As the summer comes to an end many of your regular show hosts return and some changes to the schedule are also coming! Many shows will have new hosts, and The Musicians' Show returns Wednesday nights!
There are great special broadcasts coming up this month, Friday September 5th the John Cage 24 hour birthday broadcast returns including archival materials from when Cage came to WKCR in the 1980s. Additionally we celebrate the great composer Arvo Pärt, read more about him in a fantastic article by our Classical Director, Charlie King. Lastly we celebrate the great John Coltrane yet again with 24 hours on September 23rd.
In this edition of the On Air Guide, read fantastic coverage of both the Newport Folk and Newport Jazz Festivals which we attended this year, our DJs’ favorite live songs, and lastly, read a tribute to the fantastic Eddie Palmieri, a New York Salsa legend who passed away last month.
Enjoy the month of programming and we look forward to another great fall here at WKCR.
Radio On,
Casey Lamb Station Manager
Sports Mason Lau sports@wkcr.org Mailing Address 2920 Broadway New York, NY 10027 USA
Cover design by McCartney Garb
Photograph by Teddy Wyche
Where Would We Be Without Newport Jazz?
by Sara Carson
At my first time at the Newport Jazz Festival this summer, I expected codified reverence. I expected the typical jazz club setting of gray heads nodding intellectually, or folks in chairs remaining steadfastly still despite the movement on the stage in front of them. What I saw caught me off guard: college-aged kids packed onto the lawn trying to catch a glimpse of Ron Carter, the crowd singing along to standards performed by Dianne Reeves, and quasimoshpits forming for Christian McBride’s big band. While music festivals generally tend to appeal to younger demographics, this poses to be especially significant for a jazz festival in the modern age.
When George Wein launched the festival in 1954, it was among the first times jazz was presented as “high art”. Modeled after the Boston Symphony Orchestra’s summer residency at Tanglewood, it placed jazz on the same cultural tier as classical music. That elevation was necessary at the time, but decades later, some of the structures built to legitimize jazz have begun to stifle it. Academia, in particular, has institutionalized the music and turned it into an intellectual exercise. Many young musicians’ first exposure to the music is through the formalities of Essentially Ellington competitions or Berklee summer programs. As a student studying jazz, it’s easy to forget what makes the music feel urgent.
“One thing that’s way different than it used to be is the advent of jazz education,” Christian McBride, Newport’s Artistic Director, told me. “I hate to go as far as to say it’s like athletics… There’s a Big 10 in jazz now.” Conservatories are churning out skilled
players with pristine technique and deep historical knowledge, but often at the expense of rawness and emotional risk. An individual facet of Newport is that it brings jazz to young people as something completely separate from pedagogy. They feel a palpable energy from experiencing jazz as an action rather than a stagnant routine of music theory exercises, scales, and bebop licks. More importantly, they see people they relate to, not just in the crowd but commanding the main stage.
This year’s festival opened with 25-year-old vocalist Tyreek McDole, who blew the
crowd away with his take on Billy Stayhorn’s “Lush Life”. New Jazz Underground opened for day two, a trio composed of three recent Juilliard students who had the crowd chanting their group’s name over a heavy backbeat. Artists like Nubya Garcia, Ekep Nkwelle, and Emmet Cohen each brought something new to the stage alongside well-established legends such as Ron Carter and Kenny Garrett. There is something powerful about seeing a young crowd respond to this music not because they were told it was important, but because it moved them. To me, that is reverence.
Historically this festival has brought greats back to life. In 1955 critics wrote off a 29-year-old Miles Davis due to his drug problems, yet he took to Newport stage and gave a performance of “Round Midnight” so moving it led to a thirtyyear relationship with Columbia Records. A year later, with big bands seen as relics of a bygone era, Duke Ellington’s orchestra delivered a now legendary performance of “Diminuendo and Crescendo in Blue” that revived his career and reminded the world of his brilliance.
Today, Newport is sparking a different kind of revival, bringing humanity back into jazz. It invites messy, note-flubbing, unscripted life back into a sterile practice of technical mastery and historical fidelity. That is precisely why this festival, 70 years into its legacy, still matters.
Sara Carson is the Student Life Director. Tune in to 89.9FM anytime from 12PM to 3PM to hear her program Out to Lunch on Mondays.
Photography by Teddy Wyche
Scenes from the Newport Folk Festival
by Solène Millsap
For one weekend in Rhode Island, there exists an air of persistence, participation in something historic, year after year. Looking around Fort Adams State Park, it’s not a scene from a typical festival: few phones are out, seeing a camera is rare, and attendees are dressed in more utilitarian attire than the couture festival wear of, say, Coachella. Many are sitting, eating, surrounded by children or close friends, a scene more typical of a local farmers’ market band than a big-name event. Perched at the mouth of the Newport harbor, a crisp ocean breeze blows from all sides. The entrance is regularly by ferry or bike, with foot traffic prioritized. One is reminded that this is the same air Bob Dylan breathed upon his “going electric” in 1965. This year, Cameron Winter, a New York native, performed a solo set on the bike-powered stage (depicted below).” Later that day, he, too, “went electric,” performing a set with his band Geese on one of the larger stages.
Photos by Solène Millsap
MJ Lenderman really got the crowd going. With his band, The Wind, he performed at a stage that is traditionally seated, with festival-goers respectfully enjoying each artist that performs there.
Halfway through their set, however, everyone, in an unorchestrated fashion, could no longer bear the pleasantries of the seating and rushed to the barricade, dancing in the afternoon breeze. It literally fell apart, we all have work to do.
Arvo Pärt’s Pots
by Charlie Kusiel King
Throughout the late 1960s and early 70s, Arvo Pärt was unsure if he would ever compose again. In deep conflict with the twelve-tone style which had permeated his life and work for the past decade, the Estonian composer longed for simplicity. Pärt, experiencing a spiritual crisis during this time, converted to Orthodoxy in 1972, and over the next four years found solace in his intense study of Gregorian chant and European early music.
Nora Pärt, worried for the future of her husband’s musical practice, traveled with him to Georgia in 1974 to meet artist and psychologist Viktor Krivorotov. Painting, suggested Krivorotov, could help Arvo move away from his creative block. By practicing a medium in which he had no prior experience, he might be able to express himself in a more uninhibited manner, one in which he was unrestrained by rules and theory, where he could unlock a childlike curiosity without fear of mistakes. Painting indeed became the medium that the composer settled on, his surface of choice not being canvas or paper, but clay flowerpots.
others, brightened every corner of his and Nora’s home in Mustamäe. On his pots, Pärt painted simple, colorful ideas: lines and dots.1
Finally, in 1976, Pärt began writing music again, now in a wholly new style of minimalism. Tintinnabuli, as he coined his new compositional technique, comes from the Latin word tintinnabulum, for bell. Generally, Pärt’s music in this style is comprised of two lines: one moving in stepwise motion as the other arpeggiates.2 This unadorned nature of Tintinnabuli, like his painted flowerpots, allows his meticulous intentionality to come to the forefront of the music. Pärt’s compositions, in this way, contain a haunting depth, despite being relatively uncomplicated in a musical sense, and it is this combination of elements that reflects his search for a type of pure sound. “I could compare my music to white light which contains all colours,” Pärt says in the liner notes of his 1999 album Alina (ECM). “Only a prism can divide the colours and make them appear; this prism could be the spirit of the listener.”3
In the following years, Arvo Pärt painted over 100 pots. The pieces, which he completed independently and in collaboration with
1 Meikar, Nele. “A Journey to One’s Own Voice: The Story of a Flower Pot.” Arvo Pärt Centre, 26 Feb. 2018.
2 Hillier, Paul. Arvo Pärt. 1997, p. 99.
3 Pärt, Arvo, et al. Alina. ECM, 1999.
Arvo Pärt
Photo by Unknown
Pärt’s earliest works of Tintinnabuli are almost among his most prominent. Examples include compositions such as "Fratres," which can be played by any configuration of instruments; "Cantus in Memoriam Benjamin Britten," written for orchestra; and "Spiegel im Spiegel" (‘mirror within a mirror’ in German), for violin and piano.
My first encounter with the music of Arvo Pärt came in early 2020, when my youth orchestra (the Cleveland Orchestra Youth Orchestra) performed his work In Principio. Ironically, as a clarinet player obsessed with the classical and romantic eras, and not yet hip to music of the later twentieth century, I couldn’t have been less interested. Still, I registered Pärt for his sound, totally different from anything I had heard before. Tonally hollow and yet full of rich, emotional complexity. Starkly monochromatic and yet colorful.
Following a brain injury in 2021, I became disillusioned with the music I had previously immersed myself in. Classical music was too beautiful, romanticism too idyllic. These styles, often considered among the most supreme forms of European music, suddenly seemed overly fantastical to me. Perhaps like Pärt, in a certain way, I needed simplicity, and eventually found both early and serialist music to be places of incredible meditation and realism. Composers such as Palestrina, Tallis, Schoenberg, and Shostakovich became my regulars.
Apparently, all roads lead back to Arvo Pärt, as they did for me after some time, and the scope of his influence on my life has since become difficult to express. Pärt was and continues to be a lifeline for me in many facets, helping to redefine my relationship with music as a whole—a major vulnerability, importance, and often point of confusion—and becoming an inspiration in a wider creative and moral sense. His words from 1999 ring true: Arvo Pärt wrote a white light, and there I have found color. In my listening experience, the closest comparison to Pärt’s work is often a profound silence.
Among the recordings of his work, though
there are too many to list, those that I find the most moving are The Deer’s Cry (2016), Alina (1999), Miserere (1991) (all released on ECM), and De Profundis (2006, Harmonia Mundi). In addition, great sources of insight into Pärt for me have been found in both Dorian Supin’s 2002 documentary Arvo Pärt: 24 Preludes for a Fugue and the recent graphic novel biography Between Two Sounds: Arvo Pärt’s Journey to His Musical Language by Joonas Sildre. Equally delightful, also, is Björk’s interview of Pärt in her 1997 film for the BBC Modern Minimalists.
This month sees the 90th birthday of Pärt, who was born on September 11, 1935 in Paide, Estonia. His principal teachers were Veljo Tormis at the Tallinn Music School and Heino Eller at the Tallinn State Conservatoire, and for nine years, beginning in 1958, he worked as an engineer for the Estonian Radio. Though he began his career in the 1960s as a celebrated composer of serialism and avant-garde music, Pärt is known best for his Tintinnabuli style, the technique in which he has composed since the mid 1970s4. In recent years, he has been among the most-frequently performed living composers in the world, and in 2025, he was named The Richard and Barbara Debs Composer’s Chair at Carnegie Hall, with the organization curating a series of seven concerts centered around his music.5
This year, WKCR pays homage to Arvo Pärt for the first time with a special birthday broadcast. Tune in on Thursday, September 11 from 9:30am-12pm and 3pm-6pm as we celebrate his remarkable life and work.
4 “Biography.” Arvo Pärt Centre.
5 “Arvo Pärt Remains among the World’s Most Performed Contemporary Composers in Bachtrack’s Annual List.” Arvo Pärt Centre, 27 Jan. 2025.
Charlie Kusiel King is Classical Department Director and a regular host of The Early Music Show, which airs on Fridays from 9:30AM-12:00PM.
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Sin Fronteras
Jazz Alternatives
Nueva Canción
Som do
Special Broadcasts
SPECIAL BROADCASTS
Return of The Musicians' Show
Wednesday, September 3, 6-9 PM
This September marks the return of a beloved WKCR tradition: every Wednesday, Jazz Alternatives will be hosted by a professional working musician. In true WKCR fashion, the musician-host will select the music and provide the commentary. To kick off the current run, we will unearth a historical recording of The Musician’s Show from the WKCR archives.
John Cage Birthday Broadcast
Friday, September 5, all day
Avant-garde composer John Cage is an exemplar of New Music, as we define it here on WKCR, and of contemporary classical music. He invented and composed for the “prepared piano,” turning the instrument into a percussion orchestra; he drew from Eastern philosophies and the role of chance; he called into question the differences between music, sound, and silence. We celebrate his musical legacy as well as his history with WKCR: on September 5, we will re-broadcast his 1987 “Opera Tapes,” which he composed and played on the spot on the WKCR airwaves.
Arvo Pärt Birthday Broadcast
Thursday, September 11, 9:30-noon and 3-6 PM
On September 11, we will dedicate our two Classical department shows, Cereal Music and Extended Technique, to the music of living composer Arvo Pärt. From his inspiration from early forms like Gregorian chant to his contributions to minimalism, Pärt demonstrates perfectly the composer who draws from tradition while pushing boundaries. Radio has played a pivotal role in the spread of Pärt’s music––ECM founder Manfred Eicher first heard Pärt on the radio, leading to the recording of Tabula Rasa (1984)––and we are honored to continue the tradition.
Club-FM
Friday, September 12, 10 PM - Saturday, September 13, 3 AM
An extension of the usual Friday night Workaround sound, five hours beginning late Friday night will be dedicated to a live broadcast from a club in Brooklyn. You may recognize some familiar styles, because the DJs hosting Club-FM are our very own WKCR hosts.
John Coltrane Birthday Broadcast
Tuesday, September 23, all day
Closing out a month of fabulous broadcasts is one of our all-time favorites: 24 hours dedicated to the one and only John Coltrane. From bebop to hard bop to model to free, Coltrane’s style and musicality had no boundaries. By reaching new heights and depths, Trane expanded our very conception of what jazz is and can be. This year, we celebrate the 99th anniversary of his birth.
THEMED SHOWS
SUNDAY PROFILES
Sundays 2:00-7:00 PM
TBD
September 7th, 2:00-7:00PM
Host: TBD
TBD
September 14th, 2:00-7:00PM
Host: TBD
TBD
September 21st, 2:00-7:00PM
Host: TBD
"Labeled"
September 28th, 2:00-7:00PM
Host: Steve Mandel, Jake Cohn
“Labeled” returns on WKCR for another five-hour deep dive into a record label.
Show Listings
JAZZ
Daybreak Express, Mon.-Fri. 5-8:20am
Out to Lunch, Mon./Tues./Thurs./Fri. 12-3pm
Jazz Alternatives, Mon.-Fri. 6-9pm
The core of our jazz offerings, these three programs span the entire range of recorded jazz: everything from New Orleans jazz, jazz age, swing era, bebop, hard-bop, modal, free, and avant-garde. Hosts rotate daily, offering an exciting variety of approaches, some of which include thematic presentation, artist interviews, or artist profiles.
On the first Wednesday of every month, Jazz Alternatives becomes “The Musician’s Show” and is hosted by a professional working musician.
Birdflight, Tues.-Thurs. 8:20-9:30am
Archival programs from the late Phil Schaap, one of the world’s leading jazz historians, producers, and an NEA Jazz Master, who hosted this daily forum on the music of Charlie Parker for about 40 years.
Now's The Time*, Fri. 8:20-9:30am
The newest show from WKCR Jazz is dedicated to jazz as a living art form and features the music of young, upand-coming musicians pushing the genre forward.
Traditions in Swing, Sat. 6-9pm
Archival programs from the late Phil Schaap. This awardwinning Saturday night staple presents focused thematic programs on jazz until World War II. Schaap presents the music, much of it incredibly rare, from the best sound source—often the original 78 issue.
Phil Lives*, Mon. 3-5am
Selections of archival programs from late Phil Schaap. This show features interviews, tributes, and portions of longform programs.
Jazz ‘til Dawn, Sun. 4-6 AM
An early Sunday morning jazz program, limitless in era and style.
CLASSICAL
Cereal Music, Mon.-Thurs. 9:30am-12pm
An entirely open-ended classical show to start your weekdays.
The Early Music Show, Fri. 9:30am-12pm
Dedicated primarily to European medieval, Renaissance, and baroque music before c. 1800.
Extended Technique*, Wed. & Thurs. 3-6pm
WKCR’s first interdepartmental show (in the New Music and Classical departments) dedicated to contemporary classical music. Under the direction of the New Music and Classical departments, this program is dedicated to experimental classical music.
Afternoon Classical, Fri. 3-6pm.
Two hours of unrestricted classical music selections followed by one hour dedicated entirely to the music of J.S. Bach.
Saturday Night at the Opera, Sat. 9pm-12:30am.
One of NYC’s longest running opera shows, Saturday Night at the Opera features one opera in its entirety, with time for history and commentary, each week.
NEW MUSIC
Afternoon New Music, Mon. & Tues. 3-6pm
Our daytime new music program features a wide variety of music that challenges boundaries and subverts categorizations. Shows include everything from seminal new music compositions to the most challenging of obscure deep cuts and new releases.
Transfigured Night, Tues./Thurs. 1-5am and Sat. 2-6am
Our overnight explorations into the world of new music, Transfigured Night rewards our late night listeners with a wide range of sounds and experimental music.
Workaround*, Fri. 9-10pm
WKCR presents live sets from local professional and student DJs.
Live Constructions, Sun. 10-11pm
This weekly program features a live in-studio performance or a previous performance recorded at WKCR.
* Indicates show was created after January 2022
LISTINGS FOR LISTENERS
AMERICAN
Honky Tonkin’, Tues. 10-11pm
One of WKCR’s longest-running American music programs, Honky Tonkin’ focuses on country music from the 1930s through the 1950s.
Tuesday’s Just as Bad, Tues. 11:30pm - Wed. 1am
For the first hour, Tuesday’s Just as Bad explores the world of blues prior to World War II. In the final half hour, hosts turn to the post-war years.
Night Train, Wed. 1-5am
All aboard! One of two overnight programs in the American Department, Night Train rolls through the post-war R&B and soul tradition, from the genre’s emergence in the 1940s and ‘50s through the funk revolution in the ‘70s. Shows often feature extended live recordings and concerts.
Offbeat, Fri. 1-5am
Offbeat exposes undiscovered, underplayed, or up-andcoming new hip hop artists, including experimental instrumental artists not typically played on mainstream hip hop radio.
Across 110th Street, Sat. 12-2pm
Across 110th Street airs soul, funk, and dance music from the 1960s through the ‘80s and ‘90s.
Something Inside of Me, Sat. 2-4pm
WKCR’s Saturday afternoon blues show, Something Inside of Me focuses on electric and post-war styles.
Hobo’s Lullaby, Sat. 4-6pm
Rooted in the folk revival of the 1950s and ‘60s, Hobo’s Lullaby airs American folk and traditional music styles from the early 20th century through the present day. Shows feature old staples like Leadbelly, Elizabeth Cotton, and Woody Guthrie through contemporary stalwarts like the Carolina Chocolate Drops.
Notes from the Underground, Sun. 12:30-2am
Notes from the Underground showcases contemporary hip hop and rap music with an emphasis on emerging and experimental artists. The program also hosts local and visiting artists for interviews, freestyles, and guest curation.
Amazing Grace, Sun. 8-10am
Greeting listeners on Sunday morning, Amazing Grace shares the African-American gospel tradition.
The Moonshine Show, Sun. 10am-12pm
On the air for nearly 60 years, The Moonshine Show showcases the American Bluegrass tradition, from the earliest roots in vernacular string-band music, the genre’s pioneers in the 1940s and 50s and advancements in the 60s and 70s, through the leading innovators of today.
The Tennessee Border Show, Sun. 12-2pm
The Tennessee Border Show highlights the singersongwriter tradition, from Hank Williams and Townes Van Zandt to Lucinda Williams.
LATIN
Caribe Latino, Mon. 10pm-12am
Caribe Latino features the diverse, upbeat music from Latin communities in the Caribbean. Popular Latin rhythms such as Salsa, Merengue, Bachata and Latin Jazz take center stage throughout the program.
Urbano Latinx, Tues. 12-1am
From salsa and merengue to Latin punk rock, Urbano Latinx airs contemporary sounds from Latin America, the Caribbean, and the diaspora.
Sin Fronteras*, Wed. 12-3pm
Occupying the time slot of Out to Lunch on Wednesday afternoons, Sin Fronteras explores the tremendous and growing tradition of Latin Jazz.
Nueva Canción, Wed. 10-11pm
Nueva Canción explores protest music created throughout Latin America during the 1960s and ‘70s, on its own and in the context of protest music from other countries and during time periods.
Som do Brasil, Wed. 11pm - Thurs. 1am
From samba and bossa nova to MPB, Som do Brazil features the enchanting sounds and rhythms of Brazil.
Sonidos Colombianos, Fri. 10-11pm
Sonidos Colombianos presents music from Colombia. The bilingual musical tour includes not only cumbia, but also the guitar-based bambuco from the Andean region, the harp llanero music from the Eastern Plains, the marimba-infused currulao from the Pacific Region, and the accordion-driven vallenato of the North Atlantic Coast.
* indicates show was created after January 2022
LISTINGS FOR LISTENERS
The Mambo Machine, Fri. 11pm - Sat. 2am
The Mambo Machine is the longest running salsa show in New York City. The program plays a wide spectrum of Afro-Latin rhythms perfect for dancing.
El Sonido de la Calle*, Sun. 2-4am
The Latin companion to Sunday morning’s Notes from Underground, El Sonido de la Calle highlights the diverse world of contemporary Spanish-language hip hop and dance music.
IN ALL LANGUAGES
The Celtic Show, Mon. 12-1am
Music from across the island of Ireland throughout the era of recorded music, particularly focusing on traditional folk and vernacular music forms.
Coordinated Universal Time, Mon. 1-3am
Coordinated Universal Time brings listeners the latest cut of music from across the globe, especially highlighting music that does not get attention in America.
The African Show, Thurs. 10pm-12am
The longest running African music radio show in the United States, The African Show brings listeners a variety of music from the entire continent of Africwa.
Middle Eastern Influences, Fri. 12-1am
Middle Eastern Influences features selections from the Middle East and North Africa, with particular attention on traditional forms.
Sounds of Asia and Couleurs Antillaises, Sat. 6-8am
Previously Sounds of China, Sounds of Asia explores the recorded musical traditions and innovations of Asia and the Pacific Islands. Couleurs Antillaises features music from Haiti and the French-speaking Carribean. These shows alternate in the Saturday morning timeslot so each airs every two weeks.
Eastern Standard Time, Sat. 8am-12pm
One of New York’s most popular Reggae programs, Eastern Standard Time captures listeners with the hypnotic sounds of Reggae and Jamaican dance music.
Field Trip, Sun. 6-8am
Field Trip focuses on the music and practice of field recordings: music recorded outside of a studio. This definition is expansive and includes everything from released recordings to street music documented by WKCR.
Raag Aur Taal, Sun. 7-9pm
Raag Aur Taal (which means “melody and rhythm”) explores the classical musical heritage of South Asia.
Back in the USSR, Sun. 11pm-12am
Back in the USSR features music from Eastern Europe, East Asia, and Central Asia, from the mid-20th century through the present.
NEWS & ARTS
Monday Morningside*, Mon. 8:30-9:30am
WKCR’s morning news broadcast, Monday Morningside features segments on events around Morningside Heights and upper Manhattan. All episodes are available as podcasts on Spotify.
News and Arts Program, Sun.-Thurs. 9-10pm
These programs form the core of our News and Arts programming. On Sundays, “Soundstage” features a live reading of a play; on Mondays, “Late City” offers retrospective coverage on local cultural happenings; on Thursdays, “Playlist Profiles” characterize a person through music. As news is constantly evolving, note that these programs are subject to change and preemption.
SPECIAL BROADCASTS
Sunday Profile, Sun. 2-7pm*
This five-hour program dedicated to a longform, researched profiles of a pioneering artist, label, or musical movement. Originally known as “Jazz Profiles,” this show has expanded its scope; today, it may feature any of the musical traditions represented by WKCR’s programs.
* indicates show was created after January 2022
Eddie Palmieri’s Everlasting Groove
by Damaris Lindsay
The world of Latin music dimmed this week with the passing of Eddie Palmieri— pianist, composer, bandleader, cultural firebrand, and eternal experimenter. He was 88. His loss leaves not just silence but a profound ache in the hearts of musicians, dancers, and listeners who lived, moved, and celebrated through his music.
Palmieri was born in 1936 in Spanish Harlem,
the son of Puerto Rican parents who infused their home with rhythm and song. Music wasn’t a hobby in the Palmieri household—it was the air they breathed. His older brother Charlie sat him at the piano, though Eddie often joked that he was really a frustrated percussionist who just happened to pound the keyboard.1 That
percussionist’s drive never left him. It became his trademark: rhythm exploding through melody, the piano transformed into a drum kit under his hands.
When he launched La Perfecta in 1961, Palmieri didn’t just form a band—he sparked a revolution. With trombones instead of trumpets and arrangements that bent rules until they snapped, he remade the sound of Latin dance music. From Bronx clubs to the Palladium Ballroom, his music was impossible to ignore: raw, propulsive, joyful, and fearless. Azúcar Pa’ Ti stretched beyond radio’s limits, Justicia thundered with both groove and protest, and every performance reminded audiences that Palmieri was never afraid to take the music— and his listeners—somewhere new.
On stage, they called him “the Madman of Salsa,” and for good reason. One moment he’d slam the piano with elbows and forearms, the next he’d let a single chord hang in the air like fire. He loved to test the dancers, pushing his band harder, daring the floor to keep up. But beneath the theatrics was a mind as deep as it was wild: Palmieri’s music drew from Monk and McCoy Tyner as much as from bomba and son, fusing worlds into something unmistakably his own.
Over the years, accolades piled up— Grammys, lifetime achievement awards, the title of NEA Jazz Master. But for Palmieri, the true prize was always the music itself, and what it made possible: joy, resistance, communion. He fought to ensure Latin jazz had its place at the table, not for himself, but for the generations to come.
At WKCR, Palmieri’s music has always been more than a sound. It is a lifeblood—pulsing through Mambo Machine, Sin Fronteras, and countless broadcasts that have introduced listeners to salsa’s power. Salsa is not just a genre. It is a living archive of joy and defiance, a culture born in New York and resonating worldwide. Few embodied that spirit as completely as Eddie Palmieri.
That’s why, as we mourn his passing, we remember how we can celebrate him. In past years, WKCR has presented a 48-hour
Salsa Festival—two straight days devoted to the greats of salsa, Palmieri among them. Because to honor him is not simply to remember him, but to keep the music alive, on the airwaves, in our communities, and on the dance floor.
Palmieri once said: “Whenever I am able to relate, I do, because it’s so important, our genre. I love it so much. It put the world to dance.”2
This month, the world pauses to mourn— but it will keep dancing, thanks to Eddie.
From all of us at WKCR’s Latin Department: Que viva Eddie Palmieri.
2 Smithsonian Jazz Oral History Program. 2012. “Eddie Palmieri.” National Museum of American History. https:// amhistory.si.edu/jazz/Palmieri-Eddie/Palmieri_Eddie_Interview_Transcription.pdf.
Damaris Lindsay is the Latin Department Director and programs Urbano Latinx regularly from 12AM to 1AM every Tuesday.
Charlie Kusiel King, Classical Head: There are way too many to choose from (anything from Amy Winehouse at the BBC, Sade’s Lovers Live, or Tame Impala’s Tiny Desk), but one that comes to mind right away is Jeff Buckley’s “Je N'en Connais Pas La Fin” live at Sin-é in 1993. Just beautiful.
Stella Lucine Manyan, Programmer: Erykah Badu’s “Other Side of the Game” live from 1997. The song is amazing just as it was recorded, but something about her live, raw vocals, and the way they make the audience feel all of these emotions alongside her create a story so much more beautiful and heartfelt.
David Gonzalez, Programmer: This is a hard one, but I’ll give my vote to the version of “Té Para Tres” from Soda Stereo’s Comfort y Música Para Volar MTV Unplugged session. It’s a short and sweet song, but the slowing down of the tempo, the introduction of strings, the softer delivery of Gustavo Cerati’s vocals, and the use of an electric guitar for the main melodies give the song a much more emotional resonance that fits with the somber scene it was inspired by (it was inspired by a conversation he had with his parents when his dad told them his cancer was terminal). To top it off, he also throws in a guitar solo from a Luis Alberto Spinetta song, “Cementerio Club”, another song by a famous Argentine rock artist that speaks to the pain of grief, and it feels right at home in this track, almost like a secondary cry of pain. The performance is a beautiful ode to grief that manages to encapsulate all the associated emotions in a short 4-minute masterpiece.
McKenna Roberts, Programmer: Although it’s only on YouTube, “Someone Great” by LCD Soundsystem live at Austin City Limits in 2018 is a classic to me. Seeing any synth work live is always fun, but something about literally seeing every element of instrumentation come together makes me emotional.
Sara Carson, Student Life Director: Swingin’ in Seattle
Live at the Penthouse from Cannonball Adderley and his quintet! It is difficult for a recording to capture the energy of a live performance, but this album does it. It also shows a completely different side of Cannonball (a very latesixties side) from the quite modern sound he eventually came into.
Stella Chiara Fusaro, Programmer: Nina Simone’s “You’d Be So Nice to Come Home To” live at the Newport Jazz Festival in 1960.
Sawyer Huckabee, Programmer: “Ray of Light” by Madonna live on Oprah in 1998. The energy from the audience is palpable, Madonna is the best she has ever sounded, and the anthem of the '90s and speed finds more resonance than ever.
Sam Seliger, Programmer: Gotta be Focus playing “Hocus Pocus” on NBC’s Midnight Special TV show in 1972. It’s always a crazy and impressive song, but they sent it to full ludicrous speed that night.
AROUND THE What is versionyourof
Ian Pumphrey, NARTS Head: Another Nina Simone, her Montreux Jazz rendition of Janis Ian’s “Stars,” never have I heard someone elevate a piece like that. I would also regret not bringing up the last piece of music Fishmans would play with frontman Shinji Sato before his death months later: “Long Season,” played at Akasaka Blitz. It is 41 minutes long and really special.
Caroline Nieto, Programmer: “Mojo Pin (Tongue Version)” by Jeff Buckley live at King Cat Theater, Seattle, WA, May 1995. His ad-libs make the song ten minutes long, and it’s an untouchable vocal performance!!
Rachel Smith, Program Director: Ella Fitzgerald’s rendition of “Mack the Knife” from Ella in Berlin, live from the Deutschlandhalle in 1960. She completely forgets the lyrics to the tune and substitutes her own, which are way more fun to listen to! Armstrong used to say that he invented scatting because his sheet music fell off the stand—recordings like Ella’s remind us that mishaps can give rise to the best improvisations.
Casey Lamb, Station Manager: Too many to choose from, so I have these picks: “Stop Making Sense” by Talking Heads, Neil Young’s album “Live Rust,” and “Live at the Village Vanguard Again!” by John Coltrane.
Ben Rothman, American Head: Kris Kristofferson’s 2003 live version of “Don’t Let the Bastards Get You Down.” He cleverly updates some of the lyrics to be more politically relevant to the time.
Hadassah Weinmartin, Jazz Head: “Soul Intro / The Chicken (Live)” performed by the Jaco Pastorius big band. This track is such a classic and has incredible energy. It starts with Jaco thanking his mother, which I think is very sweet.
favorite live of a song?
Francisco Javier Reyes, Programmer: Tom Waits’ “Telephone Call From Istanbul.” It takes me places.
Ale Díaz-Pizarro, Programmer: Getting on the Nina Simone train—“Black Is The Color Of My True Love’s Hair,” live at UMass Amherst on October 4th, 1969, with Emile Latimer on guitar. Much has been said about Nina Simone’s ability to imbue folk music with her unique gravitas, and how, in her voice and her hands, this traditional Scottish ballad (elsewhere done by Jean Ritchie and other Round balladeers) becomes a celebration of Black beauty and experience. But this is true, as well, on the studio recording of “Wild Is the Wind.” The live version of this song is as captivating as all of Simone’s live performances, but around the middle mark it turns absolutely bewitching: vocals switch over from Simone to Latimer (whose timbre is not dissimilar to Simone’s), ushered in by a vaguely-atonal guitar intro, and we see Simone’s talent as a classically-trained pianist shine as her piano becomes a secondary voice in dialogue with Latimer’s vocals. There is nothing I can say about this version that does it justice. Just listen to it.
Taylor Guidry, Programmer: Alanis Morissette’s live performance of “You Oughta Know” at the 1996 Grammy Awards.
Ella Presiado, Publicity Director: This is so hard because one of my favorite things ever is finding a live version of a song I already love. But I’ll say “Expressway to Yr. Skull” Live at Smart Bar in 1985 by Sonic Youth or their performance of “Kool Thing” for MTV in 1992 (which is only on YouTube). I wish so badly that I could have seen them live, but alas… OMG, I forgot about Harry Dean Stanton’s album recorded from his living room for a documentary made about his life (which maybe doesn’t count for this question). His covers of “Blue Bayou” and “Everybody’s Talkin’” are so stripped down, but hearing them sung in his unadulterated old man voice makes me emotional every time I hear them.
Tanvi Krishnamurthy, Programmer: “Oh Babe, It Ain’t No Lie” Live by Elizabeth Cotten. The album this comes from is a live album, the only one she ever did, and also her last album before she passed away. All the studio versions of these songs are available, but if you listen to the live album and this track in particular, you can hear her telling stories to the audience and getting the crowd to sing along with her. I think she had a unique, infectious stage presence that showcased not just her music experience but her life experience—in this recording, she is able to make the crowd laugh and sing in unison, and I think it’s a testament to an innate quality of her character and skill! She brought this audience together in such a sincere way—it makes me feel like I’m experiencing some sort of collective effervescence with that audience and with her even as I listen to it. I can only imagine what it would’ve felt like being in that crowd!
Ronit Kathuria, Programmer: Amy Winehouse's “October Song” (Live from T In The Park, 2004). It's amazing enough that she made a song about the death of her bird so upbeat, but the live version she would perform with her band after releasing Frank takes it to another level entirely. It's so exciting you could practically dance to it. The saxophone and horns burst with energy, there's a great sax solo in the middle, and Amy goes all out on her vocals. The raw, joyful intensity differs so much from the studio version; it's such a pleasure to revisit.
Illustration of John Coltrane by McCartney Garb
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On Air 's editorial board is McCartney Garb, Ella Werstler, Jem Hanan, & Olivia Callanan
The editorial team for this issue was Caroline Nieto Charlie Kusiel King, Evangeline Cortez, & Maya Phillips
Special thanks to Ale Díaz-Pizarro, Ben Rothman, Casey Lamb, David Gonzalez, Ella Presiado, Francisco Javier Reyes, Hadassah Weinmartin, Ian Pumphrey, McKenna Roberts, Rachel Smith, Ronit Kathuria, Sam Seliger, Sara Carson, Sawyer Huckabee, Solène Millsap, Stella Chiara Fusaro, Stella Lucine Manyan, Tanvi Krishnamurthy, & Taylor Guidry
