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.
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 6, 2026
Cochemea
Jan 6, 2026
Jan 6, 2026
54 min
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.

Dec 30, 2025
Daniel Freedman- Saha Gnawa
Dec 30, 2025
Dec 30, 2025
52 min
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, vocalsDaniel Freedman // drums, percussion,Amino Belyamani // qraqebs, backing vocalsDavid Lizmi // qraqebs, backing vocalsAhmed Jeriouda // qraqebs, backing vocalsNaoufal Atiq // backing vocalsJason Lindner // keyboards, synthesizersGuilherme Monteiro // guitarGustavo DiDalva // percussionGilad 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

Dec 21, 2025
Dec 21, 2025
36 min
This episode was originally broadcast on December 16, 2014.Happy Winter Solstice!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 by my apartment, played some instruments, hung out and talked about the big event coming up: His 35th Annual Winter Solstice Celebration.

Nov 11, 2025
Nels Cline and Yuka Honda
Nov 11, 2025
Nov 11, 2025
1hr 20 min
Yuka Honda is serious about food. In fact, her famous group, Cibo Matto means "crazy food," in Italian.
Her and Nels Cline (Wilco, Consentrik Quartet) are passionate about Star Root Farm, and are organizing an all-star fundraiser featuring them with John Medeski, Billy Martin, Scott Metzger and Sean Lennon.
It's going to be on November 20th at the Bearsville Theater and it's going to be amazing!Join David and Hungry Mari as they chat food, music, and human evolution with Nels Cline and Yuka Honda.

Nov 7, 2025
Nov 7, 2025
1hr 18 min
Two weeks ago the world lost the jazz legend Jack DeJohnette, who changed music with his work with artists like Miles Davis, John and Alice Coltrane, Ornette Coleman, Keith Jarrett and countless others. We spoke for over and hour and broadcast parts of this interview in 2010 for WKCR-FM, but it has remained unheard since then, and the complete conversation has never been shared.In our conversation, Jack reflects on his first time on stage as a child with T-Bone Walker, his work with folks like Sun Ra and Thelonius Monk, and the zen state he enters when he plays, tapping into what he calls the "the library of collective consciousness."

Oct 29, 2025
Kayhan Kalhor - a conversation with the master
Oct 29, 2025
Oct 29, 2025
36 min
Kayhan Kalhor is one of the outstanding instrumentalists of our time. A virtuoso of the kamancheh, he has helped popularize traditional Persian music and collaborated with musicians from Yo Yo Ma and Toumani Diabate. We connect with the Grammy Award winning artist at his home in Tehran and chat music, history, and philosophyKayhan will be performing a not-to-be-missed concert at Town Hall on November 30th

Oct 24, 2025
Shahid Parvez Khan Ragas Live Festival 2025
Oct 24, 2025
Oct 24, 2025
1hr 3 min
Final nineteenth set of the epic 24 Hour Ragas Live Festival.
Broadcast live from Pioneer Works from October 18-19th, 2025.
Shahid Parvez (sitar)
Nitin Mitta (tabla)
Visit Ragas Live Festival for more!
Ragas Live Festival is produced by Pioneer Works in collaboration with NYC Radio Live, The Society for Arts and Culture of South Asia (Palo Alto), People of Rhythm Productions, and Brooklyn Raga Massive.

Oct 24, 2025
L. Shankar Ragas Live Festival 2025
Oct 24, 2025
Oct 24, 2025
1hr 17 min
enth set of the epic 24 Hour Ragas Live Festival. Broadcast live from Pioneer Works from October 18-19th, 2025.
L. Shankar (double violin, vocals)
Selvaganesh (kajira, mridangam)
Swaminathan Selvaganesh (kanjira)
Amit Kavthekar (tabla)
Visit Ragas Live Festival for more!
Ragas Live Festival is produced by Pioneer Works in collaboration with NYC Radio Live, The Society for Arts and Culture of South Asia (Palo Alto), People of Rhythm Productions, and Brooklyn Raga Massive.
Photo Credit: Ellen Qbertpaya

Oct 24, 2025
Oct 24, 2025
14 min
Seventeenth set of the epic 24 Hour Ragas Live Festival.
Broadcast live from Pioneer Works from October 18-19th, 2025.
Anand Avirmed (Mongolian throat singing & horsehead fiddle)
Mari Tanaka (sruti Box)
Visit Ragas Live Festival for more!
Ragas Live Festival is produced by Pioneer Works in collaboration with NYC Radio Live, The Society for Arts and Culture of South Asia (Palo Alto), People of Rhythm Productions, and Brooklyn Raga Massive.

Oct 24, 2025
Priya Purushothaman Ragas Live Festival 2025
Oct 24, 2025
Oct 24, 2025
44 min
enth set of the epic 24 Hour Ragas Live Festival. Broadcast live from Pioneer Works from October 18-19th, 2025.
Priya Purushothaman (vocal)
Pratyush Goberdhan (sarangi)
Tejas Tope (tabla)
Visit Ragas Live Festival for more!
Ragas Live Festival is produced by Pioneer Works in collaboration with NYC Radio Live, The Society for Arts and Culture of South Asia (Palo Alto), People of Rhythm Productions, and Brooklyn Raga Massive.

Oct 24, 2025
Oct 24, 2025
58 min
Fifteenth set of the epic 24 Hour Ragas Live Festival. Broadcast live from Pioneer Works from October 18-19th, 2025.
Mandolin U. Rajesh (mandolin)
Swaminathan Selvaganesh (kanjira)
Praveen Narayan (tabla)
Visit Ragas Live Festival for more!
Ragas Live Festival is produced by Pioneer Works in collaboration with NYC Radio Live, The Society for Arts and Culture of South Asia (Palo Alto), People of Rhythm Productions, and Brooklyn Raga Massive.

Oct 24, 2025
Oct 24, 2025
39 min
Fourteenth set of the epic 24 Hour Ragas Live Festival. Broadcast live from Pioneer Works from October 18-19th, 2025.
NESOM honors Allah Rakha and Zakir Hussain (tabla ensemble)
Visit Ragas Live Festival for more!
Ragas Live Festival is produced by Pioneer Works in collaboration with NYC Radio Live, The Society for Arts and Culture of South Asia (Palo Alto), People of Rhythm Productions, and Brooklyn Raga Massive.

Oct 24, 2025
Purbayan Chatterjee Ragas Live Festival 2025
Oct 24, 2025
Oct 24, 2025
1hr 6 min
Thirteenth set of the epic 24 Hour Ragas Live Festival. Broadcast live from Pioneer Works from October 18-19th, 2025.
Purbayan Chatterjee (sitar)
Amit Kavthekar (tabla)
Visit Ragas Live Festival for more!
Ragas Live Festival is produced by Pioneer Works in collaboration with NYC Radio Live, The Society for Arts and Culture of South Asia (Palo Alto), People of Rhythm Productions, and Brooklyn Raga Massive.

Oct 24, 2025
Oct 24, 2025
51 min
Twelfth set of the epic 24 Hour Ragas Live Festival. Broadcast live from Pioneer Works from October 18-19th, 2025.
Vinay Desai (santoor)
Vivek Pandaya (tabla)
Visit Ragas Live Festival for more!
Ragas Live Festival is produced by Pioneer Works in collaboration with NYC Radio Live, The Society for Arts and Culture of South Asia (Palo Alto), People of Rhythm Productions, and Brooklyn Raga Massive.
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.







