Duke Ellington Birthday Broadcast
WKCR is thrilled to announce a special 24-hour broadcast on April 29th celebrating the 126th anniversary of the birth of Duke Ellington (1899-1974).
WKCR is thrilled to announce a special 24-hour broadcast on April 29th celebrating the 126th anniversary of the birth of Duke Ellington (1899-1974).
Join us during Amazing Grace (8-10 AM) this Sunday, April 13, for an interview with Cheryl Wills, author of Isn’t Her Grace Amazing! The Women Who Changed Gospel Music. Host Rachel Smith will accompany the interview with musical selections drawn entirely from the discographies of the trailblazers in Wills’s work. As always, listeners can tune in at 89.9 FM or stream WKCR online at wkcr.org.
WKCR is pleased to announce our annual birthday celebration for celebrated bassist and pianist Charles Mingus, broadcast on FM and HD radio and online 24 hours straight from 12:00 am to midnight on April 22, 2025.
WKCR is honored to announce a special 24-hour broadcast in celebration of the 97th birthday of one of the most iconic and influential voices in jazz history, Billie Holiday. Tune in on April 7 to WKCR 89.9 FM for a full day of music from the legendary “Lady Day,” whose haunting, soulful voice left an indelible mark on jazz and the American musical landscape.
WKCR merchandise is now available to purchase! All of the designs available are limited edition and purchasable now through April 18th. The "Pixel Hoodie" features a brand new design while the "WKCR scribble shirt" and "'The Alternative' Tee" highlight iconic archival logos. If you didn't get a chance to support WKCR through our fund drive, purchasing merchandise is a great way to do so as all of the proceeds go to WKCR's operating budget!
All merchandise can be found by clicking the MERCH tab at the top of our page or through clicking the link below.
Tune in on March 30th from 2-7 for an over view of the career of Hazel Scott. The show will include live interviews with Dr.Cornel West, Grammy award winning pianist Michelle Cann, and son of Hazel Scott and Adam Clayton Powell jr., Adam Powell III.
Only on WKCR 89.9 FM NY & wkcr.org
WKCR is excited to announce our annual birthday broadcast of the legendary Bix Beiderbecke. Bix was born Leon Bismarck Beiderbecke in Davenport, Iowa, on March 10, 1903. He began playing piano when he was only two or three years old and could recreate almost any tune he heard by the age of seven. As a teenager, Bix taught himself to play cornet by listening to the Original Dixieland Jazz Band on his brother’s Victrola phonograph.
WKCR is excited to announce our annual birthday broadcast of the legendary Ornette Coleman. Born March 9th, 1930 in Fort Worth, Texas, Ornette Coleman had a searing, unrepentantly human sound and endless melodicism that fully embodied Bird's vocal angularity, the sprawling, rough-and-tumble expressiveness of the Southwest saxophone lineage, and the blues.
Tune in on March 2nd at 7 PM EST to hear Anupam Shobhakar's new album Liquid Reality and an interview with the artist held by the host