WKCR 89.9FM NY

Tune in to Afternoon New Music at 3 pm on Monday, May 1st for an exclusive in-studio interview with Michael Gordon composer and co-founder of Bang on a Can. The program will discuss the 30th Anniversary Bang on a Can Marathon concert, which will be presented at Brooklyn Museum on Saturday, May 6 from 2-10 pm in the Museum’s Beaux-Arts Court.

Tune in to Live Constructions tonight, April 23, from 10:00-11:00 PM EST for a set and interview with the Brooklyn-based dynamic free jazz duo Aquiles Navarro (trumpet & vocoder) Tcheser Holmes (drum kit & drum machine). Having met in jazz conservatory, Navarro and Holmes bring together sounds from old swing to modern DJ and hip hop beats, merging traditional acoustics with new-tech instrumentation.

Tune in to Studio A on Sunday, April 23 from 9:00-10:00 PM EST for a live reading and interview with poet Cynthia Manick. Manick is the author of Blue Hallelujahs (Black Lawrence Press, 2016). A Pushcart Prize nominated poet with a MFA in Creative Writing from the New School; she has received fellowships from Cave Canem, the Callaloo Creative Writing Workshop, Fine Arts Work Center, the Hambidge Center for the Creative Arts & Sciences, Hedgebrook, Poets House, and the Vermont Studio Center.

Join WKCR Tuesday, April 25, 2017 for our first ever 24-hour Ella Fitzgerald birthday broadcast, in honor of what would have been her 100th birthday. On of the most influential jazz vocalists of the last century, Fitzgerald won 13 Grammy awards and sold over 40 million albums.

Join WKCR from midnight onwards on Saturday, April 29, 2017 as we celebrate the 118th anniversary of the birth of Edward Kennedy "Duke" Ellington, one of the most significant figures in the history of jazz. Ellington’s innovations in orchestration and composition have informed much of the development of the music. Originally from Washington DC, he moved to New York City where, in 1927, he began his tenure at the Cotton Club. It was there that he rose to international stardom.

On Saturday, April 22, 2017 at 12:00 AM, WKCR will celebrate the birth of one of the great innovators of American music, bassist and composer Charles Mingus. He was able to accomplish what so many of today's musicians strive for: his music was always original, transcending genre boundaries yet always remaining deeply rooted in the jazz tradition. Early in his career, he performed with such greats as Louis Armstrong, Kid Ory, and Lionel Hampton.

Tune in to Raag Aur Taal tonight, April 16, from 7:00-9:00 PM EST for a live set with musician Subhi. Subhi is a singer, songwriter, and composer based in Chicago. Subhi's compositions highlight her experiences with the people, cities and the cultures that she embraced as a young kid and as an artist. Subhi began her career working as a music assistant on Monsoon Wedding Broadway show in New York. She went on to work as a composer, songwriter, lyricist, and vocalist for acclaimed short and independent feature films in US.

Tune in to Studio A, tomorrow, April 16 from 9:00-10:00 PM EST to hear an in-studio reading and interview with writer Darrel Alejandro Holnes. Holnes is a poet and a playwright from Panama and a professor at NYU and Medgar Evers College. His poems can be found at American Poetry Review, Poetry Magazine, Callaloo, Best American Experimental Writing, and elsewhere in print and online.

Tune in to Jazz Profiles, this Sunday, April 16 from 2:00-7:00 PM EST to celebrate the work of Charlie Holmes. In a series of astonishing recordings made over a span of just two years from January 1929 to December 1930, Charlie Holmes laid the fundamental groundwork for the role of the alto saxophone in Jazz.

Tune in to Afternoon New Music today, April 12 at 3:00 PM EST to hear a live set featuring the trio Jeremy Carlstedt (drums), Rick Parker (trombone, electronics) and Martin Philadelphy (guitar). The trio will perform 40 minutes of live music, followed by a short interview.

Tune in to the Musician's Show this Wednesday, April 12, from 6:00-9:00 PM EST for a live interview with bassist, composer, and bandleader Max Johnson. Known for his big sound, eclectic style and prolific output, Johnson has made a name in both the jazz and improvised music world, playing with musical icons including Anthony Braxton, John Zorn, Muhal Richard Abrams, among others, in addition to becoming a first call bluegrass bassist, playing with legends Sam Bush, David Grisman, the Traveling McCourys & Tony Trischka.

Tune in to Afternoon New Music on Tuesday, April 11 at 3:00 PM EST to hear an interview with the Brooklyn-based contemporary classical piano-bass-drums trio, Bearthoven. Hear pianist Karl Larson and bassist Pat Swoboda discuss the trio’s upcoming album and the unique musical approach and objective of this project.

Tune in to WKCR on Friday, April 7 in celebrating the life and work of virtuoso jazz vocalist Billie Holiday with our annual 24-hour birthday broadcast. Holiday was born Eleanora Fagan in Philly in 1915. Despite an intensely difficult childhood, Holiday honed her craft young by learning songs by Louis Armstrong and Bessie Smith. In 1929, she joined tenor saxophonist Kenneth Hollan and slowly built her reputation as a vocalist, replacing Monette Moore at Covan’s on West 132^nd in 1932.

Tune in to WKCR on Thursday, April 6 as we celebrate country music legend Merle Haggard with a 24-hour birthday broadcast. Active since the early 1960s, Haggard was a pioneer of the 'Bakersfield' country sound, breaking into stardom in 1966 with the release of "Swinging Doors." This broadcast also marks a year since Haggard's passing in 2016, and will explore the breadth and depth of his musical influence.

Tune in to the Musician's Show, tonight from 6:00-8:30 PM EST for a a live set and interview with Luke Sellick. Sellick is a virtuoso bass player who lives and works regularly in New York City. Born and raised in Winnipeg, Canada, he studied music at the University of Winnipeg as an undergraduate and went on to learn under the tutelage of the legendary Ron Carter. He has found considerable work with luminaries like Johnny O’Neal, Russell Malone and Kenny Barron recording a number of albums as a side man.

Tune in to the end of the Musician’s Show, this Wednesday at 8:30 PM EST for an interview with guitarist Aram Bajakian. Bajakian has played beside rock legend and Velvet Underground frontman Lou Reed during his final final two tours in 2011 and 2012. Bajakian also performed over 100 concerts alongside multiple Grammy winner Diana Krall during her Glad Rag Doll Tour in 2012 and 2013.