WKCR 89.9FM NY

Sid Gribetz presents a five hour radio program celebrating the career of Buddy DeFranco Sunday February 19, 2023 from 2-7 PM on Jazz Profiles, WKCR.

DeFranco was one of the greats among the clarinet players in modern jazz. He possessed a cerebral sophistication and intelligence, which, together with his masterful facility and command of the instrument and great sense of swing, made him one of our jazz giants. His tone on the clarinet was always warm, woody, and welcoming.

We will be hosting a birthday broadcast for American composer Philip Glass all-day on January 31st. 89.9FM wkcr.org

Schedule:

Join us from February 2nd to the 3rd as we celebrate the life and work of our beloved departed colleague Phil Schaap with a 48 hour memorial broadcast in his honor. In a now annual tradition, we mark the date of Phil’s broadcasting debut with a tribute of various archival broadcasts, providing a small sampling of his large body of work. Archival programs that will be aired include shows not normally heard during the year, including interviews, episodes of Out to Lunch, festival shows, and much more. A complete schedule is available below:

Sid Gribetz presents a five hour radio program featuring the career of Oscar Pettiford this Sunday December 4, 2022 from 2-7 PM on WKCR.

Oscar Pettiford was one of the leading innovative jazz bass players who came of age during the bebop era. He unleashed a sense of dynamic swing that set the standard influencing bass styles to this very day, and his lyrical, free flowing solos on bass, and later in his career on pizzicato cello, have lasting beauty that transcends the conventions of these instruments.

This week we'll be broadcasting more Columbia sports:

Thu 11/10 7pm Men's Basketball vs. UMass-Lowell

Sat 11/12 5pm Women's Volleyball vs. Penn

Sid Gribetz presents Illinois Jacquet on Jazz Profiles for a five hour retrospective radio program this Sunday, November 6, 2022 from 2-7 PM (EST) on WKCR.

Jacquet is one of the tenor saxophone legends of jazz. Nicknamed “The Beast”, his ferocious, meaty and swinging style set an exemplar for the “tough tenors” to come, while he also had a sensitive side and meaningfully deep and hearty approach on ballads and standards.

WKCR's On-Air Guide

The December 2025 Issue

Join us Sunday 10/30 for our annual 24 hour Clifford Brown Birthday Broadcast!

Midnight-Midnight

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WKCR welcomes the return of live sports broadcasts after more than two and a half years as the Columbia Lions take on the Dartmouth Big Green this Saturday! Coverage begins live at Baker Field at 1:15pm with kickoff at 1:30 (all regularly scheduled shows will be pre-empted).

Presented by Pioneer Works in collaboration with Brooklyn Raga Massive and the Society for Arts and Culture of South Asia

October 22 8PM – October 23 8PM

WKCR's FM transmitter will be undergoing maintenance from 10/3-7 and 10/10-11 from 7AM-5PM. During these days and times FM signal will be unavailable. However, our web stream will remain online. Please check back here on our website or our social media channels (Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram) for continuing updates regarding the planned outage. We apologize for the inconvenience.

WKCR presents the Pharoah Sanders memorial broadcast. For 24 hours straight tomorrow (9/26, Midnight - Midnight), we will honor the late saxophonist legend with nonstop programming. A member of John Coltrane's groups of the mid-1960s, Sanders was known for his overblowing, harmonic, and multiphonic techniques on the saxophone.

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Full Schedule:

12:00AM-3:00AM: Raz Matei

3:00AM-6:00AM: Sam Seliger

6:00AM-7:20AM: Mitch Goldman Deep Focus Archive Broadcast from 2012 with Paul Shapiro

Tune into Jazz Profiles this Sunday 9/25 from 2PM-7PM as we celebrate in advance of what would be 124th birthday of composer George Gershwin. Gershwin is one of America’s most celebrated composers whose unique blend of Classical and Jazz still resonates today. The program will feature a wide ranging tour of his various compositions, including major Classical Works and Jazz Standards. 89.9FM wkcr.org

*Gershwin’s Birthday is Monday 9/26

Sid Gribetz will feature the “Prestige All Star” recordings on the next edition of “Jazz Profiles”, this Sunday September 18, 2022 from 2-7 PM on WKCR.

Join us for our annual 24 hour John Coltrane Birthday Broadcast, Midnight-Midnight 9/23. 89.9FM wkcr.org

Schedule:

12AM-3AM: Phil Schaap Archival Broadcast, originally broadcast 4/10/2010. Phil hosts an Out To Lunch focussed on John Coltrane’s first dates as a leader.

3AM-6AM: Phil Schaap Archival Broadcast, originally broadcast on 9/23/2011, Phil hosts a shift of the annual John Coltrane Birthday Broadcast.

6AM-9AM: Sam Seliger - Live

9AM-12PM: Maria Shaughnessy - Live

12PM-3PM: Stephen Park - Live

3PM-6PM: Benjamin Magid - Live

Sid Gribetz presents "Ben Webster in the 1950's", a five hour radio program on "Jazz Profiles" on WKCR this Sunday September 4, 2022, from 2-7 PM.

Join us this Thursday 9/1 from 5AM-9PM as we memorialize organist, trumpeter, saxophonist, and bandleader Joey DeFrancesco who sadly passed away this week at the age of 51.

89.9FM wkcr.org

WKCR is excited to present its annual Lester Young & Charlie Parker festival to run from August 27th to 29th. Beginning Saturday, August 27, WKCR will have a three-day festival dedicated to the music of saxophonists Lester "Prez" Young and Charlie "Bird" Parker. The 27th marks Prez's birthday, and the 29th, is Bird’s. We will play 24 hours of Young on the 27th, 24 hours of Parker on the 29th, and both Young and Parker interchangeably on the 28th.

Sid Gribetz presents the music of composer Arthur Schwartz on “Jazz Profiles”, this Sunday August 21, 2022, from 2-7 PM on WKCR radio.

This is one of a series of Profiles we’ve done over the years focusing on the jazz impact of a legendary composer from the Great American Songbook.

Join us at 2pm this Sunday for a 5 hour profile on Johnny Hartman, nicknamed “The Last Balladeer” by biographer Gregg Akkerman. Hartman began his career singing with Earl Hines and Dizzy Gillespie, before achieving great renown for his 1963 collaboration with John Coltrane. This program will feature a tour of his major discographical highlights, as well as his famed set with Coltrane. August 14th 2PM-7PM 89.9FM wkcr.org

Sid Gribetz presents a five hour radio broadcast honoring vocalist Helen Humes on "Jazz Profiles" this Sunday August 7, 2022 from 2-7 PM on WKCR.

Sid Gribetz presents a five hour tribute to Fats Navarro this Sunday, July 31, 2022, from 2-7 PM on “Jazz Profiles” on WKCR radio.

In his brief life, Fats Navarro was a fleeting spectacle of brilliance as a leading trumpeter in the history and development of jazz during the bebop years.

On August 1st, members of the station will air a special broadcast titled “Give Duke His Due” in support of the petition to award the 1965 Pulitzer Prize in music to Duke Ellington, who was selected for the award but denied.

Join us for our second of two annual Louis Armstrong Birthday Broadcast this August!

This year, we will start our August broadcast at 11PM on August 3rd, and end at 9PM on August 5th. A total of 46 hours of non-stop Louis!

Sid Gribetz presents a five hour special radio broadcast celebrating saxophonist Willis "Gator Tail" Jackson this Sunday July 24, 2022 from 2-7 PM on "Jazz Profiles" on WKCR.

Sid Gribetz examines the collaboration between Miles Davis and John Coltrane in a radio feature for five hours, this Sunday July 17, 2022 from 2-7 PM on “Jazz Profiles” on WKCR.

Miles Davis was a teenage trumpet prodigy who came to fame during the bebop years of the 1940's. Despite this reputation and additional successful endeavors, such as with the Birth of the Cool band and other post bebop ensembles, by the mid-1950's Miles had fallen from popularity and was also in ill health.