NYC Radio Live
Live performances and in-depth conversations with extraordinary musicians, artists, writers, and thinkers from more than 40 countries. Hosted by David Ellenbogen and broadcast on WKCR 89.9 FM in New York City. Creator of the 24-hour Ragas Live Festival, which debuted as a broadcast on WKCR in 2012 and is now presented annually at Pioneer Works.
Episodes
Jan 12, 2018
Jan 12, 2018
25 min
Hatim Belyamani returns with a new version of www.remix-culture.org and shares recordings he made in Brazil and China.
Dec 1, 2017
Dec 1, 2017
1hr 4 min
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.
Oct 19, 2017
Oct 19, 2017
2hr 38 min
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 exclusively for us in her flat in Timbuktu, artists from Niger informally jamming in their tents and the Festival Au Desert and much, much more. We'll hear this Takamba band in the photo above- they use a car battery and a PA and the flute ends up sounding just like Jimi Hendrix...
Oct 19, 2017
Oct 19, 2017
33 min
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 Lincoln Center's David Rubenstein Atrium.
Oct 19, 2017
Oct 19, 2017
17 min
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 struggle, but that's not how he see's it.
I got to spend sometime backstage with him and now so do you!
Here's one quote from the interview:
"I never had a career, I had an obsession with music. And my obsession with it, and maybe a little gift that I had, threw me into the area, but my aim, even when I came overseas, was to learn and to study and everything else is a coincidence. But I didn't plan to make it for myself. If you look at anybody who is out there to make it for themselves they self-destruct. They become very big and then they self-destruct. As long as you've got the "me" thing in your head you're doomed." - Hugh Masekela
Oct 19, 2017
Oct 19, 2017
47 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 Coltelli, myself and the great Walter Becker.
Oct 19, 2017
Oct 19, 2017
37 min
Samarth Nagarkar (vocal), Meghashyam Keshav (tabla), Rohan Prabhudesai (harmonium) perform a 6AM set at the Ragas Live Festival 2016.
This year’s festival is October 21st 2017 at the Rubin Museum of Art. Samarth will perform at 10pm.
Tickets here
Oct 18, 2017
Oct 18, 2017
48 min
Max ZT Ensemble played a late night set at the Ragas Live Festival 2016 at Pioneer Works.
1am-2am Max ZT (hammered dulcimer), Sameer Gupta (tabla), Priya Darshini (vocal),
This year’s festival is October 21st 2017 at the Rubin Museum of Art. At 4pm Max ZT and Jay Gandhi give a tribute to their world-renowned teachers, Shivkumar Sharma and Hariprasad Chaurasia. The duo will perform a set inspired by their gurus’ beloved album, "Call of the Valley." Max will join the Epichorus at 2 am : with Priya Darshini (vocals), Zach Fredman (oud), Max ZT (hammered dulcimer),
Rich Stein (percussion), Uri Sharlin (accordion)
Tickets here
Oct 18, 2017
Oct 18, 2017
48 min
Adam Maalouf feat. Josh Geisler (bansuri) and Shiva Ghoshal
Adam Maalouf (hand pans) , Joshua Geisler (bansuri, guitar, electronics), Shivalik Ghoshal (tabla)
Adam is pictured here during their 4AM performance from the Ragas Live Festival 2016 at Pioneer Works
Ragas Live is coming to the Rubin on October 21, 2017
Tickets here
Oct 18, 2017
Oct 18, 2017
43 min
Pradhanica with Mike Lukshis (tabla), Kaumil Shah (djembe), and Vincent Pierce (cajon), Indrajit Roy-Chowdhury (sitar) perform a 2-3am set at the Ragas Live Festival 2016 at Pioneer Works.
This year’s festival is October 21st 2017 at the Rubin Museum of Art and the sitarist Indro Roy-Chowdhury will play at 11am.
Tickets here
Oct 18, 2017
Oct 18, 2017
59 min
Abhik Mukherjee (sitar), Shankh Lahiri (Tabla) play the final set of Ragas Live 2016 at Pioneer Works.
This year’s festival is October 21st 2017 Abhik will play at 6pm.
Tickets here
Oct 18, 2017
Oct 8, 2017
Oct 8, 2017
48 min
Anupam Shobhakar plays a midnight set at Ragas Live Festival 2016.
Anupam Shobhakar (sarod) Shankh Lahiri (Tabla)
Live at Pioneer Works 12 am -1am
Anupam is a dazzling performer and a virtuoso of the Sarod. He has appeared many times at the Ragas Live Festival.
This year’s festival is October 21st 2017 at the Rubin Museum of Art.
Tickets here
Oct 6, 2017
Oct 6, 2017
23 min
The 9pm-10 Set Live at Pioneer Works with Snehashish Mozumdar (mandolin), Shiva Ghoshal (tabla) from the 24 Hour Ragas Live Festival.
Snehashish is an explosive, dynamic performer who is pushing the boundaries of his instrument. He has played on several Ragas Live Festivals in the past.
This year's festival is October 21st 2017 at the Rubin Museum of Art. Tickets here
About NYC Radio Live
Perhaps one of the only radio broadcasts to blossom into a major live event (Ragas Live Festival), NYC Radio Live is the podcast/archive of the musician and producer, David Ellenbogen. As broadcast on WKCR 89.9 FM-NY, it has featured over 300 live performances, interviews with musicians from over 40 countries, and conversations with great artists, directors, writers, and thinkers. Popular episodes have included members of John Coltrane, Miles Davis, and Sun Ra’s bands (McCoy Tyner, Jack DeJohnette, Reggie Workman, Knoel Scott); rock stars from the Allman Brothers, Steely Dan, and The Meters (Jaimoe, Walter Becker, George Porter Jr). legends of African Music (Toumani Diabate, Hugh Masekela, Ladysmith Black Mombazo); maestros of India (Zakir Hussain, Hariprasad Chaurasia); groundbreaking composers (Terry Riley) and even award winning directors (Alex Gibney). The Ragas Live Festival was born out of these increasingly ambitious radio shows, and began in the WKCR studio in 2012 when 50 musicians volunteered to play continuous sets for 24 hours, co-creating our historic first broadcast. In 2020, the event featured over 90 artists in 15 cities and 7 countries. The festival continues today as an epic 24 hour live event at Pioneer Works, in Red Hook, Brooklyn, which is simultaneously broadcast on WKCR and podcast on NYC Radio Live. To listen to your favorite Ragas Live Festival performances and to discover much more, subscribe below.