NYC Radio Live

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

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.  

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.

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."   

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 philosophy Kayhan will be performing a not-to-be-missed concert at Town Hall on November 30th 

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.

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

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

Eleventh set of the epic 24 Hour Ragas Live Festival.  Broadcast live from Pioneer Works from October 18-19th, 2025. Whispering Worlds w/ Aaron Shragge (John Hassell Tribute)  Aaron Shragge -trumpet/shakuhachi/fx/composition Luke Schwartz, guitar Damon Banks, bass Deric Dickens, drums   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.

Tenth set of the epic 24 Hour Ragas Live Festival.  Broadcast live from Pioneer Works from October 18-19th, 2025.   Radhika Samson (surbahar) Tejas Tope (pakawaj)   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.

Ninth of the epic 24 Hour Ragas Live Festival.  Broadcast live from Pioneer Works from October 18-19th, 2025.   Vishnu Ramprasad (navtar) Praveen Narayan (tabla) Sriram Raman  (mridangam)   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.

Eighth set of the epic 24 Hour Ragas Live Festival.  Broadcast live from Pioneer Works from October 18-19th 2025.   Asif Khan & Karamat Khan  (vocal, 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.

Seventh set of the epic 24 Hour Ragas Live Festival.  Broadcast live from Pioneer Works from October 18-19th 2025. Sannan Mahboob (Afghan rubab) Karamat Khan (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.