NYC Radio Live

Neel Murgai and Roshni Samlal Ragas Live Festival 2015 # 4 Podcast 148

Neel Murgai (Sitar) and Roshni Samlal (tabla) performed a great set from 4am-5am for the Ragas Live Festival 2015

Max ZT, Karsh Kale, and Kane Mathis Ragas Live Festival 2015 # 3 Podcast 147

Their first time playing together, Max ZT (Hammered Dulcimer) Karsh Kale (tabla) and Kane Mathis (kora) played an amazing set from 3am-4am on the Ragas Live Festival 2015.

Camila Celin and Ehren Hanson Ragas Live Festival 2015 #2 – Podcast 146

Sandip Bhattacharjee and Anirban Roy Chowdhury Ragas Live 2015 # 1 Podcast 145

Sandip Bhattacharjee and Anirban Roy Chowdhury (tabla) open the 24 hour Ragas Live Festival from Midnight-1am Sandip will be teaching and performing in the New York Area until November 5th.. He can be reached at www.Sandipraga.com and sandipvocal@yahoo.com.

Brooklyn Raga Massive Summer Jam 1 – Podcast 144

The spontaneous jam sessions that close the weekly Brooklyn Raga Massive are reaching epic proportions with established masters sitting in with young musicians from inside and outside the classical tradition. Clearly we are in a Raga Renaissance This latest one 6/11/2015 (last night!) features Jessica Lurie (sax); Kane Mathis (oud), Hadar Noiberg (flutes), Jay Gandhi (bansuri), Subhen Chatterjee (vocal tabla bols), Shivalik Ghoshal (tabla); Michael Gam (bass), Adam Maalouf (frame drum), Anirban ...

Tom Rossi brings it. Podcast 143

Jump six and half minutes into this podcast and you'll hear music as organic as it gets: a group of children playing traditional rhythms on pots and pans as they sing the songs of their village. Tom Rossi recorded this 25 years ago as he was biking from from Lome, Togo to Accra, Ghana. The podcast continues with Tom's recordings with the all-star world musicians of New York City, Yacouba Cissoko, Dave Eggar, Matt Kilmer, Rob Garcia and many others and to top it off Tom performs live on the Kora ...

Lisa Parrott_Podcast 142

It was great to spend an hour on the radio with the great saxophone player, Lisa Parrott. The annual 2013 and 2014 Down Beat Critics Poll recently voted hera Rising Star for baritone saxophone players. Lisa was featured alongside her sister, bassist Nicki, at the prestigious Tribute to Mary Lou Williams Festival at the Kennedy Centre in Washington D.C. in 2002. She has also performed with such names as Dave Brubeck, Nancy Wilson, Rachel Z, Cindy Blackman, Virginia Mayhew, Gunther Schuller, Jason...

Live Recordings from KOREA! Podcast 141

This podcast features three weeks of live recordings I made recording traditional music, while serving as the artist-in-residence at the Ureuk World Music House in Chungju Korea. We'll hear performances on a dozen instruments like the Gayageum, Haegeum and Piri arranged by WonHaeng Cho he Conductor of the Chungju Municipal Ureuk Orchestra for Korean Traditional Music. We'll even hear a recording I made of the music they played during a private Shamanic ceremony. This is the most work I've put in...

Max ZT and Ehren Hanson – Podcast 140

The weekly Brooklyn Raga Massive Jam Sessions have an incredibly deep bench. The same night Neel Murgai proposed in 7.5 beats (podcast 139) the next set was Max ZT and Ehren Hanson. This recording sounds particularly good because it was mixed and mastered by Phil Duke at Continental Studio in Long Island City, NY. Lauded as the “Jimi Hendrix of Hammered Dulcimer" by NPR, and a "Force of nature" by NY Music Daily, Max ZT is an innovator of the instrument. Taking his roots from classical Irish fol...

Neel Murgai Proposes in 7.5 beats!

After a beautiful set from the Neel Murgai Ensemble, Neel proposes to Brooklyn Raga Massive member Seema Pandya, in 7 and half beats! Not a dry eye in the house...

Michele Rosewoman’s New Yor-Uba Podcast 137

The brilliant pianist Michele Rosewoman shares the music of her incredible ensemble New Yor-Uba, a group that has been exploring the beauty of the Jazz/Cuba/Yoruba traditions. They'll be at Dizzy's at Lincoln Center 3/27-29. Michele Rosewoman, a vanguard and pioneering artist in her field, mines acoustic modern jazz, sophisticated funk, dynamic electric fusion and elements of Cuban folkloric music, to create a distinct musical experience. Her command and rich vocabulary elegantly expands the hor...

Stanley Jordan drops some knowledge and a new album with Kevin Eubanks: Podcast 136

Guitar legend Stanley Jordan returns to NYC Radio Live to share his ideas of finding one's voice and role as an artist and bringing his heartfelt new duet album with Kevin Eubanks. “Genius is a word too often tossed around in musical circles, but it has been applied rightfully to Stanley Jordan, the guitar virtuoso.” -Leonard Feather Stanley’s original style of two handed tapping, the touch technique, allows him to play the guitar with the freedom of a keyboardist. The voices are so independent ...

Om Gam Ensemble live on the Africa/India Series – Podcast 135

The OM Gam ensemble turned it out at Studio 487 last night! Another packed house and inspiring music. The was the third concert in out Africa/India series, co-presented by NYC Radio Live, Brooklyn Raga Massive and Afro-Roots Tuesdays. Om Gam ensemble takes it’s name from the mantra for the Hindu deity Ganesh – “Om Gam Ganapataye Namaha.” Ganesh is often referred to as the “remover of obstacles” and in reference to this, Om Gam ensemble seeks to remove musical obstacles, specifically by bringing ...

M.A.K.U Soundsystem – Podcast 134

Juan Ospina of M.A.KU. Soundsystem joined me on the radio last night. M.A.K.U. is an exciting and eclectic band which hails mostly from Colombia. On stage MA.K.U juxtaposes traditional Colombian percussion, drum-set, synthesizers, electric base, guitar and sizzling horns, creating an explosive performance filled with unshakable grooves. Lyrically M.A.K.U talks about the realities of everyday people, encompassing love, hardships, culture, and the immigrant experience, but with a positive, spiritu...

Robert Browning Opens his Vault – Podcast 133

Robert Browning, New York City's most prolific producer of World Music events shares his personal recordings, highlights from his concerts from over the last 30 years. We'll hear rare recordings from Abida Parveen of Pakistan, Dimi Mint Abba from Mauritania, Noura Mint Seymali of Mauritania, Said Shanbehzadeh-bagpipe from Bushear Iran a; Village group from Luristan (South West Iran), Hassan Hakmoun of Morocco, Farid Ayaz, Abu Muhammad & Brothers Qawwal from Pakistan and a rare recording from...

Coyote Anderson Quartet Live – Podcast 132

Here's the Coyote Anderson Quartet's live set as broadcast on WKCR,: Corina Hernandez on Voice & Vocal Harmonizer, Carl Limbacher on Electric Bass &Diego Maldonado on Drums. Coyote has quickly become regarded as one of the most promising up-and-coming artists in New York, both as a guitarist and a composer. As a member of the BMI Jazz Composer’s Workshop he has honed his compositional & arranging voice, which has culminated into a recording project and the formation of The Coyote And...

Kiran Ahluwalia – Podcast 131

Kiran Ahluwalia, a powerful and elegant singer/composer with roots in Hindustani Music and Ghazal, came by the radio station to share her new album: Sanata : Stillness. Her CD Release Concert is Febuary 21st at Roulette in Brooklyn.

Ken Shoji, Michael Gam and Shivalik Ghoshal: Set 2 of the premier concert in the Africa/India series

NYC Radio Live is collaborating with Brooklyn Raga Massive and Afro Roots Tuesdays to present a new monthly live event: The Africa/India Series at Art Cafe. This is the jam session that followed Africa Meets India in the last podcast Kensuke Shoji on violin, Michael Gam, bass and Shivalik Ghoshal, tabla. This is 100% improv. These guys had never played together before. Later, Kevin Nathaniel, joins on Mbira and Kenya Kawaguchi(shakuchachi) and me (on guitar) play on the last song. The next live ...

Africa Meets India premiers the Africa/India Concert Series (Pt.1) – Podcast 128

NYC Radio Live is collaborating with Brooklyn Raga Massive and Afro Roots Tuesdays to present a new monthly live event: The Africa/India Series at Art Cafe. It couldn't have gone better. The premier concert was last night, with Afrika Meets India. The line-up of Eric Fraser, bansuri; Kevin Nathaniel, mbira; Salieu Suso, kora; Giancarlo Luiggi, Hosho: Neel Murgai, sitar and Sameer Gupta, tabla. I joined the band on the last song. Despite being 10 degrees out, Art Cafe was packed and the band rewa...

BRM All Star Party Band – Pan-Global Flute Solstice Celebration (pt.2) Podcast 127

These two performances from members of the Brooklyn Raga Massive All Star Party Band started off the 6 hour Pan-Global Flute Solstice Celebration broadcast on the radio throughout New York City on 12/21/2014. In this podcast not only was the bansuri featured, as played by Eric Fraser, in the last set Kevin Nathaniel puts down the mbira and plays a Mbuti style African reed flute. They were joined by Michael Gam on bass and Neel Murgai on Sitar and frame drums. The Brooklyn Raga Massive All Star P...

Tom Chess and Dan Kurfirst – Pan-Global Flute Solstice Celebration (pt.1) Podcast 126

The oldest instrument ever discovered was a 35,000 year old flute. That was 25,000 years before agriculture, before cities, before the idea of nations,... Yesterday, to celebrate the Winter Solstice, I produced a pan global musical event live on New York City radio. We had players from Indigenous Colombia traditions, Turkish Ney, West African Fula, Indian Bansuri, Japanese Shakuhachi and more. In this podcast we'll hear the set from the great Tom Chess performing on Oud and Ney. Dan Kurfirst pro...

At home: Paul Winter on the Solstice – Podcast 125

Seven-time Grammy® winner Paul Winter has a body of work that chronicles his wide-ranging experiences in the musical traditions and natural environments of the Earth. The saxophonist, composer and bandleader founded Living Music as the recording context for his ensemble, the Paul Winter Consort, and his community of colleagues, which includes some of the world’s finest jazz, world, and classical musicians, along with notable voices from the great symphony of wildlife. It was a blast when he came...

The Arun Ramurthy Trio: Brooklyn Raga Massive @ Art Cafe – Podcast 124

The Arun Ramurthy Trio perform centuries old classic South Indian compositions with jazz instrumentation and improvisation. This live performance, recorded this Wednesday at the Brooklyn Raga Massive Jam was a a celebration of the release of their new album Jazz Carnatica.The trio’s collaborative sound is driven by the propulsive rhythm section of drummer Sameer Gupta & and bassist Perry Wortman. The Carnatic canon is remixed in this seamless integration of styles as the group expands on the...

Trilok Gurtu and Christopher Janney -Podcast 123

Trilok Gurtu is one of the most inventive percussionists of all time. I was thrilled to have a chance to sit down and talk with him and renaissance man Christopher Janney. A world class, virtuoso percussionist, now in his mid fifties, Trilok has attracted a world class set of collaborators over a long career; these started with John McLaughlin in whose trio, Trilok flourished as the featured soloist for 4 years, other jazz greats continued this path – Joe Zawinul, Jan Garbarek, Don Cherry, Bill ...

Radhika Joshi-Ray, Brooklyn Raga Massive @ Art Cafe Podcast 122

Radhika Joshi-Ray, Vocal; Amod Dandawate, tabla; Achyut Joshi, harmonium Live at Brooklyn Raga Massive 's Jam Session at Art Cafe Radhika Joshi-Ray is a Indian classical vocalist of the Jaipur Atrauli Gharana. She is a versatile singer and has a firm grounding in Hindustani classical music, as well as semi-classical forms of music such as Thumri, Dadra, Kajri, Hori and Chaiti. Over the years, Radhika has evolved into a fine musician with a characteristic style of her own. The alaaps she renders ...

Sylvain Leroux teaches music literacy in Guinea, West Africa, Podcast 121

Back from his successful mission to start teaching music literacy in Guinea, Sylvain Leroux returns to NYC Radio Live to share the recordings he made with the children out there and tell us of his experience. The episode starts with a a spontaneous live performance from Sylvain Leroux accompanied by our host. Sylvain will be producing an event this week in celebration of this effort. CD release / film premiere / performance / photo & flute exhibition Judson Memorial Church 7pm, Thursday, Nov...

Hatim Belyamani of remix ←→ culture brings recordings from Morocco – Podcast 120

This podcast we were joined by Hatim Belyamani, executive director of remix ←→ culture. Hatim has been making incredible field recordings throughout Morocco in remote locations. (Check out the picture below). He will share these amazing recordings with the WKCR audience and conclude with a live remix of his own. remix ←→ culture is a nonprofit artist collective committed to growing a conversation between traditional music(ians) and digital remix art(ists). They love folk music traditions that ha...

Brooklyn Raga Massive All-Stars Perform Terry Riley’s “In C” Podcast- 119

The Brooklyn Raga Massive All-Stars perform a live, in-studio performance of Terry Riley's masterpiece, "In C" live on the airwaves of WKCR-FM NY. Riley was deeply influenced by his studies of Hindustani vocal music but according to the composer himself, as far as he knows, the Massive is the only group that performs “In C” with an ensemble of mostly Indian instruments. The group includes sitars, tablas, sarods, bansuri, vocals, cello, guitars, vibes, dilruba, and more. Led by Neel Murgai, on si...

Ba-ere Yotere Live on the African Gyil with Valerie Naranjo, Gyil; and Barry Olsen, percussion – Podcast 118

Ba-Ere Yotere a master of the African Gyil performs live with great percussionists Valerie Naranjo (also on Gyil) and Barry Olsen. We hung out at Valeries house and recorded a few songs as well as talking to Ba-Ere about his early days with a man I searched for but never found, the great Kakraba Lobi.

At home with Jean-Michel Pilc – Podcast 117

This was pure joy: hanging out with the master jazz pianist, Jean-Michel Pilc, in his Brooklyn home. Speaking about music, he illustrated his ideas by playing compositions, improvisations and even a Chopin waltz. We recorded this session for WKCR's musician show to be broadcast in New York City, Wednesday Oct 22nd at 6pm on 89.9 FM-NY and stream at www.wkcr.org. Later in that broadcast, guitarist Coyote Anderson will perform live with his quartet. Jean Michel Pilc has been described as a "musica...