WKCR 89.9FM NY

Ragas are refined modes of Indian classical music that are designed to be played at specific times of day. 6 years ago a community of over 50 musicians collaborated at the legendary FM Station WKCR, to bring New York City, and listeners around the world, through a live 24 hour cycle of raga.

Tune in from 5 AM on Friday, October 20 until 10 AM on Saturday, October 21st as we celebrate the centennial birthday of the great Dizzy Gillespie by playing 29 hours of Dizzy's music.

Tune in to the Musician’s Show this Wednesday, October 18 from 6-9 PM ET for a live interview with saxophonist Tim Armacost. After landing in New York in 1993, Armacost quickly established his presence as a leader, releasing his first two albums, “Fire” (Concord) and “Live at Smalls” (Double Time) to critical acclaim. His hard hitting third release, “The Wishing Well,” (Double Time) announced the arrival of Armacost’s working unit, featuring Bruce Barth, Ray Drummond, and Billy Hart.

Tune in to Afternoon New Music this Tuesday, October 17 at 5pm ET for an interview with avant garde jazz trio Moon Hooch. Moon Hooch has been hailed as "unhinged" and "irresistible" by NPR music. The group will speak with WKCR in the middle of a lengthy tour and prior to two nights at the Bowery Ballroom (10/18 and 10/19).

Tune in to Studio A on Sunday, October 15th from 9-10 pm EST to hear an interview with poet Malcolm Friend. Malcolm Friend is the author of the chapbook mxd kd mixtape (forthcoming, Glass Poetry), and has received awards and fellowships from organizations including CantoMundo, VONA/Voices of Our Nations, Backbone Press, and the University of Memphis.

On October 14th between 9:00 PM and 1:00 AM the next day, WKCR will feature a feminist dialogue about and partial broadcast of Puccini's La Bohème. The discussion will feature conversation with Professors Naomi André, Mary Birnbaum, Suzanne Cusick, Lydia Goehr, and Annie Randall. Listen at WKCR 89.9 FM and wkcr.org.

On tonight's Middle Eastern Influences, Anna Simone Reumert and Mira al-Rahim present “Syria: Art in a time of revolution, exile and war”. Reumert and al-Rahim have interviewed Abdallah al-Kafri (Beirut), Ali Atassi (Beirut), and Fadi Yazigi (Damascus) about their respective art-making in the context of present-day Syria. All recordings were done in Beirut, Lebanon this summer. "Syria: Art in a time of revolution, exile and war" will be available on Soundcloud after airing.

Tune in to Out to Lunch this Thursday, October 12 from 12-3 PM ET for an interview with rising saxophonist Mike Casey. A graduate of the Jackie McLean Institute of Jazz at the University of Hartford’s Hartt School, as well as an alumnus of the distinguished Betty Carter Jazz Ahead program, Casey has excelled as a sideman at such famous venues as Dizzy’s Club Coca-Cola, Minton’s and Smalls Jazz Club.

Tune in to Afternoon New Music this Wednesday from 3-4pm for an exclusive interview with composer-guitarist Steven Mackey and composer-percussionist Jason Treuting prior to their album debut concert later that evening. Mackey and Treuting released their first collaboration, Orpheus Unsung, this past Friday.

Tune in to the Musician’s Show this Wednesday, October 11 from 6-9 PM ET for a live interview with saxophonist and composer Paul Jones.

Tune in on October 10 to WKCR 89.9 FM-NY for 24 hours of Thelonious Sphere Monk’s music in celebration of his 100th birthday. Born in 1917 in North Carolina but raised in Manhattan, Monk first established his musicianship as a mostly self-taught travelling church organist. He marked his grand entrance into the New York jazz scene in 1941 as the new house pianist at the Minton’s Playhouse, the breeding grounds of bebop.

Tune in to Afternoon New Music this Monday (10/9), 3-6 PM, to hear an interview with Lisa Mezzacappa prior to the premiere of her song cycle, Glorious Ravage, at Roulette on October 12th.

Tune in this Sunday (10/8) from 10:00-11:00 PM to hear a live set from avant-garde jazz pianist Peter Apfelbaum on Live Constructions at WKCR. An associate artistic director for Creative Music Studio, Apfelbaum will be performing at WKCR a day after a performance of his world music project, Song of the Mystic Thread, at Greenwich House Music School.

Abraham Brody, violinist and performer who is artist-in-residence at National Sawdust this season, will be performing live at WKCR this Sunday (10/1) from 10:00 to 11:00 PM with his group Pletai. The group's music explores the ancient and modern connection between Slavic and Baltic folklore.

Tune in to Studio A on Sunday, October 1st from 9-10 pm to hear an interview with poet Kevin Hogan. Kevin Hogan is a survivor, human rights advocate, and poet whose début collection, My Ríastrad, was named a 2016 Lambda Literary Awards Finalist. The conversation will cover both Hogan's literary work and his activism on overcoming societal stigma.

Tune in to the Musician’s Show this Wednesday, September 27 from 6-9 PM ET for a live interview with New York City organist/pianist Brian Charette. Brian has established himself as a leading voice in modern Jazz. Charette is a Grammy-nominated, Hammond-endorsed artist who was the winner of the 2014 Downbeat Critics’ Poll Rising Star: Organ award and has climbed to 4th place in The Critic's Poll main organ category.

Tune into Arts Waves this Friday, September 22nd at 9 PM EST for a special Spanish news program with guest host Kelvin Quintanilla. Quintanilla is a radio veteran and an active member of the New Sanctuary Coalition of New York City, an interfaith network of congregations, organizations and individuals, standing publicly in solidarity with families and communities resisting detention and deportation.

Tune in to Jazz Alternatives from 6-9 PM on Friday, September 22 for as we welcome Adam Rudolph into our studio for an interview and discussion of his upcoming releases. For the past four decades composer, improviser, and percussionist Adam Rudolph has performed extensively in concert throughout North & South America, Europe, Africa, and Asia. Rudolph has been hailed as "a pioneer in world music" by the NY Times and "a master percussionist" by Musician magazine.

Tune in to the Musician’s Show this Wednesday, September 20 from 6-9 PM ET for a live interview with Brazilian-born guitarist Ricardo Grilli. Based in New York City, Grilli is an influential figure in the modern guitar scene, and has received excellent reviews in renowned publications such as the New York Times, Downbeat, Jazz Times and All About Jazz.

Tune in to Studio A on Sept. 17th from 9-10 pm EST to hear an interview with Wren Hanks, author of chapbooks Prophet Fever (Hyacinth Girl Press) and Ghost Skin (Porkbelly Press). Wren is a 2016 Lambda Emerging Writers Fellow and his work has appeared in Best New Poets 2016, Gigantic Sequins, and The Wanderer among others.

Tune in for an open discussion with saxophonist Matana Roberts this Tuesday on Afternoon New Music from 3-4pm EST. Roberts brings her sax and expounds on the ideas that underpin her upcoming sound cycle, "breathe..." a conceptual work which draws on her recent residency in Prismatic Park (in Madison Square Gardens).

Tune in to the Musician’s Show this Wednesday, September 13 from 6-9 PM ET for a live interview with American jazz pianist and vocalist Champian Fulton. Born in Oklahoma, she has become a world class Jazz pianist and vocalist with international acclaim. Champian grew up with music in her home, and the presence of her father’s musician friends, including Clark Terry and Major Holley, inspired her focus on Jazz.

Tune into Jazz Alternatives on Tuesday, September 12 from 6-9 PM ET for a preview of the upcoming White Plains Jazz Fest, a 5-day celebration of jazz in White Plains, NY from Sept 13-17. We will be hosting a live discussion on air of the upcoming festival, as well as sharing some oral histories of local musicians and interviews with artists who will be performing there.

Tune in to the Musician's Show on Wednesday, August 30 from 6-9pm ET for an interview with bassist Alexander Claffy. “CLAFFY,” 23 years old, has been immersed in music since birth. His father a pianist, his mother, a vocalist, he had many of his earliest lessons on bandstands in the heart of Philadelphia. As a teenager, CLAFFY found mentorship in many natives of Philadelphia's rich music scene from Hard-Bop to Hip-Hop.