WKCR 89.9FM NY

With Piece by Piece—a Lego movie about Pharrell Williams rise to stardom,—releasing on October 11, it’s only fitting that you join us in a 5 hour journey into the genius of one of the most prolific artists of our generation. With over 2800 credits as a producer, song writer, vocalist, and arranger, Pharrell’s musical legacy is vast. Tune in at 89.9 FM or stream it on wkcr.org as we chronicle the depths of this legend's discography from 2-7 pm EST on Sunday, August 11th.

This Thursday, August 1, at 12 noon (ET), WKCR welcomes the John David Simon Sextet! Hosted by Rachel Smith, they will perform live on the air.The sextet features John David Simon on tenor sax and flute, David Sneider on trumpet and flugelhorn, Rob Block on guitar and piano, Tom Kirchmer on bass, Mike Campenni on drum set, and Tara Nova on vocals.The set will be followed by a brief in-studio interview.Tune in at 89.9 FM or wkcr.org to catch this special live show!

WKCR is very excited to celebrate––for the second time this year––the birthday of cornet, trumpet, and vocal jazz legend Louis Armstrong. A much beloved figure, Armstrong is equally well known by his nicknames “Satchmo,” “Satch,” and “Pops.”

Tomorrow, Sunday, July 21st, WKCR will honor the life and work of Bernice Johnson Reagon. Beginning with our Amazing Grace program at 8am, the broadcast will run through The Moonshine Show and our memorial broadcast will feature the music of Reagon including work from her time with the Freedom Singers and Sweet Honey in the Rock.

Tune in to join us in honoring an artist, scholar, and activist who left a profound impact through her music and teachings.
8am - 12pm on WKCR 89.9 FM

This Saturday, July 13, celebrate the birthday of the great Albert Ayler with WKCR. From 3-6 PM, host Rachel Smith brings in bassist Steve Tintweiss and producer Jeff Lederer to shine a spotlight on Ayler’s late recordings, particularly the July 1970 concerts at the Fondation Maeght—released in full on the 4-CD or 5-LP set, Revelations. Change the way you remember Albert Ayler. Tune in at 89.9 FM or wkcr.org.

In honor of an upcoming concert on July 20, at the Town Hall in collaboration with the Indo American Arts Council in NYC, join WKCR host Manisha for an interview with DR. L. SUBRAMANIAM & KAVITA KRISHNAMURTI during tomorrow’s Raag Aur Taal from 7-9 pm EST.

Tune in this Sunday, July 7th, from 2-7 PM EST as host Maki Nientao explores the life and music of pianist Sonny Clark, featuring an interview with author Sam Stephenson. One of the great jazz pianists to emerge from the Pittsburgh area (including Mary Lou Williams, Earl Hines, Billy Strayhorn, Ahmad Jamal, and Erroll Garner), Clark was a skilled accompanist as well as a swinging and soulful soloist whose music was profound through its clarity and straightforwardness.

WKCR is elated to announce a 24-hour broadcast in honor of the great saxophonist Albert Ayler. With a distinct sound and style revered by John Coltrane, Ayler was an icon of avant-garde jazz.

Tune in this Sunday during Raag aur Taal for a conversation around the use of AI in the music industry, hosted by Manisha and Hidayat Husain Khan

89.9 FM or

Tune in this Sunday from 2-7 PM EST for a look into the vast discography of guitarist and composer Jeff Parker. A career spanning numerous decades and genres, Parker is well-known for his prolific work with a multitude of bands, including the alternative instrumental rock group Tortoise, the jazz-funk ensemble of Isotope 217, and the free jazz of the Chicago Underground, as well as many other appearances on albums featured as a sideman.

Tune in on Thursday, July 4 as we celebrate the chosen birthday of trumpeter, vocalist Louis Armstrong with 24 hours of his music beginning at midnight. In his autobiography, Swing That Music, Louis Armstrong titled the first chapter “Jazz and I Get Born Together.” Dating his birthday July 4, 1900 (as his mother had always told him), Armstrong created a mythology that linked his own birth to the birth of Jazz and the birth of America.

Sid Gribetz presents Harold Land for a five hour retrospective radio program this Sunday, June 23, 2024, from 2-7 PM on WKCR. Land was best known as the tenor saxophonist in the original Clifford Brown-Max Roach Quintet. But his prolific and accomplished career lasted more than four decades thereafter, although never gaining the more widespread fame that he deserved. Land possessed a firm sound and ingenious creativity on his saxophone and also was an inventive composer.

Tune in to WKCR from 2-5 pm tomorrow, June 15th, to hear WKCR broadcast live performances from the Porch Stomp Folk Music Festival on Governor’s Island.

WKCR is pleased to announce a special broadcast in honor of the great composer Igor Stravinsky, broadcast on FM and HD radio for 24 hours on June 18, 2024. The special birthday broadcast will preempt all regularly-scheduled Tuesday programming.

WKCR is very excited to announce a special broadcast in honor of the great composer and educator, Anthony Braxton. The broadcast will run for 12 hours on Tuesday June 4th and will preempt regular programming from Cereal Music through our News and Arts Programming that evening.

Sid Gribetz presents a five hour radio show taking a close look at “Coltrane on Prestige” on this Sunday Profiles, May 19, 2024 from 2-7 PM.John Coltrane is a major figure in our culture. The majesty, grandeur and passion of his saxophone communicates with the soul and has inspired the reverence and spiritual devotion of his widespread listening audience.It would be difficult to profile his massive output in a single radio program.

Born in Louisville, Kentucky, on May 25th, 1924, Marshall Allen is a saxophonist, bandleader, and a fearless explorer of sound. WKCR is excited to announce a birthday broadcast on Saturday, May 25th, to celebrate his centennial.

WKCR is excited to announce a 24-hour birthday celebration for Bob Dylan, broadcast on FM and HD radio and online all day on Friday, May 24th. The special broadcast will run from Middle Eastern Influences until one hour into The Mambo Machine. The broadcast will preempt all regularly scheduled Friday shows.

WKCR is excited to announce a 24-hour broadcast for May 22nd celebrating the 110th anniversary of the arrival of Sun Ra (1914-1993). This special broadcast will run from 1:00 am on the 22nd until 1:00 am on the 23rd. It will preempt all regularly-scheduled Wednesday shows.

WKCR is excited to announce a special broadcast celebrating the shared birthday of two of the greatest composers of the 19th century: Johannes Brahms and Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky. Both born on May 7th, (Brahms in 1833 and Tchaikovsky in 1840) WKCR will play the music of both, in alternating installments to honor their lives and work.

The special broadcast not only honors both composers work and contributions to mid-Romantic and Romantic periods of classical music, but facilitates a dialogue between both composers.

Tune in at 89.9 FM on the dial, and at WKCR.org

Tune into WKCR on May 9, 2024 starting at 12 noon ET to hear an exclusive, 40-minute interview with saxophonist Charles McPherson on his latest album, Reverence. McPherson speaks of his time with Barry Harris and Charles Mingus, the inspiration for the tracks on his new album, and the crossover between musical, artistic, and literary worlds. After the interview, we will listen to the album.Jazz host Rachel Smith recorded this interview on April 20, six days before the album's release.

BREAKING NEWS: At around 4am this morning, students on campus occupied the East Lawn outside of Butler Library, with approximately 50 tents and banners reading “Liberated Zone” and “Gaza Solidarity." WKCR is currently covering these events on Columbia’s campus. Regularly scheduled programming will be intermittently preempted by these developments as they progress. This is a developing story. Tune in at 89.9 FM or WKCR.org.

WKCR is thrilled to announce a birthday broadcast in honor of bassist, composer, and cultural icon Charles Mingus, born April 22, 1922, in Nogales, AZ. The broadcast is scheduled for 24 hours on Monday, April 22.

WKCR was deeply saddened to hear the news regarding legendary Philadelphia born drummer Albert “Tootie” Heath, who passed away yesterday afternoon at Christus St. Vincent Regional Medical Center in Santa Fe. In honor of Tootie Heath's extraordinary legacy, WKCR will be dedicating a special 9-hour program tomorrow, April 5th, from 12:00 pm to 9:00 pm. This programming will preempt our regular Out to Lunch, Afternoon Classical, and Jazz Alternatives shows.

Jazz host Rachel Smith brings in a special guest, Aidan Levy, to celebrate 67 years of Sonny Rollins's iconic album, Saxophone Colossus, live on the air from 12 noon to 2 PM (ET) this Thursday, April 4. Aidan is the author of Saxophone Colossus: The Life and Music of Sonny Rollins, which is the first full biography of this living saxophone legend.The two-hour celebration will include, of course, tracks from the album, as well as stories of Sonny's life and the album's conception and a discussion of the album's legacy.

WKCR is very excited to announce a special birthday broadcast in honor of jazz vocalist and luminary Billie Holiday.

This Thursday, March 21 from 12 noon to 3 PM ET, jazz host Rachel Smith is back with another special guest: legendary pianist Matthew Shipp. All biographies of Shipp begin with words like "prolific, "genius," and "iconic." He is hailed, above all, for the uniqueness of his style. Those descriptions only scratch the surface.Together, Rachel and Matthew will trace the trajectory of his career, from the 1980s to today.

WKCR is very pleased to announce a 48-hour broadcast in honor of the 100th anniversary of the birth of legendary jazz vocalist Sarah Vaughan.

Nicknamed “Sassy” and “the Divine One,” Vaughan had a range that went from baritone to soprano. With her inventive, lyrical style, she helped popularize the art of jazz singing, along with Ella Fitzgerald and Billie Holiday.