WKCR 89.9FM NY

Tune into WKCR FM starting Friday, November 20 at 7AM EST for a very special 36-hour Coleman Hawkins Birthday Broadcast! The broadcast, shifted forward due to the Ragas Live Festival’s commencement at 7PM on Sunday the 21st, will feature an extra 12 hours of programming this year to make up for the scheduling conflict. From 7AM on the November 20th to 7PM on Hawkins’s birthday, November 21st, join WKCR at 89.9 FM NY or on the website for non-stop Hawk!

Rag Aur Tal is on from 7-9PM on Sunday, November 8th, 2020!

From November 21st @ 7PM - November 22nd @ 7PM, the Ragas Live Festival, the 24 hour musical event will broadcast on WKCR. The event has the participation of artists in 13 cities across Asia, Africa, North and South America. There are 90 musicians participating including some of the greatest instrumentalists of our time including Grammy Award winners Zakir Hussain, Toumani Diabate and Vikku Vanayakram.

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

Airing Tonight:
Melting the ICE / Derritiendo el Hielo, a​ bilingual radio show sharing information, love and support to people currently detained by ICE in New Jersey, NYC and beyond is airing t​onight​ and on the ​Third Thursday of Every Month at 9pm on WKCR 89.9 FM, ​reaching the Hudson, Essex, Elizabeth and Bergen County Jails and ICE detention centers in New Jersey.

WKCR will be celebrating Indigenous Peoples’ Day this Monday, October 12 with a special 12-hour preemption centering Indigenous voices, artists, and histories. Tune in from 10AM-10PM tomorrow!

Tune in on October 10 to WKCR 89.9 FM-NY for 24 hours of Thelonious Sphere Monk’s music in celebration of his 103rd day of birth!

Hey! Due to some difficulties with our FM signal the first time around, we’ll be re-airing our 24-hour John Coltrane Birthday Broadcast! Tune in all day Tuesday (Oct. 5) to re-live the celebration.

Check out the broadcasting schedule below:

12AM-3AM: Charles Iselin plays a Trane potpourri with special tributes to McCoy Tyner and Jimmy Cobb

3AM-5AM: Program Director Mac Waters plays a variety of live and studio sessions, featuring the 1965 Paris recordings

Join WKCR this Wednesday, September 23 as we celebrate a Jazz GIANT with our annual John Coltrane Birthday Broadcast! Stay tuned for more info...

As of Thursday, June 10th, WKCR's annual FUND DRIVE is underway!!!!!

Like last year's drive, things are a little different this year: the traditions of extreme phonebanking and live-on-air appeals are on hold for now, but we've adapted to the times and found new ways to move forward nonetheless!

For those looking for additional assistance on how to donate, you're in the right place!

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. For some odd reason, historians believe his true date of birth to be August 4th, but Armstrong was definitely not wrong to connect his life with the beginnings of this American art form.

WKCR presents... BLACKOUT: VISIONS OF LIBERATION. This weekend, we’ll be airing 72-hours straight of all Black programming, curated by Black WKCR programmers. ••• The Blackout will begin at 12AM on Friday, July 3 and continue until 11:59 PM on Sunday, July 5 — with our annual Louis Armstrong Birthday broadcast airing all day July 4. Strap in for 72 hours of Black music, programs, and content!

(Originally Posted Friday, June 12, 2020)

Join us today, June 2nd, for a 24 hour Memorial Broadcast for legendary American jazz drummer Jimmy Cobb who passed away last week in Manhattan. We'll be honoring his life and musicianship all day on air with special programming, interviews, and commentary.

Tune in at 89.9 FM or here at wkcr.org!

Hi all!!!

This Thursday from 9-10 PM EST, tune in to WKCR News and Arts for an interview with Jamael Dean, 21-year-old jazz pianist, composer, producer, and rapper. Acclaimed as a ‘jazz prodigy,’ Dean is the bandleader of “Jamael Dean and the Afronauts,” plays with the Pan-Afrikan People’s Arkestra in LA, and has toured, performed, and recorded alongside the likes of Miguel Atwood-Ferguson, Thundercat, and Kamasi Washington.

Hi all, an update on streaming using Chrome,

Due to a recent Google Chrome update, streaming from the Chrome browser has been inconsistent. However, the problem is now rectified, and streaming from Chrome should no longer be an issue. Other browsers should continue to function normally.

Thanks for bearing with us!

-WKCR Board

Hello Everybody!

This Sunday, February 2, marks legendary WKCR programmer and worldwide Jazz icon Phil Schaap's 50th anniversary at WKCR!

Phil's importance to WKCR over the years is truly immeasurable.

He will be programming Jazz Profiles from 2-5pm.

Tune in Sunday and enjoy as one of Jazz Radio's greatest does what he does best.

Hey everyone!

Jazz Alternatives will be partially preempted tommorow by our Sports Department's coverage of Columbia Men's Basketball's Ivy League clash with Yale in New Haven tomorrow. The show will air from 6-7pm EST before the sports team takes over until 9.

Thanks, and Enjoy!

Hi all!

Prepare for a temporary return to a world without the internet :)

We're taking the online stream down for a short period today at 3:00 PM EST in order to move the source to a dedicated box (this basically will help ensure that it does not go down in the future).

Thanks for bearing with us!

Join WKCR on Sunday, January 30th as we celebrate the life and music of this jazz trumpeter who, according to the legendary Ella Fitzgerald, put "more soul in one note that a lot of people could get into the whole song."

This Friday, January 10th, marks what would be jazz drummer, composer, civil rights activist, educator, and overall legend Max Roach's 96th birthday. Celebrate it with us at WKCR as we honor his legacy with a 24 hour broadcast of his catalog! Working alongside Dizzy Gillespie, Charlie Parker, Duke Ellington, Thelonious Monk, and more, Roach made essential contributions to the world of jazz drumming and to bebop as a whole.

Merchandise for BachFest 2019 is now available!

https://www.customink.com/fundraising/wkcr-fm-bachfest

Tune in this Thursday, November 21, for a 24-hour broadcast of Coleman Hawkins' music in celebration of his 115th birthday anniversary! As one of the first renowned jazz tenor saxophonists, Hawkins helped to establish the instrument as essential to the genre, especially for soloists. Hawkins' warm tone and signature vibrato, along with his melodic and technical virtuosity, made him a pivotal influence on future generations of jazz pioneers.

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

It's Giving Day! We thank you for your support of WKCR operations -- your contributions keep us on the air.

To make a donation, please click here.

From October 19th at 7 pm to October 20th at 7pm, WKCR listeners around the world will tune in to hear the year’s latest developments in a growing musical movement The New York Times has called “the Raga Renaissance, flowering in Brooklyn.”

Join us on air October 10 for a 24-hour celebration of the Thelonious Monk!