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10:30AM set of the 24 hour Ragas Live Festival at Pioneer Works 10.19.24 Gamelan Dharma Swara is one of the leading Balinese gamelan and dance groups in the United States.   Catch them live at the next Second Sundays: May 2026 at Pioneer Works Sunday, May 10, 2026 4pm-5.30pm   Subscribe to the NYC Radio Live podcast for access to over 400 live performances and interviews! NYC Radio Live Home https://nycradiolive.org/ Ragas Live Festival Home https://ragaslive.com/ Instagram https://www.instagram.com/nyc_radio_live?igsh=MXUyZDRpNHdtczd6NA%3D%3D

Stanley Jordan is one of the most original and unique guitarists of our time.  In August of 2012 he swung by the WKCR-FM studio DJ'd, performed a solo set, talked music and philosophy, performed live and jammed with all of us including the great guitarist from Mali and Niger, Abdoulaye Alhassane. It was an amazing opportunity to spend time with a creative force who approaches music, science, and life in his own way.  

George Wein was one of the most influential producers in the history of American music.  Founder of the Newport Jazz Festival, Newport Folk Festival, and New Orleans Jazz and Heritage Festival, he lived a life amongst the greatest musicians of our time.  He wasn't a bad pianist and singer either! We share a coversation I recorded sometime between 2005-2010 at his home in Manhattan, where he told stories of the Duke, Pops, Monk, Charlie Parker, Miles Davis, LesterYoung, Billie Holiday and much more.

We chat with Joe Westerlund about his life changing experiences with Milford Graves, his early work with Megafaun, and the inspiration of the music of the ituri Rainforest on all of his work. Make sure to check out his latest albums Curiosities from the Drift.  Grotto a trumpet/drums duo with Trever Hagen and  Setting S/T a trio with Jaime Fennelly and Nathan Bowles, to be released on Thrill Jockey on April 24th.

Booker Stardrum whimsically co-founded SML with bassist Anna Butterss, synthesist Jeremiah Chiu, saxophonist Josh Johnson and guitarist Gregory Uhlmann. Their recent releases How You Been and Small, Medium, Large have squarely placed them as one of the most exciting groups in improvised music/jazz today.   A literal heir of the legacy of Harry Parch and his parents, floutist Stefani Starin musician/composer/instrument creator Dean Drummond Booker has been releasing his own creative output of music including his latest Close-up On The Outside, Rafting/Tall Grass (with Photay) and 2021's Crater.

John Scofield is one of the great guitarists of out time.  The multi-Grammy award winning musician, has played with countless legends like Chet Baker, Gerry Mulligan, Miles Davis, Billy Cobham, Charles Mingus, Tony Williams, Herbie Hancock, Mavis Staples, Charlie Haden, Phil Lesh, Dave Holland, Medeski, Martin and Wood...and on and on! John shares his story of how he got here and what he learned along the way from creating magic with all these legends. 

One of the great percussionists of our time, the 2024 Grammy Award-winninga "Kanjira King," began a decades long mentorship with Zakir Hussain in 1990. He tells us one of the first things Zakir did was open his ears to artists like Weather Report, Frank Zappa, and Miles Davis. Don't miss his story about how Zakir tricked him into auditioning for John McLaughlin and Shakti!

Béla Fleck is a 19 time Grammy award winning artist.  He is recognized as the musician who has expanded the possibilities of his instrument, the banjo, and he keeps pushing own limits creatively. Béla is coming to NYC to celebrate his collaborator, the great Zakir Hussain at Carnegie Hall on March 6th.  

In this special conversation with the reknowned Sarod maestro, Alam Khan, we dig deep into what he learned form his father Ali Akbar Khan, family legends about his grandfather Allauddin Khan and what to expect at the upcoming concert at Carnegie Hall.   Alam will be at Carnegie on March 8th, 2026 celebrating the great tabla maestro as part of the  Zakir Hussain Eternal: Celebrating 75 Years of Genius concert. This interview was recorded in February 6, 2026

A 2011 in-studio musical interview with Ustad Wasifuddin Dagar—torchbearer of an unbroken, 20-generation Dhrupad lineage dating back to the 15th century. 

This is an exclusive interview with the greatest living master of the bansuri, Hariprasad Chaurasia.  David Ellenbogen and Chaurasia's Senior disciple Jay Gandhi join the maestro at his Vrindaban Gurukul, in Mumbai.    This episode was originally broadcast in 2018 

This was an incredible opportunity to sit down with a living legend: Reggie Workman!!! In 1961, Workman joined the John Coltrane Quartet, replacing Steve Davis. He was present for the saxophonist's Live at the Village Vanguard sessions, and also recorded with a second bassist (Art Davis) on the 1961 albums, Olé Coltrane and Africa/Brass. Workman recorded frequently through the 1960s and performed with such icons as Art Blakey's Jazz Messengers, Thelonious Monk, Max Roach, Freddie Hubbard, Lee Morgan, Eric Dolphy, Gigi Gryce, Booker Little, Roy Haynes, Wayne Shorter, Red Garland, James Moody, Abbey Lincoln, Alice Coltrane, Booker Ervin, Horace Silver, Benny Golson, Cedar Walton, Elvin Jones, McCoy Tyner, Curtis Fuller, Yusef Lateef, Pharoah Sanders, Herbie Mann, Archie Shepp, Clifford Jordan, Bobby Hutcherson, Sonny Fortune, Billy Harper, and David Murray.   This episode was originally broadcast in 2019 in support of the "A Love Supreme with Reggie Workman" performance as part of the Wall to Wall: John Coltrane Event.  

North Americas largest Balkan Music festival is coming up this weekend! There is nothing like the Zlatne Uste Golden Fest and there is nobody like Matt Moran, both fixtures of New York's global music scene. Vibraphone and percussion virtuoso Matt Moran is most widely known for his ensemble Slavic Soul Party who played their first performance at the Golden Fest over 2 decades ago. We chat with Matt about his journey and inspirations from Balkan music to Duke Ellington and the ingredients that make Golden Fest such a joyful celebration.   40th Golden Festival!   January 16-17, 2026 Friday: 7:00 pm – 12:30 am Saturday: 5:30 pm – 2:00 am The Marquee Astoria (formerly Astoria World Manor) 25-22 Astoria Blvd, Astoria, NY https://goldenfest.org/

With roots playing with artists like Sharon Jones and the Dap-Kings,  Antibalas, The Roots, David Byrne, Amy Winehouse, and Quincy Jones, saxaphone player Cochema is no stranger to the groove.  His hypnotic new album, Ancestros Futuros is the third in a trinity of recordings he composed and arranged and was picked as at to  NYC Radio Live Top 10 Album of the Year.   Cochema has some exciting shows coming up soon  Here is our conversation. 

NYC Radio Live's 2025 Album of the Year was the self-titled Saha Gnawa, an inspiring project that combines tradtional Morrocan trance music (embodied by co-founder Maâlem Hassan Ben Jaafar) alongside amazing jazz/contemporary musicians such as Jason Lindner, Guilherme Monteiro, and Gilad Hekselman. The result is incredible!  We have a great conversation Saha Ganawa's co-founder Daniel Freedman about the magic of groove, trance, and capturing this fresh, electric sound.    Here is the full lineup of the album/ensemble: Maâlem Hassan Ben Jaafar // guembri, vocals Daniel Freedman // drums, percussion, Amino Belyamani // qraqebs, backing vocals David Lizmi // qraqebs, backing vocals Ahmed Jeriouda // qraqebs, backing vocals Naoufal Atiq // backing vocals Jason Lindner // keyboards, synthesizers Guilherme Monteiro // guitar Gustavo DiDalva // percussion Gilad Hekselman // guitar (A1, A2, A3, A4, B4) Roman Diaz // congas (A2, B2, B4) Nels Cline // guitar (A1, A3) Abraham Rodriguez Jr. // vocals, (B2) Gilmar Gomes // percussion (B2) Donny McCaslin // tenor saxophone (B4) Photo Credit: Justin Lane