NYC Radio Live

In anticipation of the Ragas Live Festival 2023 coming October 14-15 to Pioneer Works, we will be broadcasting this amazing set from 2022 featuring Kane Mathis on Kora and Roshni Samlal on Tabla.  Kane Mathis, a man of many talents, also mixed and mastered this and all the recordings from Ragas Live Festival 2022.    The radio broadcast will be at WKCR 89.9 FM-NY (www.wkcr.org) at 7PM on August 6, or you can enjoy here on the NYC Radio Live Podcast.   Tix and info for Ragas Live Festival are available at www.ragaslive.com You can also watch a video of this performance on YouTube here.

In anticipation of the Ragas Live Festival 2023 coming October 14-15 to Pioneer Works, we will be broadcasting this amazing set from 2022 featuring Saraswathi Ranganathan on veena and Sriram Raman on Mridangam The radio broadcast will be at WKCR 89.9 FM-NY (www.wkcr.org) at 7PM on August 6, or you can enjoy here on the NYC Radio Live Podcast.   Tix and info for Ragas Live Festival are available at www.ragaslive.com You can also watch a video of this performance on YouTube here.  

We chat with Qawwal legend Abu Muhammad and hear a live performance from Fareed Ayaz, Abu Muhammad Qawwal & Brothers! Fareed Ayaz, Abu Muhammad Qawwal & Brothers are among the world's very finest exponents of Qawwali - a hypontic, vocal-driven form of Sufi devotional music rich in poetic and mystical symbolism. Their group, in the typical style of their genre, is led by powerful vocalists, who loop through multiple verse-chorus sequences backed by other singers as well as harmonium, tabla, dholak, and hand-claps. Fareed Ayaz (or, to give him his full name, Ustad Ghulam Fariduddin Ayaz Al-Hussaini Qawwal) leads the group, along with his younger brother Abu Muhammad, while other brothers and family members form the rest of the musical core. Fareed and Abu first learned from their father, the esteemed Ustad Munshi Raziuddin, who hails from the Qawwal Bachchon Ka gharana, a tradition stretching back to Amir Khusrow's disciples in 14th-century Delhi. They also perform semi-classical forms from outside the Qawwali repertoire, including tarana, thumri, and khayal. Several decades of touring has seen the brothers sing to vast crowds all around the world, as well as making over a dozen crossover excursions into film music and Coke Studio. 

We connect with Musekiwa Chingdoza from Zimbabwe for the Ragas Live Festival 

The Iberi Choir join the Ragas Live Festival from the Republic of Georgia!

Bansuri maestro Eric Fraser with Mir Naqibol Islam on tabla at the 2021 Ragas Live Festival.    

Hamid Al-Saadi with Safaafir Hamid Al-Saadi - vocal Amir ElSaffar - santur and vocal Dena El Saffar - joza, violin, and vocal Tim Moore - percussion George Ziadeh - oud Zahra Zubaidi - vocal Zahra Ali - vocal Omar Dewachi    Subscribe to NYC Radio Live to enjoy the full festival.

An interview with Parvathy Baul, conducted by David Ellenbogen, produced with the support of SACSA. for the Ragas Live Festival Parvathy Baul is a practitioner, performer and teacher of the Baul tradition from Bengal, India. She is also an instrumentalist, storyteller and painter.   She has performed in over forty countries, including such prestigious concert halls and music festivals as the Noh Theater in Kyoto, the World Music Center in New York City, Melbourne Arts Center and the Festival of World Sacred Music in Fez, Morocco.   She has also collaborated with world's leading theater director Eugenio Barba. ​ She visits several dance, theatre and music institutions across the globe in the capacity of a teacher.   ​ The depth of her mesmerising performance is rooted in her deep spiritual practice. It is described by critics as “riveting” and “spellbinding.”    Parvathy's performance work emerges from a long lineage of master Baul singers, dancers, and spiritual teachers. She studied closely with two of the most respected Baul singer-gurus of the previous generation, Sri Sanatan Das Thakur Baul and Sri Shashanko Goshai.   She was recognized by her gurus as both a musical and spiritual teacher in the Baul tradition, carrying forward their spiritual legacy.  ​   Parvathy has co-founded Ekathara Kalari along with Sri Ravi Gopalan Nair, a non-profit institution promoting ancient Indian spiritual traditions, with an emphasis on Baul arts and practice.    As per her Guru Sri Sanatan Das Baul's vision, she has established Sanatan Siddhashram, a traditional learning center for the Baul tradition in Birbhum district, West Bengal, India. ​ Recognising her unbroken commitment to the tradition, the government of India conferred upon her the most esteemed Sangeet Natak Akademi award in the year 2019. It is the highest Indian recognition given to practicing artists. She was felicitated by honorable President Sri Ramnath Kovind.

The opening set of the Ragas Live Festival 2021.  Subscribe for weekly updates with the following 24 sets...

This live set is from Ragas Live 2020 Rubin Museum of Art Arun Ramamurthy - violin Jay Gandhi - bansuri Vivek Pandya - tabla Kavichelvan Srinivasaragavan - mridangam

This first live set is from Ragas Live 2020 Cape Town, South Africa Derek Gripper - Guitar Second live set is from Ragas Live 2020 Abidjan, Côte d’Ivoire Dr. Toumani Diabate - kora Ahmed Diabate - kora Balla Diabate - kora

This live set is from Ragas Live 2020 Mangily, Madagascar Monika Njava: voice, percussion Teta: guitar, voice Jean Piso: accordion, voice

This live set is from Ragas Live 2020 Kirtipur, Kathmandu, Nepal Prince Nepali - sarangi Vibha Saran Nepali - tabla

This live set is from Ragas Live Festival 2020 Chennai, Tamil Nadu, India Vikku Vinayakaram  - ghatam V. Selvaganesh  - drum kit Swaminathan - Kanjira, konnokol

This live set is from Ragas Live 2020 Mysore, Karnataka, India. Mysore Nagaraj - violin Mysore Karthik - violin Tumkur Ravishankar - mridangam

This live set is from Ragas Live Festival 2020 Pioneer Works Brooklyn, NY Abhik Mukherjee - sitar Samarth Nagarkar - vocals  Dibyarka Chatterjee - tabla

Live set from Ragas Live 2020  Pioneer Works  Brooklyn, NYC, USA Roopa Mahadevan - vocal Arun Ramamurthy - violin Kavichelvan Srinivasaragavan - mridangam

Live from Rajasthan this set from Womanly Voices performed in front of Merrangahr Fort was produced with the support of Jodhpur Riff.  Live video produced for Jodhpur RIFF by Oijo Media Jodhpur RIFF presents Womanly Voices Sumitra Devi - vocals, harmonium Ganga & Sundar - vocals Mohini Devi - vocals Susheela - khartal, manjira Shyam Rao - manjira Asin Khan - sindhi sarangi, additional vocals Sadik Khan - dholak Location - Mehrangarh Fort, Jodhpur

This live set is from New Delhi , India  Gaurav Mazumdar -Sitar

This live set is from Chennai, Tamil Nadu, India Flute Shashank- flute Akkarai Subhalakshmi - violin  Patri Satish Kumar - mridangam

This live set is form Chennai, Tamil Nadu, India Charumathi Raghuram - violin Anantha R. Krishnan -mridangam

This live set is from Kamardanga, West Bengal, India Parvathy Baul  - vocals, ekthara, duggi, nupur

This live set is from San Raphael, CA, USA Pandit Swapan Chaudhuri - Teentaal Tabla Solo (excerpt) Pandit Swapan Chaudhuri -  Tabla Suhail Yusuf Khan - Sarangi   Ali Akbar College of Music Tabla Ensemble Jim Santi Owen - Tabla, Morsing, Kanjira Nilan Chaudhuri - Tabla Rohan Krishnamurthy - Mridangam William Rossel - Tabla   Producer - Jim Santi Owen Sound Engineer - Neil Godbole     Filmed, Recorded, Mixed, and Mastered at Airship Laboratories, Richmond, CA Jim Santi Owen Music - All RIghts Reserved

This live set is from San Rafael, CA, USA Alam Khan  -sarod

This live set is from El Clavo, Venezuela Betsayda Machado - lead vocals and shakers Adrian "Ote" Gomez - vocals and culoe' puya Oscar Ruiz - vocals and shakers Nereida Machado - vocals, shakers and dancing Blanca Castillo - furruco Jose Gregorio Gomez - chorus and charrasca Asterio Betancourt - quinto and culoe' puya Nelson Gomez - pujao, cumaco, paila and dancing Youse Cardozo - conga, cumaco, paila and culoe' puya

Live from San Fransisco SFJAZZ Center  This set was produced with the support of SFJAZZ Center  Zakir Hussain - tabla Rakesh Chaurasia - bansuri   Filmed at the SFJAZZ Center San Francisco, C

Live from B'nai Jeshurun NYC  This set from Andy Statman performed at B'nai Jeshurun NYC. Andy Statman  - clarinet, mandolin Jay Gandhi - bansuri David Ellenbogen - guitar Ehren Hanson -tabla  This set was produced with the support of B’nai Jeshurun   

Live from Rajasthan this set from Dhun Dhora performed in front of Merrangahr Fort was produced with the support of Jodhpur Riff.  Live video produced for Jodhpur RIFF by Oijo Media odhpur RIFF presents *Dhun Dhora* featuring the Dhol Drummers of Rajasthan Dayam Khan - harmonium, lead vocals Sardar Khan - Sindhi Sarangi, additional vocals Ghafoor Khan - khartal Chanan Khan - dhol Swaroop Khan - dhol, dholak Sattar Khan - dhol-cheep Pyaru Khan - dhol-cheep Location - Mehrangarh Fort, Jodhpur ©JodhpurRIFF 2020. All Rights Reserved Director - Divya Bhatia, Festival Director Jodhpur RIFF Video Producer - Kavi Bhansali Sound - Kavi Bhansali/ Raghav Suthaud Production Supervisor - Govind Ram Singh Production Assist - Bhawani Singh Editor -Vikash Gupta Special Thanks to the Mehrangarh Museum Trust, Jodhpur ©JodhpurRIFF 2020. All Rights Reserved info@jodhpurriff.org

Ragas Live Festival is returning to WKCR 89.9 FM-NY on November 21st-22nd from 7pm-7pm. The 9th annual festival will feature many legends of music from 13 cities from Mysore to Madagascar including Terry Riley, Zakir Hussain, Toumani Diabate and Bestayda Machado.  Full lineup at www.ragaslive.org Today we'll hear a highlight of Ragas Live Festival 2019.  Crossroads: Jay Gandhi & Yacouba Cissoko with Jay Gandhi (bansuri), Yacouba Cissoko (kora), David Ellenbogen (guitar) and Ehren Hanson (tabla).

This is the first podcast release of a set from Ragas Live Festival 2019.  The event was broadcast live on WKCR 89.9 FM-NY in front of an enthusiastic audience at Pioneer Works.   Saraswathi Ranganthan is performing the veena here and was joined by her Raghavan Sai on Mridangam.  In a spontaneous decision Swaminathan Selvganesh who had played an amazing set earlier in the evening sat in on the set. Ragas Live Festival is a 24 hour annual broadcast with over 60 musicians.  We will return in 2020 - stay tuned!     Saraswathi brings with her a legacy of firsts. She is the first Indian woman and Veena artiste to win a Chicago Music Award in its 35-year history, the first Veena artiste to perform as an orchestra member of Disney’s Jungle Book production and the first Veena artiste to receive a $10,000 grant from the Logan Foundation in Chicago. She attributes her path-carving success to the inclusive energy in her music and in her life. Her goal? Bring artists and listeners together as one community united in music and understanding. – worded by Stephanie Jones, Jazzspeak.org Saraswathi constantly endeavors for sounds of the Veena to reach a cross cultural global audience. She learned Veena from her mother Shantha Ranganathan and from Karnataka Kalashree EP Alamelu in Bangalore.  She has been performing and teaching for over three decades now. Saraswathi also has the distinction as being the first Veena artiste whose original multi-lingual song “Ennai Azhaithaen – I embraced me” was commissioned by the Chicago Humanities Fest. Saraswathi is the first Veena artiste to perform live music for Chicago International Moves & Music Fest with original score for screening of the movie Buster Keaton’s Seven Chances.   

 This is an epic hang with Jaimoe the legendary drummer of the Allman Brothers in 2014. He speaks about his early days with Otis Redding, meeting Duane and much more... We were spinning a lot of records and hanging out... Check out more about Jaimoe here.  Also in the station was Alan Paul author of One Way Out: The Inside History of the Allman Brothers and the music critic John Coltelli.     Enjoy!  

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 from its place of origin.   Ragas Live Festival supported by the Rubin Museum of Art, WKCR and Humanities New York.  

In this incredible episode we capture Innov Gnawa performing the "Sebatayin" repetoire, Gnawa music performed traditionally in Morrocco for the Jewish Community.  They performed this for the end of Passover at Greenwich House Music School as part of the UNCHARTED concert series. The Jewish presence in Morocco dates back to over 2,500 years ago and upon interaction with the gnawa community, a bond formed over appreciation for gnawa music and its healing powers. Gnawa music pre-dates Islam and originally centered around animistic, spiritual, mystical concepts sung in sub-Saharan languages such as Bambara, Fulani and Sudani. Upon embracing Islam, gnawa songs began to incorporate Arabic language and themes around the Muslim prophets. Sebitiyin, meaning The Saturdays in Moroccan Arabic, is the collection of songs that grew out of the gatherings hosted by the Jewish community for the revered gnawa maalems whom they deeply respected. Themes of these songs still include the original elements of spirits and the natural world, and later came to incorporate shared saints from their Abrahamic traditions. Today, it is still rare to find a maalem that knows this full repertoire so we are especially lucky to have Maalem (Master) Hassan Ben Jaafer, son of the late Abdallah Ben Jaafer, lead us through a powerful moment of unity in music.   Personnel: Maalem (Master) Hassan Ben Jaafer - vocals and sintir Samir Langus - vocals and qraqeb (castanets) Amino Belyamani- vocals and qraqeb (castanets) Ahmed Jeriouda- vocals and qraqeb (castanets) Nawfal Atiq- vocals and qraqeb (castanets) Said Bourhana- vocals and qraqeb (castanets) David Lizmi - vocals and qraqeb (castanets) Uncharted is a concert series featuring New York-based artists premiering new projects or meeting with new collaborators for the first time on stage that has consistently drawn the attention of tastemakers and curators from across the city over the past three years. The Uncharted season delivers eclectic excellence in a broad selection of musical genres representing New York City’s diverse artistic community, including Mexican folkloric, ragtime, classical, electronic, jazz, ancient Moroccan devotional and contemporary R&B.  

The Coltrane Raga Tribute from Brooklyn Raga Massive has blowing some minds.  As they released their album, we hang with Sameer Gupta, the tabla upstart, drummer and musical director of the project.  We'll listen to a live performance from Pioneer Works. If you want to hear it all you’ll have to get the album! . The all-star ensemble in the set we hear includes:Sameer Gupta – Drumset/Tabla,Brandee Younger – Harp,Jay Gandhi – Bansuri,Arun Ramamurthy – Violin,Pawan Benjamin – Sax,Trina Basu – Violin,Neel Murgai – Sitar,Ben Tyree – Guitar,Rashaan Carter – BassMichael Gam – Bass Special Guests: Roopa Mahadevan – Vocal Pyeng Threadgill- vocal Anupam Shobhakar – SarodJessica Lurie – SaxKen Shoji- ViolinDawoud Kringle – DilrubaGiancarlo Luigi – Chekere and Percussion Recorded by James Clark and mixed by Sameer Gupta

I just learned of the passing of the great master Randy Weston, whose tall shadow hangs over all of us who love, Gnawa Music, African Music, jazz and the intersection of three.  He was a lovely person, eager to pass along the knowledge he'd gathered through an amazing life. I hope this podcast helps pass along some of his wisdom.  He was humble, sweet and present and we're lucky to have had him on the planet for 91 years.    

We just learned of the passing of the legend McCoy Tyner, who changed the course of jazz piano.  Of course he's most well known for his work in John Coltrane's classic quartet, but he has an amazing body of work beyond that, his album Sama Layuca for a start.  Here's my 2011 interview that we conducted in the kitchen of the Blue Note.      

William Parker is a force in music and if you listen his words, he'll change your mind about what exactly the mystery of music might be. He will be performing this big double bill on March 4th: SOUNDS OF JUSTICE: SUN RA ARKESTRA AND WILLIAM PARKER'S INSIDE SONGS OF CURTIS MAYFIELDi  This is a celebration of 25 years of the Vision Festival. We had an amazing conversation until the batteries ran out on my recorder...enjoy!

We have a live performance in studio with Zhou Benming of the Zhou Family Band.  Zhou Jingzhi, founder of the Zhou Family Band, used to play in the royal court of the Qing Dynasty. After dynastic China came to an end, later generations of the family made their living by playing at local ceremonies.  The band has become so popular that sometimes people have to book them two years in advance for a ceremony. Now more than 100 members of the Zhou family and over 1000 students are active in playing at rituals in their hometown and the adjacent areas. The band plays traditional wind and percussion music that has accompanied the birth and death of people in central-eastern China for more than 600 years. Coming from Lingbi, Anhui Province, part of the Central Plain area which formed the cradle of Chinese civilization, the Zhou Family Band have been musicians for seven generations, and are bearers of a tradition that represents the cream of Chinese folk music – Bolin Laba, a national intangible cultural heritage of China.  

In this episode we chat with Dorit Chrysler director of of the  NY Theramin society, who have a major event coming up at the Ambient Church.    Dorit Chrysler has been dubbed a superior wizard of the theremin. An Austrian-born, New York based composer and performer, Chrysler is the co-founder of the NY Theremin Society and has started the first international school for Theremin, KidCoolThereminSchool and L’Ecole Theremine with branches in NY and Paris. As much as the Theremin is a tool in Chrysler’s electronic instrument arsenal, she is also one of the most visible Thereminists spreading the gospel of this mysterious sounding instrument. Most recently she finished her analog soundtrack for a remake of “M” by Fritz Lang and was featured on the soundtrack of the HBO documentary "Going Clear". Chrysler received her master's degree of musicology in Vienna and has notably collaborated with Anders Trentemøller, Cluster, Adult., CERN, Carsten Nicolai, Elliot Sharp and Laurie Spiegel. She has performed with the San Francisco Symphony Orchestra, had her work commissioned by MoMA and the Venice Biennale, and is the founder of “Dame Electric,” a festival dedicated to female pioneers in Analog Music. As the director of the NY Theremin Society, Chrysler is promoting the application of theremin in different art disciplines and is produced the THEREMIN100 compilation release, commemorating the 100th birthday of the Theremin in 2020. For Ambient Church, Chrysler will perform original work along with the US premiere of "A Paraphrase." Composed by electronic music pioneer Laurie Spiegel, for Dorit Chrysler, "A Paraphrase" was inspired by a young Clara Rockmore and her professional relationship with Léon Theremin.  Lana Anikin Suran will accompany on piano.     

A broadcast of the brilliant pianist made at his home in Brooklyn before he moved North.  

A great discussion with Knoel Scott, a multi instrumentalist and band leader who has played with with the Sun Ra Arkestra since 1979.  Recorded backstage at the Opus 1 Festival in Maryland.  We also hear his original composition, "Harlem Nocturne," featuring Marshall Allen.   Knoel will be back in town for this exciting show at the Town Hall on March 4th 2020 SUN RA ARKESTRA AND WILLIAM PARKER'S INSIDE SONGS OF CURTIS MAYFIELD      

Eric Thompson took up the guitar as a teenager in Palo Alto, California in the early 1960's, at a time when very few folk guitarists were playing more than basic rhythm guitar. Among his earliest bands were the Black Mountain Boys (with Jerry Garcia and David Nelson) and Mother McCree's Uptown Jug Champions. He quickly became nationally known as an exceptional lead flatpicker, winning the World Championship Cup at Union Grove, North Carolina with the New York Ramblers (which also included David Grisman and Winnie Winston) and flying to Nashville, Tennessee to record "Beatle Country" with the Charles River Valley Boys (reissued on Rounder). During the 1970's, Eric continued to play old-time music. He also took up the tenor banjo, organized the Graineog Celidh Band around two master musicians from County Clare, Joe Cooley and Kevin Keegan, and spent six months in the west of Ireland, visiting and learning from older traditional musicians there.   Eric will be playing a private concert with Andy Statman on Sunday December 15th at 2pm in Brooklyn (Near Prospect Park)  Email ericandandysi@gmail.com for info and reservations.

Michael Leonhart Orchestra (MLO) is a genre-crossing 15-piece ensemble that has been putting on electrifying shows for the last 2 years. The Orchestra performs both Leonhart’s original compositions as well as his arrangements of Wutang, Fela, Ellington, Zappa and Bernard Herrmann. MLO features players from bands such as Sharon Jones & the Dap-kings, the Mingus Big Band, Maria Schneider’s Orchestra, the Tonight Show Band (Roots) and other soloists from the NY/Brooklyn jazz/soul/studio scene. The MLO residence at at the Jazz Standard has a very special show coming up this Tuesday, December 10th... a live recording which will be broadcast on New Years Eve on NPR/WBGO.   Tickets and Info are here  Grammy winning Michael Leonhart is sought throughout the music and entertainment world as a trumpeter, composer, producer, arranger, multi-instrumentalist and songwriter. He has collaborated with artists as diverse as James Brown & Wutang Clan to Meryl Streep & Isaac Mizrahi. As a trumpeter, Michael performed on Mark Ronson and Bruno Mars’  record breaking smash hit “Uptown Funk,” which won the 2016 Record of the year Grammy. He has performed with rock legends Steely Dan since 1996, recording two albums with them, including 2000's 4x Grammy winning Album of the Year "Two Against Nature.” Michael has composed music for stage and screen, including writing a song for and directing Meryl Streep on the Decca soundtrack album “Songs of Lahore.” Leonhart recently composed music for the score to Rockstar Games upcoming “Red Dead Redemption 2.” Michael’s eighth solo album, the genre-crossing “Painted Lady Suite,” by the Michael Leonhart Orchestra (MLO), will be released June 15th on Sunnyside Records. The orchestra performs both Leonhart’s original compositions as well as his arrangements of Wu Tang, Ellington and more, featuring players from bands such as Sharon Jones & the Dap-kings, the Mingus Big Band and The Roots.  

On the heels of their highly successful event featuring Brooklyn Raga Massive, Alexandre Tannous and NYC Radio Live return to The Assemblage to continue their exploration of the power of sound, meditation and trance and with the Grammy nominated group Innov Gnawa this Thursday. Details for the event are here Alexandre Tannous, a composer, musician, ethnomusicologist and researcher came to WKCR to speak about Gnawa music and trance to get us ready for the event.     Alexandre Tannous has performed a variety of musical styles including classical, jazz, rock, and non-Western music on various instruments. His ethnomusicological research investigates issues of acculturation, community, musical identity in an urban setting, and the concepts of talent, charisma, and leadership in music.For the past 13 years he has been researching the therapeutic and esoteric properties of sound from three different perspectives – Western scientific, Eastern philosophical, and shamanic societal beliefs – to gain a deeper understanding of how, and to what extent, sound has been used to affect human consciousness.This search has led him to where art, science, philosophy, and spirituality intersect. Inspired by his findings, he designed a protocol of an integrated experience he calls “Sound Meditation” in which he shares the findings from his research, raising an awareness to how a specifically designed sound can have the ability to help us to disconnect from habitual patterns while judiciously listening to the specific traditional instruments he plays. 

The great young carnatic Roopa Mahadevan, comes to WKCR to share a sneak preview of her upcoming album, Roopa in 6 Yards. As spontaneous and joyful as the singer herself, the album is refreshing and uncompromising exploration of a wide range of compositions from the Carnatic cannon.  With this recording Roopa is bound to expand the audience for this traditional music. 

While we begin to sift through the gold mine of multi-track recordings from 24 hour Ragas Live 2019.  We have one set that we happened to mix live on stage and are able to deliver right now. Unstruck Sound are an ambient group that explore the concept of the drone.  Set and Setting are 4am (about 9 hours into the fest.) Neel Murgai is Overtone vocals, Eric Fraser is on bansuri, Aaron Shregge is on Shakuhachi and Dragon Mouth Trumpet and David Ellenbogen is on lap steel guitar and electronics. 23 more hours are on their way!      

We hang with the legendary bassist of the Meters at his home in New Orleans! 

A great discussion, originally broadcast live on WKCR, with Soles of Duende, Amanda Castro, Arielle Rosales and Brindha Guha.   They'll be preforming with Frank Malloy IV & Roshni Samlal at the Ragas Live Festival at 11pm.     Birthed in East Harlem, the women of Soles arrived with a single, transparent question: how do they find truth, connection, and storytelling through the rhythms of their respective cultures? Based in the rhythms of Tap (Amanda Castro), Flamenco (Arielle Rosales) and Kathak (Brinda Guha), their mission created the fire that is Soles of Duende. They devote their work together to yield nothing but joy and music, and to bring clarity to how they connect given their beautiful differences. 

An intimate live session with two of the members of Madagascar's super-group, Toko Telo:  Monka Njavaa and Joël Rabesolo. Monika Njava, voice & percussion“The voice of Madagascar.” Banning Eyre, Afropop Worldwide Celebrated across Madagascar as the national diva, Monika Njava sang lead with Njava, recording two critically acclaimed albums for EMI. She has recorded with platinum-selling Deep Forest and continues to perform with the band. A solo world-pop album, Haizina, featured musicians from three continents. Always exploring new musical territory, she formed the group Island Jazz with bass virtuoso Linley Marthe, fusing traditional Malagasy music and contemporary jazz. Singing in several Malagasy dialects, Monika draws on folktales and everyday village life for her lyrics. She also addresses challenges facing her country: corruption, environmental devastation, and empowering women. Joël Rabesolo, guitar & voice“Startlingly unconventional.” Zeitschrift für Kultur und Gesellschaft Joël Rabesolo grew up playing the traditional four-stringed kabosy. Now the most celebrated guitarist of his generation in Madagascar, he interprets the island’s rich array of regional styles with sophistication and extraordinary inventiveness. Admitted into the Royal Conservatory of Brussels, he was promptly invited by his guitar professor to form a jazz duo. Working closely with Monika Njava since 2012, Joël is a member of her band Island Jazz. He also records and tours as part of Malagasy Guitar Masters.

A chat with Lucibela the great singer from Capo Verde who is bringing her countries music to the US right now with a 14 state tour.   

We have a chat with Alexandre Tannous, a leading sound researcher, sound therapist and ethnomusicologist.  On 9/18/19 Alexandre will lead an experiential exploration of the effects of this unique system of sound, consciousness, and spirituality with key members Brooklyn Raga Massive. To deepen the experience we sat had a wide ranging discussion about the effects of sound.  Alexandre Tannous has been active as a musician, educator, composer, and as an ethnomusicologist. He holds a Bachelor of Music with a double major in Music Theory and Composition, and a Master of Arts degree in Music Education from Columbia University Teachers College. As a recipient of the Mellon Fellowship he also earned a Master of Arts and a Master of Philosophy degrees in Ethnomusicology from Columbia University where he was enrolled in the Ph.D. program. He has taught various music courses at the same institution. The works of Alexandre Tannous are frequently performed in the United States, Europe, and in Asia. The World Première performance of his orchestral composition “Métamorphose” under his baton at Carnegie Hall in 1995 received a standing ovation. As a film composer he composed two film-scores: The Seventh Dog (2005), and Jim (2009) www.jimthefilm.com.   As a musician, he has performed a variety of musical styles including classical, jazz, rock, and non-Western music on various instruments. Alexandre is also active as an ethnomusicologist. He has conducted fieldwork for 17 years in over 40 countries around the world. His ethnomusicological research investigates issues of acculturation, community, musical identity in an urban setting, and the concepts of talent, charisma, and leadership in music. He is a sought-after ethnomusicologist/composer consultant on projects in recording studios helping creating awareness in amalgamating various musical cultures.   For the past 17 years he has been researching the therapeutic and esoteric properties of sound from three different perspectives – Western scientific, Eastern philosophical, and shamanic societal beliefs – to gain a deeper understanding of how, and to what extent, sound has been used to affect human consciousness. This search has led him to the intersection where art, science, philosophy, and spirituality intersect. His ethnomusicological approach entails a social scientific study of sound use in several traditional contexts—religious, spiritual, holistic, and cultural—for various purposes and occasions in entertainment, worship, meditation, and rituals of healing and trance. Consequently, his approach in researching, understanding, experiencing, transmitting, and working with sound has always been based on a multidisciplinary approach.   The material he transmits about sound is based on thorough research over many years: observations he made during his fieldwork, scientific studies, personal experiences, and data collected from thousands of people he has worked with doing sound therapy. This has led him to a deeper understanding of how sound reveals and unlocks hidden powers we have within us to promote profound inner changes and healing.   Inspired by his findings, he designed a protocol of an integrated experience he calls “Sound Meditation” in which he shares the findings from his research, raising an awareness to how a specifically designed sound can have the ability to help us to disconnect from habitual patterns while judiciously listening to the specific traditional instruments he plays. He employs a phenomenological approach to study the effects of sound, using a method that empowers the participants to engage actively with tools that enhance their experience, using the consciousness-altering properties of sound to heighten self-awareness, to connect to the higher self, to fine-tune self-observation, and to attain self-realization.   Alexandre is a frequent guest-lecturer in major institutions such as Georgetown University, Princeton University, Columbia University, NYU, and in museums such as the American Museum of Natural History, the Metropolitan Museum of New York, the Brooklyn Museum, the Rubin Museum, and the Museum of the City of New York.   He continues to do research on sound, currently works as a sound therapist, teaches this practice, and lectures about sound. On 9/18,  Beginning with a presentation and a discussion which give context to this music, Alexandre will lead a sound meditation that will incorporate musical experiences from Neel Murgai (overtone loops), Arun Ramamurthy (Carnatic Violin), David Ellenbogen (guitar), Indrajit Roy-Chowdhury (sitar) and Ehren Hanson (tabla).Participants should bring eyemasks for a fully immersive experience.Brooklyn Raga Massive is a prolific artist collective who have gained accolades for “Expanding the notion of what raga—the immersive, epic form of Indian music—can mean…” (Wall St. Journal) and “Preserving the past while blurring genres in an inventive spirit,” (New York Times).All proceeds from the event will go to the Raga Massive 501-C3 non-profit to help produce the most ambitious event of the year: The epic 24 Hour/ 24 Set, Ragas Live Festival at Pioneer Works.