Hailing from Venezuela, Betsayda Machado & Parranda El Clavo made their New York debut at GlobalFest last year. The group’s electrifying live set, complete with pitch perfect harmonies, dazzling dancers, and irresistible rhythms earned them legions of new fans and a feature in the next days’s New York Times. We sat down with Betsayda with her manager Juan Souki and learned more about the Afro-Venezuelan tradition. She talks us through a few tracks on their first album, Rural Recordings Under...
Feb 14, 2019•36 min•Ep. 675
Before their premier of an exciting new work Nature/War/Love we hang out with Karou Wantanabe, Parul Shah and Sameer Gupta. We also check out slections from Karou Wantanabe's latest album Néo . In Nature/War/Love Shinobue flute and taiko drum virtuoso Kaoru Watanabe, known for his work on Wes Anderson’s Isle of Dogs and Yo-Yo Ma’s Silk Road Ensemble, and hybrid Indian classical tabla and modern jazz percussionist Sameer Gupta (Coltrane Raga Tribute, Adam Rudolph) team up with Indian classical an...
Jan 21, 2019•27 min•Ep. 672
Debashish Bhattacharya is simply one of the greatest guitarists walking the earth. The slide guitar master will be performing at GlobalFest this year, and we give a preview of what to expect, revisiting a Hurricane Sandy Benefit Concert Debashish performed in NYC in 2012 with his daughter Anandi and brother Subashish.
Dec 26, 2018•1 hr 21 min•Ep. 670
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...
Dec 19, 2018•23 min•Ep. 669
Here's our first recording from Ragas Live Festival 2018! A beautiful set from 11pm to midnight from Anirban Dasgupta (sarod), Mir Naqibul Islam (tabla). Anirban is the youngest son and disciple of Pt. Buddhadev Dasgupta. Needless to mention, he grew up with the very best ambience of Indian Classical music, with his older sibling, Bhavani Shankar also following his father’s footsteps. Not to be left behind, Anirban also took to playing the Sarod from an early age under the able guidance and tute...
Dec 18, 2018•56 min•Ep. 668
We hang with the great Turkish musician Ozan Aksoy. He performs live on Ney and Saz and we check out tracks from his new album entitled, Ozan . The New York City based musician Ozan Aksoy’s destiny was set with his birth name - Ozan - an ancient title for mystical bards in West Asia. As a child growing up in Turkey, he first learned to play the saz (lute) from his father, and soon demonstrated remarkable breadth as a multi-instrumentalist, becoming proficient in many of the string, woodwind, and...
Dec 11, 2018•55 min•Ep. 667
A freewheeling interview with Zakir Hussain, widely hailed as one of the global percussionists of our time. This was recorded in November of 2018. We later chatted in 2020 and the maestro performed on our Ragas Live Festival both also available on this podcast. Zakir Hussain, who first made a name for himself accompanying legends such as Ustad Ali Akbar Khan, avi Shankar, Ustad Vilayat Khan, Pandit Hari Prasad Chaurasia, Pandit Shiv Kumar Sharma, and countless others has grown to become a global...
Oct 29, 2018•47 min•Season 1Ep. 665
One of the world’s foremost tabla players, Subhasis Bhattacharya has performed and recorded with his brother Debashish on many classic albums including the Grammy nominated Calcutta Chronicles. On Tablananda, his first international collaboration, Subhasis assembles an incredible line-up of musicians to produce a visionary album that showcases his incredible creativity.
Oct 18, 2018•1 hr 17 min•Ep. 664
We hang out with the great dancer and innovator Misa Kelly who is in town for the Collaborations in Dance Festival at Triskelion Arts. Misa is passionate about community building. Her innovative program designs and organizational efforts have helped over 1,000 artists over the past 20 years. Kelly is a groundbreaker and innovator. As SonneBlauma Danscz Theatre her company was the first in her community to tour CA, tour to New York, tour internationally, the first to provide opportunity to non-lo...
Sep 19, 2018•53 min•Ep. 663
In this podcast we pay tribute to the great musician and educator Madeleine Yayodele Nelson. Joining us in the studio were her friends and bandmates Caren Calder and Marsha Perry-Starks as well as Olumide, Dana Hanchard, Giancarlo Luiggi and Babatunde Don Eaton. Madeleine was , a composer, arranger, vocalist, percussionist, teacher, and instrument maker as well as the founder and artistic director of WOMEN OF THE CALABASH. A celebrated percussionist, Ms Nelson performed in many parts of the worl...
Sep 17, 2018•2 hr 30 min•Ep. 662
Deepal Chodhari (santoor), Shiva Ghoshal (tabla) play a 5am set at Ragas Live Festival 2016 at Pioneer Works.
Jul 25, 2018•36 min•Ep. 660
Here we revist a 2011 interview with the master percussionist and luminary Adam Rudolph. Adam wil be bringing his Go:Organic Orchestra to collaborate with the Brooklyn Raga Massive this Friday July 27th 2017. http://rma.cm/2nq He'll be live with David Ellenbogen on WKCR 89.9 FM-NY this Tuesday from 12pm-3pm. www.wkcr.org
Jul 24, 2018•36 min•Ep. 659
The Book of J, Jeremiah Lockwood and Jewlia Eisenberg, stopped by the apartment for a beautiful acoustic set. They perform music from all over the world to and our celebrating their new album and their month long residency at Barbes . Jewlia Eisenberg works at the intersection of voice, text and diaspora consciousness, primarily as the leader of the ensemble Charming Hostess. Her music is mostly released on the Tzadik label Radical Jewish Culture imprint. Recordings include Sarajevo Blues on Bos...
Jul 12, 2018•35 min•Ep. 657
Recorded last just last night in the Mercy Home chapel we feature a live tabla solo performance and interview with Pt. Nayan Ghosh. This was produced by Brooklyn Raga Massive and the maestro was joined by Ishaan Ghosh (tabla) and Rohan Prabhudesai (Harmonium). Jump to the 1hr16 mark to hear our great conversation.
Jun 30, 2018•1 hr 31 min•Ep. 655
Mauritania’s greatest singer, Noura Mint Seymali and her husband/guitarist, Jeiche Ould Chighaly performed live in studio with two members of the Brooklyn Raga Massive, Jay Gandhi (bansuri flute) and Ehren Hanson (Tabla). They met at the ASAMAAN Festival of Music & Astronomy in the Gorée Island – Dakar, Sénégal on April 2013 but had never performed together until this day. We're rebroadcasting this episode as Noura Mint Seymali is doing a free concert at the Lincoln Center Atrium tonight! ht...
Jun 07, 2018•59 min•Ep. 653
We get to have a great hang with Ezra Gale of Molly Tigray! Molly Tigre marries the rhythms and melodies of African music– especially the entrancing styles from Ethiopia and Mali- with a uniquely progressive and exploratory jazz sound. Featuring the compositions of saxophonist Mitch Marcus (Donovan, Dave Dreiwitz) and bassist Ezra Gale (Super Hi-Fi, Aphrodesia), the band also features saxophonist Chris Hiatt (JaponizeElephants), drummer Joe Abba (Dave Douglas, The Ramones, Donny McCaslin) and pe...
May 30, 2018•42 min•Ep. 652
We get to hang with the great New York saxophonist Arun Luthra. He's got a show coming up with his Konokol jazz project this Friday at Flushing Town Hall. Arun Luthra is one of the premier saxophonists and composers on New York’s jazz scene, and is one of the small group of American jazz musicians of Indian heritage who have continued to explore to possibilities of fusing the modern post-bop sound with elements of Indian classical music, as well drawing from a wide variety of modern & classi...
Apr 24, 2018•59 min•Ep. 649
We get to have a conversation with the great singer and songwriter Martha Redbone. She'll be collaborating this Friday April 13, 2018 with Brooklyn Raga Massive, as part of the Outside (In)dia Series produced by India Center Foundation, Brooklyn Raga Massive and Lincoln Center.
Apr 11, 2018•47 min•Ep. 647
Saxophonist Aakash Mittal draws his inspiration from a plethora of sources. We sit down and talk with him in anticiaption of Aawaz trio show March 11 at National Sawdust . We'll also hear his live set from 2017s Ragas Live Festival at Rubin Museum of Art with Rez Abassi on Guitar and Alex Ritz on Drums.
Mar 04, 2018•1 hr 16 min•Ep. 644
An intimate conversation with Randy Weston at his home in Brooklyn in 2010. The master jazz musician tells tales of his times with Charlie Parker, Max Roach, Fela Kuti and countless legends. Among many accomplishments, Mr. Weston is responsible for bringing gnawa music to a much larger audience, so we thought we'd share this interview before we host Innov Gnawa at a concert at the Mercy Home in Brooklyn this Wednesday. Tickets for that concert 2/28/18 are available here on the airbnb platform...
Feb 23, 2018•1 hr 30 min•Ep. 643
In anticipation of his album release Feb 16 at Littlefield , the tabla/drumset maverick came to WKCR and shared some exclusive live tracks.
Feb 15, 2018•32 min•Ep. 642
We get to hang at home with Simon Shaheen! He performs live on the oud and shares a few live performances. We also had an in-depth discussion about maqam and the history of Arabic Music.
Feb 05, 2018•1 hr 2 min•Ep. 641
I just got word that the great Hugh Masekela passed away. This week we revisit a 2013 interview with him. Hugh Masekela is the most well known jazz musician from Africa. His first big hit was in 1968 and he has sold millions of albums, won multiple Grammys and worked with everyone from Stevie Wonder to Dizzy Gillespie. Fresh off a tour with Paul Simon, he and his band are super-refined, with perfect vocal harmonies, deep grooves, and inspired improvisations. Masekela is considered a legend of So...
Jan 23, 2018•17 min•Ep. 640
Bakithi Kumalo is a four time Grammy Winning bassist who came to the world's attention on Paul Simon's Graceland Album. We hang with him and here one of his new tracks.
Jan 12, 2018•28 min•Ep. 637
Hatim Belyamani returns with a new version of www.remix-culture.org and shares recordings he made in Brazil and China.
Jan 12, 2018•26 min•Ep. 636
Recored and broadcast live at the Ragas Live Festival 2017 from the Rubin Museum of Art, we hear the world premier of the new project: Recalling the Valley. Jay Gandhi (bansuri) and Max ZT's (hammered dulcimer) pay tribute to their world-renowned teachers, Shivkumar Sharma and Hariprasad Chaurasia. With Ehren Hanson on tabla they will perform music inspired by their gurus’ beloved album, “Call of the Valley.” They also have a great discussion with Andrew Shantz on the topic of creating art away ...
Dec 01, 2017•1 hr 4 min•Ep. 634
This is a remaster of a broadcast I did in 2012 when I had just returned from almost a month in Mali making field and studio recordings. Very special stuff: Here's the original intro: I'm back from the Sahara, and, as promised, have a ton of recordings to share with you. This special show was originally broadcast on WKCR on 89.9 FM-NY and features rough mixes of studio recordings with up and coming guitarist and pop star Oumar Konate, Griot Royalty Noura Mint Seymali from Mauritania recording ex...
Oct 19, 2017•2 hr 39 min•Ep. 242
Hailing from Cameroon, but living now in France, singer and multi-instrumentalist, Blick Bassy is creating a fresh, new sound with stunning vocals, banjo and luscious soundscapes from his bandmates. His new album, Akö with his comrades Clément Petit on cello and Johan Blanc on trombone, are raising eyebrows with their totally original tribute to Skip James. Blick sings in his native tongue, Bassa, one of very few. We caught up with Blick Bassy and hung backstage after an incredible show at Linco...
Oct 19, 2017•34 min•Ep. 243
This week we revisit a classic interview with Hugh Masekela from 2013. Hugh Masekela is the most well known jazz musician from Africa. His first big hit was in 1968 and he has sold millions of albums, won multiple Grammys and worked with everyone from Stevie Wonder to Dizzy Gillespie. Fresh off a tour with Paul Simon, he and his band are super-refined, with perfect vocal harmonies, deep grooves, and inspired improvisations. Masekela is considered a legend of South African Music and the apartheid...
Oct 19, 2017•18 min
Walter Becker, co-founder of Steely Dan, passed away this week. Today, I went digging through my archives and found a 2010 interview we recorded upon the release of Roger Rosenberg's Baritonality, an album Becker produced. I found it and wanted to share it immediately. Walter's open spirit, humility, and excitement about the big and small things around music all come through. We'll listen to some excerpts from that album and share the complete free wheeling conversation with jazz critic, John Co...
Oct 19, 2017•48 min
