde -- comparing landmark performances, including the Liebestod in Italian and French; looking at possible influences on Wagner, some passages in Liszt piano music and songs and the very long-phrased finale to Bellini’s Norma, which Wagner conducted when he was a young man; and noting its influence on other composers, including Liszt’s piano transcription of

Tune in this Wednesday at 11pm on Som do Brasil to listen to a live set and interview with Joanna Nova York, winner of the 2015 Brazilian Press Awards.