WKCR 89.9FM NY

Beginning Sunday, August 27 at 12:00am ET, WKCR will have a three-day festival dedicated to the music of tenor saxophonist Lester "Prez" Young, and alto saxophonist Charlie "Bird" Parker. The 27th marks Prez's birthday, and the 29th, Bird's. On Monday, August 28th we will play both Prez and Bird interchangeably throughout the day.

Tune in to the Musician’s Show on WKCR-FM Wednesday, August 23 from 6-9 PM ET for an interview with trombonist Kalia Vandever. Vandever just graduated from The Juilliard School in New York, NY as a member of the Jazz Studies -- Bachelor of Music program. Music has taken her to Austria, Italy, and Australia as well as many cities throughout the US. She has performed in many prestigious concert venues such as Carnegie Hall, Sydney Opera House, Walt Disney Concert Hall, Preservation Hall, and the Hollywood Bowl.

Tune in to Out to Lunch today from 12-3 PM ET to honor the life of jazz guitarist and bandleader John Abercrombie, who passed away today at the age of 72. Abercrombie’s work explored jazz fusion, post bop, free jazz and avant-garde jazz. Abercrombie studied at Berklee College of Music in Boston, Massachusetts. He recorded his debut album, Timeless with Manfred Eicher's ECM label, and recorded principally with this label since then.

Tune in to Out to Lunch today, August 18 from 12-3 PM ET for an in-studio performance by Marjorie Eliot and Parlor Entertainment. An enduring figure in New York's jazz landscape, Eliot is best known for her lively spirit, expressive piano skills, and the Sunday jazz concerts hosted in her 555 Edgecombe Avenue home -- a tradition she and her friends have kept for twenty five years.

Tune in to the Musician’s Show tonight, August 16 from 6-9 PM ET for a live interview with violinist and composer Jason Kao Hwang. A versatile performer, Hwang focuses primarily on jazz and improvised musics, and has a particular interest in cross-cultural projects.

Tune in to Raag aur Taal tomorrow, August 13, from 7-9 PM ET to hear artists from the Indian classical groups Carnatic Guitar Power (students of Guitar Prasanna), Navatman Music Collective, and solo (Indrani Khare), who will be performing at the Drive East Music Festival next week. Drive East features over 20 concerts in one week at the Dixon Place theater here in New York City.

Tune in to Out to Lunch on August 11 from 12-3 PM ET for a brief memorial broadcast of Jess Stacy on what would have been his 113th birthday. Around the time historian Tad Jones discovered Louis Armstrong's real birthday (August 4), Stacy revealed that that he was born on August 11, 1904 and not on August 4, as is still listed in many Jazz references.

Tune in to Out to Lunch Thursday, August 10 2017 at 12:00 PM ET for an interview with Grammy-award-winning drummer, composer and bandleader Terri Lyne Carrington. Currently a professor at her alma mater, Berklee College of Music, Carrington has toured with the likes of Herbie Hancock, Wayne Shorter, Al Jarreau, Stan Getz, David Sanborn, Joe Sample, Cassandra Wilson, Clark Terry, Dianne Reeves and more.

Tune in to the Musician's Show tonight, August 9, from 6-9 PM ET for an interview with Michael Mwenso.

Tune in on Friday, August 4 as we celebrate the alternate birthday of Jazz great and American hero, trumpeter and vocalist Louis Armstrong Louis Armstrong with 24 hours of only his music beginning at midnight. Armstrong chose to celebrate his birthday on July 4th every year, which we also honor with a memorial broadcast.

Tune in to the Musician’s Show on Wednesday, August 2 from 6:00-9:00 PM ET for a live interview with Sam Weinberg, a Brooklyn based saxophonist, composer and improviser. With equal footing in free improvisation, free jazz, and notated musics, Weinberg attempts to push the language and capacity of the saxophone beyond its usual, assumed limits. In the summer of 2016, he founded Renfusa Records which puts out limited-run cassette and CD-R releases of his own music and the music of his colleagues.

Tune in to Studio A on Sunday, July 30 from 9:00-10:00 PM ET for a live reading and interview with writer Caits Meissner. Meissner is the author of the hybrid poetry book Let It Die Hungry (The Operating System, 2016), and The Letter All Your Friends Have Written You (Well&Often, 2012), co-written with poet Tishon Woolcock.

Tune in to Late City Edition this Monday, July 31, at 9:00 PM ET for an interview with Dr. David Rosner regarding the history of lead poisoning in urban America. Dr. Rosner discusses how he uses his background as a public health social historian to help further understandings of modern health crises, like that of lead poisoning in Flint Michigan, with knowledge of past ones.

Tune in to Arts and Answers today, July 28, at 9:00 PM ET for an interview with two Saturday Night Live performers and writers, Kyle Mooney and Dave McCary. Friends since the fourth grade, the pair have worked together on everything from hip hop to Good Neighbor, an online comedy troupe which brought them thousands of fans.

Tune in to Middle Eastern Influences this Thursday, July 27, from midnight to 1:00 AM ET for a special installment of Saudi Arabian poetry. WKCR teamed up with the Middle East Institute's "When Poetry Breathes: An Evening of Poems and Music" to bring you exclusive in-studio interviews with poet, Abdulatif Yousef and actor Jessica Damouni, as well as recordings of the ensemble's recitations with oudist Ahmed AlShaiba at Poet's House on July 19.

Tune in to Late City Edition this Monday, July 24, at 9:00 PM ET to hear an interview with Barnard College's new president, Sian Beilock. President Beilock, a cognitive scientist, comes to Barnard from the University of Chicago. Hear a discussion on Barnard's new leadership, stress culture, and New York style pizza.

Join WKCR-FM on Wednesday, July 19 from 1:00-5:00 AM EST as we revisit and celebrate the work of pioneering hip hop DJs Stretch Armstrong and Bobbito the Barber (aka Kool Bob Love). As hosts of The Stretch Armstrong Show from 1990-1998, Stretch and Bob invited artists to rap live on their shows, and subsequently opened the door for many of hip hop’s heavyweights and underdogs alike.

Tune in to Studio A, tonight, July 16 from 9-10 PM ET for an interview with Lynne DeSilva-Johnson. DeSilva-Johnson is a non binary artist and author working in performance, exhibition, and publication in conversation with new media. She is a visiting assistant professor at Pratt, the founder and Managing Editor of The Operating System, as well as Libraries Editor at Boog City.

Tune in to Field Trip, this Sunday, July 16, from 11:00 PM-12:30 AM for a special program of rehearsal recordings and interviews with Yousef Shamoun & the Tarab Ensemble. Hear behind-the-stage tracks from the dynamic Tarab Ensemble, and conversations with members of the group, including brother Saphe Shamoun and violinst Yaser Abustaif about the importance of preserving and sharing cultural Syrian music.

Tune in to Raag aur Taal this Sunday, July 16, from 7:00-9:00PM ET to hear an interview with Khalil Abhyankar. Abhyankar is a composer and lyricist from Mumbai, India currently based in New York. He has worked on numerous songs in Hindi and Marathi and has collaborated with several artists in India. He released his first album of Hindi songs, called Hum Aur Tum (You and Me) in March 2013 and has created twenty singles to date.

Tune in to the Musician’s Show on Wednesday July 12, 2017 from 6-9 PM ET for an interview with John Otten. Otten is a New York based trumpeter currently studying at the Manhattan School of Music. He was born and raised in Seattle, a fertile music community. He is an alumni of the Roosevelt High School Jazz Band, which has placed numerous times in the Essentially Ellington Competition and Festival.

Tune in to the Musician’s Show this Wednesday, July 19 from 6-9 PM ET for a live interview with American jazz singer Jazzmeia Horn. Horn gained prestige in 2015 when she won the Thelonious Monk Institute International Jazz competition. Just two years earlier in 2013, Horn won first place in the Sarah Vaughan competition. Horn first started singing in church in her hometown in Texas--her grandfather was a pastor and her parents wanted her to be active in the church.

Tune in to the Musician's Show tonight, July 5, from 6:00-9:00 PM ET for an interview with Immanuel Wilkins. Wilkins is an American saxophonist, composer, arranger, and band leader. While growing up in the Philadelphia area, he played in his church and programs dedicated to teaching jazz music such as the Clef Club of Jazz and Performing Arts.

Tune in to Afternoon New Music on Monday, July 3 at 3:00 PM ET for a feature on cellist Mariel Roberts. In addition to airing a previously recorded performance at WKCR’s studios, we will also chat with Roberts about and listen to some tracks off of her new album Cartography, which features some captivating experimental technique that new music fans are sure to enjoy.

Tune in on Tuesday, July 4, 2017 as we celebrate the chosen birthday of Jazz great and American hero, trumpeter and vocalist Louis Armstrong. We will play 24 hours of only his music beginning at midnight. Louis was born in New Orleans at the turn of the century (officially on August 4th) and grew up surrounded by a vibrant musical culture informed by the rags of Scott Joplin and the funeral marches that comprised the New Orleans music scene.

Tune into Middle Eastern Influences Thursday night through Friday morning, midnight-1:00 AM ET, for an exclusive conversation with Tair, Liron, and Tagel Haim, the three sisters of Yeminite folk-electronic band, A-WA. Join us in the KCR studios as we listen and respond to tracks from the 7-person ensemble's 2015 album release, "Habib Galbi", as well as insights to upcoming projects from A-WA.