WKCR 89.9FM NY

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.

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.