WKCR 89.9FM NY

The next round of WKCR merch is up at https://www.customink.com/fundraising/wkcr-2022! Sale ends on Thursday, April 7. Order and help support non-commercial radio and great music

Join us from 2-7 PM this Sunday as Stephen Park hosts a special five-hour Jazz Profiles show on the incredible saxophonist Clifford Jordan. Selections will be played from across Jordan's recording career as well as an excerpt from a rare 1986 interview hosted by Leigh Kamman, courtesy of The Leigh Kamman Legacy Project.

The WKCR Jazz department proudly present 72 non-stop hours of birthday broadcast programming as part of WKCR's birthday week 2022!

From 12:00 AM 3/9 - 12:00 PM 3/10, 36 hours of Ornette Coleman

From 12:00 PM 3/10 - 12:00 PM 3/11, 24 hours of Bix Beiderbecke

From 12:00 PM 3/11 - 11:59 PM 3/11, 12 hours of Bobby McFerrin

These will be the final three in a series of five birthday broadcasts during the week of 3/7-3/11.

Keep your radio tuned to 89.9 FM to catch all our Jazz birthday programming!

On 3/8/22 the WKCR Latin department is proud to present 24 hours of Johnny Ventura!

This will be the second in a series of five birthday broadcasts during the week of 3/7-3/11.

Check the news section for information on the other four.

Keep your radio tuned to 89.9 FM to catch all our Johnny Ventura programming!

Here is the slate of programs (as of 3/5/22):

12:00AM - 3:00AM - Stefan Zuniuk

3:00AM - 6:00AM - Joe Mannozzi III

6:00AM - 9:00AM - German Santana

9:00AM - 12:00PM - TBA

12:00PM - 3:00PM - Sam Seliger

On 3/7/22 the WKCR Classical department is proud to present 24 hours of Maurice Ravel!

This will be the first in a series of five birthday broadcasts during the week of 3/7-3/11.

Check our main page for information on the other four.

Keep your radio tuned to 89.9 FM to catch all our Ravel programming!

Here is the full slate of programs:

12:00AM - 3:00AM - Oscar Lloyd - String Works

3:00AM - 6:00AM - Stefan Zeniuk - One-act Operas

6:00AM - 9:00AM - Melody Lu - Piano Works

Join us this Sunday from 2-5 pm as Melody Lu makes her Jazz Profiles debut featuring the great female vocalist Dinah Washington. Tune in at 89.9 PM or at WKCR.org to listen to her extensive discography and hear about her impact on jazz.

WKCR is excited to introduce Extended Technique, a joint show in the Classical and New Music Departments for contemporary classical music, which will air on Wednesdays and Thursdays from 3-6pm. Tune in for the inaugural show today (2/23/22) with Maria Shaughnessy! Then tune in for our second show Thursday (2/24/22) with Benji Shapere!

WKCR merch sale is now live! Visit https://www.customink.com/fundraising/wkcr-studio-design-shirt?side=front&type=1&zoom=false for WKCR t-shirts and https://www.customink.com/fundraising/wkcr-bachfest-tote-bag for BachFest 2021 tote bags. Sale ends on Monday, February 28. Order and help support non-commercial radio and great music!

WKCR presents a 126-hour long Phil Schaap tribute broadcast, beginning 6pm Tuesday February 1st and running continuously for five full days through midnight, Sunday February 6.

Phil passed away on September 7, 2021 at the age of 70. For over 50 years he was the guiding light and spiritual leader of jazz programming at our radio station. His death affected us all dearly, but we have gathered ourselves to honor him the way he taught us to do for all jazz luminaries, with a long running in depth radio broadcast.

On Tuesday, January 25th, WKCR celebrates the music and life of Antônio Carlos Brasileiro de Almeida Jobim, or "Tom," on what would be his 95th birthday. Composer, pianist, songwriter, arranger and singer, Jobim's contributions to music in Brazil and worldwide are immeasurable.

Tune in this Monday, January 10th for our annual 24-hour Max Roach Birthday Broadcast, in celebration of the legendary drummer on what would be his 98th birthday.

WKCR is thrilled to announce this year's Bach Festival, an 8-day long pre-emption where will feature only the music and genius of Johann Sebastian Bach. From Christmas Eve (12/24) through New Year's Eve (12/31), tune in to WKCR-FM NY 89.9 and wkcr.org for 192 hours of Bach as we celebrate another year's end with our annual Bachfest. This year, we celebrate the 44th anniversary of the Bachfest tradition. See our programming schedule below!

Today the Student Workers of Columbia have called for a complete shutdown of campus, following an announcement by the university that striking workers may be fired and replaced in the coming semester. In lieu of our typical programming schedule, WKCR FM-NY will be broadcasting live strike coverage throughout the day (8am-6pm), interwoven with archival coverage of the 1968 campus strike. Tune in online at wkcr.org or on the dial at 89.9FM-NY.

Starting at midnight on November 19th, and running for 24 hours, WKCR is proud to be presenting the 10th annual Ragas Live Festival. Born as a 24 hour live in-studio broadcast featuring 50 musicians in 2012, the festival expanded to a live concert experience in 2016, beaming to WKCR from Pioneer Works in front of an enthusiastic live audience.

Join WKCR on air this Saturday, October 30th as we dedicate 24 hours of programming to legendary trumpeter Clifford “Brownie” Brown!

Sunday October 10, 2021 is the 104th anniversary of Thelonious Monk’s birthday. Join us at WKCR 89.9FM-NY and www.wkcr.org all day on Sunday for a celebration of his life and legacy.

On Thursday, September 23rd, WKCR will conduct its annual all-day tribute to John Coltrane on the 95th anniversary of his birth. Born on September 23, 1926 in North Carolina, Coltrane is celebrated to this day for his innovative work on alto, tenor, and soprano saxophones, as well as his enormous contributions to the genres of bebop, hard bop, and free and avant-garde jazz. From the late 1940s to the mid-late 1950s, Coltrane collaborated with numerous jazz titans, performing as a sideman with the likes of Dizzy Gillespie, Thelonious Monk, and Miles Davis, among others.

Beginning Friday, 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, 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. Join WKCR in celebrating two individuals who were true pioneers of their music.

In his autobiography, Swing That Music, Louis Armstrong titled the first chapter “Jazz and I Get Born Together.” Dating his birthday July 4, 1900, Armstrong created a mythology that linked his own birth to the birth of Jazz and the birth of America. While he may have been mistaken about the exact date (most historians believe it's August 4th), he was not wrong to connect his life with the beginnings of this American art form. It is now believed that his actual birthday was on August 4th, so we celebrate both dates with an all-day broadcast of the great's music.

Airwave Premieres: WKCR x Columbia Composers

Join us from midnight onwards on Thursday, April 29, in celebrating the 122nd anniversary of the birth of Edward Kennedy “Duke” Ellington, one of the most important composers and accomplished bandleaders in the history of jazz. In a career spanning more than fifty years, Ellington composed thousands of songs for the stage, screen and contemporary songbooks, crafting distinctive ensemble sounds that are complex yet accessible.

Join us all day Sunday 5/21 for a 24-hour special birthday celebration of the music of Ella Fitzgerald! Born April 25, 1917 and raised primarily in Yonkers, New York and Harlem, Ella Fitzgerald rose to prominence as a jazz vocalist in Chick Webb's big band in the late 30's and early 40's. After Webb passed away in 1939, Fitzgerald assumed leadership of the band and toured and recorded with the group until 1942. In the 1940's, Fitzgerald helped to bring the bebop style to vocal jazz namely through what is known as scat singing.

This Friday, April 23, WKCR will have its first ever Earth Day Celebration! Tune in all day on Friday for music and talk shows about Earth, environment, and sustainability, with contributions from Columbia students and Columbia departments including Columbia Earth Institute, Columbia Engineering, and School of International and Public Affairs.

Thursday, April 22, 2021 All Day

Cornetist, pianist, and composer Leon “Bix” Beiderbecke was one of the great musical innovators to emerge in the 1920s. One of jazz’s earliest soloists, he is of enduring importance to the dynamic history of jazz. This Wednesday, WKCR will dedicate 24 hours of programming to Bix in honor of his 118^th birthday anniversary.

Join us Tuesday March 9 for a 24-hour Broadcast celebrating Ornette Coleman's birthday!

Randolph Denard Ornette Coleman (March 9, 1930 - June 11, 2015) was an American jazz saxophonist, violinist, trumpeter and composer. Born and raised in Fort Worth, TX, he was one of the major innovators of the free jazz movement of the 1960s, a term he invented with the name of a 1961 album.