OnAir September 2023

ON AIR

WKCR 89.9 FM

September 2023 Vol. xxii, No. 9

OnAir · September 2023

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WKCR 89.9 FM Station Manager Ale Díaz-Pizarro stationmanager@wkcr.org Program Director Maria Shaughnessy programming@wkcr.org Director of Operations Zachary Vanderslice operations@wkcr.org Student Life Director Ted Schmiedeler studentlife@wkcr.org Publicity Director Georgia Dillane publicity@wkcr.org Jazz Heads Tanvi Krishnamurthy & Satch Peterson jazz@wkcr.org New Music Head Razvan Matei newmusic@wkcr.org Classical Head Melisa Nehrozoglu classical@wkcr.org American Head McKenna Roberts american@wkcr.org In All Languages Head Ann Vettikkal ial@wkcr.org Latin Head Leni Bryan latin@wkcr.org News & Arts Head Josh Kazali news@wkcr.org Sports Head August Phillips sports@wkcr.org

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Dear Listeners, Rarely am I as excited to share an issue of OnAir with you—which is saying a lot, because putting out OnAir is one of my favorite things to do at WKCR. Nonetheless, as befits September— the month where our students return for the semester, and thus the life returns in full to WKCR's programming—this issue is bursting at the seams in all its effort to showcase many of WKCR's different faces.

This month, we offer you two different kinds of insights into two New York musical giants: John Cage, whose work you will find discussed in an interview with pianist Adam Tendler; and Sonny Rollins, whose unique zeal is exhibited in a list of seven of his best live performances. This issue, we also bring you a short profile on Bollywood legend Lata Mangeshkar, as well as the latest installment in Ted Schmiedeler's series of hip hop articles (in collaboration with Sarah B.). If you're a fan of Ted's hip hop writing, you'll be pleased to know that a form of it will be on our airwaves starting September 4th, as Ted begins hosting our new WKCR hip hop show, focused on deconstructing the samples behind famous hip hop albums.

This is a month of giants, and of course that list would be incomplete without John Coltrane. Our cover this month is the poster of Coltrane that hangs on the main wall of our Master Control room, over the red chair on which many of the jazz greats have sat over the years. It's a tangible testament to WKCR's storied past—a legacy continued and expanded by this month's broadcasts.

Happy Listening!

Alejandra Díaz-Pizarro Station Manager Cover art by Georgia Dillane, from a photo by the artist.

Mailing Address

CONTACT US

2920 Broadway General Inquiries: board@wkcr.org New York, NY 10027 Listener Line: 212-854-9920 USA ©Copyright 2023 WKCR FM NYC

This Month OnAir Making Room for Cage: An Interview with Pianist Adam Tendler

. . . page 4

Blue 7: Seven Live Sonny Rollins Tracks . . . page 8

The Sonny Rollins Bridge "Nightingale of India:" The Legend of Lata Mangeshkar

. . . page 10

. . . page 11

Weekly Schedule . . . page 12

Special Broadcasts & Themed Shows . . . page 14

Show Listings for WKCR Listeners . . . page 15

The Sample Dilemma: Hip Hop and Copyright . . . page 18

OnAir · September 2023

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FEATURE PIECE

Making Room for Cage

An Interview with Pianist Adam Tendler

O

by Casey Lamb

n September 5th, we celebrate the legendary yet often controversial avantgarde composer John Cage. Cage was born in Los Angeles in 1912 and composed many works of experimental and innovative music, leading the New York School of avantgarde composers. Cage was a contemporary and collaborator of many of the famous avantgarde artists of the time, partnering with choreographer and dancer Merce Cunningham and maintaining a long friendship with visual artist Robert Rauschenberg. Cage’s most performed and recognized works are his Sonatas and Interludes, Three Dances, Cheap Imitation, and, of course, the controversial 4'33”.

For this article, I conducted an interview with an expert performer of John Cage: pianist Adam Tendler. Tendler is known for his indepth background performing the works of Cage, and is also recognized for his work performing in collaboration with the John Cage Trust. Tendler additionally serves on the faculty at NYU and is a renowned performer of contemporary classical music, having been lauded as "currently the hottest pianist on the American contemporary classical scene" by the Minneapolis Star Tribune, a "remarkable and insightful musician" by the LA Times, and "relentlessly adventurous pianist" by the Washington Post. Tendler has appeared as soloist with the London Symphony Orchestra and LA Philharmonic, and on the mainstages of the Barbican, Carnegie Hall, and the Brooklyn Academy of Music. In our conversation we talked about John Cage, Tendler’s entry point into performing the works of Cage, how to

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approach Cage’s music and understand its challenges, and how to lead new or reluctant audiences toward a greater appreciation for the works of Cage.

Performing John Cage isn’t the most traditional path for a classical pianist. How did you end up getting into it?

In high school—when I was just learning, kind of teaching myself about classical music—I found in my high school library a study room that had a lot of records that no one ever listened to and a record player, and I listened to all of them, kind of on repeat, we're talking hundreds of records. In that collection (besides being the foundation of everything that ended up becoming the music I love, including Bach and Copland) was music by John Cage.

And it was Sonatas and Interludes, which I'm performing next week. [Interviewer's note: Performance and ticket information is available at the end of this article.] I was just so captivated and enchanted that the sounds were coming out of a piano. I didn't know much about prepared piano, or him. I just knew this piece, Sonatas and Interludes. I didn't even connect that he was the composer for 4’33”. Even though I was researching at the time and reading about minimalism, I didn't even connect that those were the same person.

That kind of early fascination guided me through music school, and I would keep coming back to his music. Even though I wasn't really playing it or performing it, or didn't really feel I had the platform in music school to do that,

John Cage. Photo by Rob Croes.

or the expertise—there was a part of me that thought maybe I needed a certain expertise to play his music.

So I would go to the stacks of his music in the Music Library, and I would just leaf through them. I kind of compare it to leafing through sacred texts: I would just sit on the floor and just leaf through them. Some of them are very traditionally notated; some of them I had no idea how music could even look like that. In the beginning, until maybe my mid-20s, his music was just a fascination, but it wasn't something I played.

Then, after I graduated music school, I did a fifty-state tour out of my car. I had no piano, just the silent piano that I was practicing on when I was traveling, just for my fingers. And I thought, What is a piece that I could learn right now, over this summer, these weeks that I had no access to an actual piano? What can I learn?

And I thought, Oh, this is finally the time when I can learn Sonatas and Interludes because it's for

prepared piano. It's a disadvantage to practice that on an unprepared piano, because you're playing notes that don’t sound the way they're gonna sound, and you're creating incorrect bedrock for oral and muscle memory. So I thought, I'm going to learn this piece on the silent piano, just physically and how it should sound in my head, and that's what I did. It took about nine months to memorize that piece. By the end of it, I could play the whole thing from memory silently.

The first performance I did of it was in 2007.

It was in Houston, at Rothko Chapel. I think it was since then that I would play that piece every season or every couple seasons in random places. That, weirdly enough, became sort of the entry point into his music, both for me and also for other people who would then want to hear other pieces by him, performed by me. So I'd get asked to play it more; I was happy to be an ambassador of his music, but that's sort of how it happened. It was through Sonatas and

OnAir · September 2023

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Portrait of the pianist, from his personal website.

Interludes, which relatively speaking is a rather conventional piece—even though it's prepared piano, it's at least notated conventionally, and the forms of each movement are pretty conventional. In a way, it makes sense; in another way, it’s also one of his masterpieces, and I started there.

The cool thing is that, over time (this is true with his music), almost every piece is radically different from another, from era to era, sometimes from piece to piece. So if I was asked to play a different piece by him or asked to bring a piece by John Cage, I could just start over with my John Cage research. Each piece, every piece, was like starting from scratch. And instead of being frustrated by that, I thought it was very empowering. I thought it was actually really cool. As a musician, to put yourself in— to borrow a spiritual term—a beginner's mind, every piece to say, “Okay, I'm starting over.

I'm starting over with this, starting over with even how to read music,” all of that was really exciting to me. I also just found his music to be really powerful. I wasn't coming at it from an approach of humor, really, or that this

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was funny, or that this is even challenging.

I was just trying to think, This is actually very powerful. This can be a really powerful experience for listeners. And I think that that commitment translated to listeners, and that's how I became associated with the music, because I think people saw that my commitment to it was really on a deep level.

How do you go about talking to the people who do find it challenging? There's tons of listeners who love John Cage, and really enjoy when we have done this broadcast.

But as with all the avant-garde, there's also a large group of the people who think of him as solely the 4'33” person and a very challenging composer. How do you go about dealing with that and initiating people into the John Cage mindset?

I think he wrestled with his notoriety, too, that he knew people's associations with him. In one regard, I think that gave him opportunities, because that could bring him into different spaces and in front of different people; but I

also think he struggled, and evidence shows— from his writing and from his interviews—that he struggled with not being taken seriously or being associated with being a rebel or trying to be a provocateur, which, in my opinion, none of the pieces are trying to do. They might provoke extreme responses from people, but I don’t think that was his intention. He's just searching for different ways to make music and different ways to make space for the definition of music. So I try, with people who have trouble letting him in, to remind them of that. That his mission was actually not to provoke them. It was a personal mission to explore and expand his definition of music-making, as a composer and a performer and even a thinker. And that practice, almost like a spiritual practice, is encapsulated in the music. And if they come into these pieces realizing that it’s not about them, it's not about making them upset, then they might have an easier time experiencing it.

Sometimes I like to give people permission to be uncomfortable. If you're asking someone to listen to a nearly silent piece or a piece that's mostly feedback or a piece of extreme length and it's completely out of that person's experience, it's a big ask to say that they should be completely comfortable the whole time. It's not reasonable to ask that. Giving permission to have an uncomfortable response and to say, “Okay, well, you're gonna sit, this is gonna go on for 45 minutes. So try to be with it for 45 minutes, including your frustration, including your mind wandering, all that stuff,” it's almost like a meditation practice, giving yourself permission to do that.

I think some of the frustration comes with the idea that it needs to be enjoyed like a Beethoven symphony. Sometimes I tell people that the same ask from, say, a Bruckner symphony that's an hour and a half long is not that different of an ask from a John Cage piece, because you're going to experience the same waves of discomfort, waves of restlessness, waves of wondering what's going on. I say, try to make room for putting it into the world of your classical music experience. I find it's not so different.

But I understand that there's challenges to listening to them, and I think making that room for a variety of responses actually makes space for enjoyment, actually makes space for people to appreciate it.

I think a lot of extreme responses come from a less-than-informed response to 4’33”. That's just it. So people, even with 4’33”, they think they even know what that's about. They've created a sort of narrative of what that piece is, and what it did for him, and what they're supposed to think about it, which sort of dictates their entire feeling about him. So I also try, in a not-patronizing way, to dismantle that.

I think people have fantasies that he made millions of dollars off of this piece, or that the piece has no background, and it was just some sort of idea that was intended to prank people.

There's a lot of narratives created about this piece, that make people mad at it, and then mad at him by extension, and it's really just one piece from his enormous canon of pieces.

It falls into a very clean line of the things he was doing. I give people books to read if they really want to, and then they can finish informing themselves, and then they can still hate him and hate it. But I would encourage them to actually just give a little room to trying to understand the context of the piece.

Adam Tendler and Death of Classical will be performing Cage’s ‘Sonatas and Interludes’ on September 5th (Cage’s Birthday) at the Church of the Intercession at 6:30pm and 8:30pm. Tickets are available at www.deathofclassical. com/ concerts/sonatas-and-interlude.

On September 5th, WKCR will pre-empt all regular programming for a 24-hour birthday broadcast for John Cage.

OnAir · September 2023

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JAZZ

Blue 7: Seven Live Sonny Rollins Tracks

by Stephen Park

"T

hat was a hard gig. This is what I felt about Sonny Rollins: that he could play anything I played back at me, twice as fast and twice as good. During the first chorus I would play the hippest stuff I knew, but then Sonny would make mincemeat of that and keep going. What a musician. What a career."

— Drummer Albert "Tootie" Heath, in an interview with Ethan Iverson

about both the brutality and the beauty of the improvisations that compose American history. At the height of his powers, when he's truly locked into the sounds of the band around him (present or not) and flowing obliquely through those various streams of sound that coalesce and ebb and weave and spill over to form the sounds of his America (the Blues, Tin Pan Alley, Charlie Parker, life on Sugar Hill, traffic crossing above the water, European classical music, Coleman Hawkins, etc.), Sonny Rollins is the ultimate embodiment of that ethos, manifested through the interpretation and spontaneous reinvention of the standard song, and nowhere is this more clear than his most inspired live performances.

Here, I present to you seven live performances

by Rollins that I believe convey the magnitude of his artistic genius. By no means is this list definitive, nor comprehensive, but I have no doubts that these tracks display a force in American music that has no equal.

Tracks listed in chronological order.

Rollins in 2005, during the Jazz à Juan Festival.

Photo by Yves Moch.

T

here is no questioning the enormity of Sonny Rollins' contribution to the many-doored, wide-open hallway of American Music. At its greatest, American music embodies an exploratory and revelatory ethos, and the spontaneous compositions of its creators/performers/participants/ listeners/witnesses reveals a gamut of truths

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"Half Nelson" (Miles Davis): Sonny Rollins (ts), Miles Davis (tpt), Bennie Green (tb), Kenny Drew (p), Tommy Potter (b), Art Blakey (d), Live at Birdland, NYC, 2/17/51.

Only twenty years old here, Rollins is already a master of the language forged by Charlie Parker, Bud Powell, and Dizzy Gillespie just years prior, bobbing and weaving through Davis' line on Tadd Dameron's "Lady Bird" with a fluidity and charm that already stands squarely alongside the masters themselves.

The initial 1947 recording with Bird on tenor

hit Rollins squarely between the eyes, and the extension of that musical lineage is clear.

"Old Devil Moon" (Lane & Harburg): Sonny Rollins (ts), Wilbur Ware (b), Elvin Jones (d), Live at The Village Vanguard, NYC, 11/3/57.

Strolling with a bass and drum hookup that seriously foreshadows the sound of the Coltrane Quartet (Jimmy Garrison first played with Elvin on one of Sonny's gigs in Philly), Rollins chisels away at the showtune akin to a cubist sculptor, channeling the language of his predecessors into wonderful and shadowy abstraction.

"Weaver of Dreams" (Victor Young): Sonny Rollins (ts), Henry Grimes (b), Pete La Roca (d), Live in Laren, Holland, 3/7/59.

A rare moment of Rollins on film during the 50s, he walks through the romance of Young's song with a casual, understated muscularity.

The enormity of Rollins' tone is palpable, and its warmth radiates the presence and overtones of an entire band (there are stories of Rollins being able to drown out entire big bands).

Rollins would leave the scene for the bridge shortly after.

"Remember" (Irving Berlin): Sonny Rollins (ts), Paul Bley (p), Henry Grimes (b), Roy McCurdy (d), Live at The Newport Jazz Festival, 7/7/63 One of only two live recordings of this working band, Rollins has further distilled his language into something more granite and uncompromising, bludgeoning the Berlin chestnut with reckless precision and letting the shards of bebop curlicues and melody fly as they wish. The rhythm section probes multi directionally, yet never stops pushing ahead.

"Oleo/Sonnymoon For Two" (Rollins): Sonny Rollins (ts), Niels-Henning Orsted Pedersen (b), Alan Dawson (d), Live at Tivoli Concert Hall, Copenhagen, 10/31/65.

The "Rhythm Changes" and the blues form the basic foundation of the repertoire of this music; in terms of song-based spontaneous

Rollins in 2012, during the Detroit Jazz Festival.

Photo via NYCultureBeat.

composition, they are the measuring stick by which one's contributions can be roughly observed. Snaking and thrashing and singing from every angle and direction, offset by pearls of the purest, clearest melody, Rollins shares his findings on the matter.

"Four": Sonny Rollins (ts), Kenny Drew (p), Niels-Henning Orsted Pedersen (b), Albert "Tootie" Heath (d), Live at Cafe Montmartre, Copenhagen, 9/6/68.

The second-to-last recording before his second sabbatical from the scene, Rollins lets the scroll unwind for nearly 45 minutes, exploring every corner of the often-tread tune and creating new ones with gusto.

"Solo": Sonny Rollins (ts). Live at Berklee Performance Center, Boston, 9/15/01.

At 71 years old, Rollins lays it all out there.

Abstraction, beauty, chaos, sing-song, calypso, blues, magic. Thank you, Sonny Rollins.

On Thursday, September 7th, WKCR will be celebrating the life and work of Sonny Rollins with a 24-hour broadcast celebrating his 93rd birthday.

OnAir · September 2023

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IN ALL LANGUAGES

"Nightingale of India:" The Legend of Lata Mangeshkar

by Ashwin Marathe

L

ata Mangeshkar’s voice had an immense called them, paid them, they sang, they went. impact on the Indian film music industry, End of story.” Her efforts led playback singers to singing in over a thousand Hindi films receive greater credit for their work, along with and in thirty-six languages. She was awarded higher pay. the Bharat Ratna, India’s highest civilian honor, Though she sang in Marathi, Bengali, and has nicknames like the “Queen of Melody” Tamil, and many other languages, she became and the “Voice of the Millennium.” Arguably primarily famous in the Hindi Bollywood more important than these accomplishments, industry. Her voice brought emotion to the however, is the unifying effect her voice had characters onscreen, and allowed directors to on people all across South elicit different emotions from Asia­—as she brought together the audience. She sang love a diverse group of individuals songs, like Ajeeb Dastan Hai Yeh with their own languages, (“What a Strange Story This films, and music—and the Is”) and Aapki Nazro Ne Samjha large impact she still has on (“Your Eyes Have Found Me Bollywood music today.

Worthy of Your Love”), but her Born in 1929, Mangeshkar classical training shone when began receiving lessons in she sang bhajans, or devotional classical music from her father. music.

This versatility She trained with Ustad Aman allowed her to sing in many Ali Khan, a renowned Indian contexts, depending on the Mangeshkar in 2008. Photo courtesy of actors, scenes, and specifics classical vocalist, and went on Bollywood Hungama. of each movie. She spoke to work with classical dancers.

At the age of 13, she began singing small parts in on the importance of approaching each song Marathi and Hindi movies, though Bollywood— differently: “What kind of character is she? I an industry that was not yet up and running— think about that and also ask which actress I am forced her to act in movies instead of sing. singing for.”

Nonetheless, Mangeshkar soon found her place Her passing in February 2022 brought great in the recording studio after meeting Vinayak sadness all over the world. In India, a two-day Damodar Karantkai, an actor and director who national mourning celebrated her impactful was also a family friend. This began her seven- life. Though Lata Mangeshkar may not have decade career as a playback singer, wherein been the Bollywood I listened to growing up, I performers onscreen would lip-sync her voice. often find myself drawn to her music because of Mangeshkar brought attention to the its sweetness and emotion. As WKCR celebrates importance of playback singers, whose what would have been her 95th birthday on reputation she described in an interview with September 28th, I am confident her spirit will journalist Nasreen Kabir: “Playback singers continue to live on through her voice for many were once considered unimportant… producers generations to come.

OnAir · September 2023 11

5:00 am 6:00 am 7:00 am

SUNDAY

MONDAY

TUESDAY

WEDN

Jazz ‘til Dawn (cont’d)

Daybreak

Field Trip

8:00 am 9:00 am

Amazing Grace

Monday Morningside

10:00 am 11:00 am

Cereal Music

The Moonshine Show

12:00 pm 1:00 pm The Tennessee Border Show

Out to Lunch

2:00 pm

Sin Fro

3:00 pm 4:00 pm 5:00 pm

Sunday Profiles

Afternoon New Music

6:00 pm 7:00 pm 8:00 pm 9:00 pm 10:00 pm 11:00 pm 12:00 am 1:00 am 2:00 am

Raag Aur Taal SoundStage Live Constructions Back in the USSR The Celtic Show

Free Samples Caribe Latino Urbano Latinx

News + Arts P Honky Tonkin’

Nueva C

Tuesday’s Just as Bad

Som do

Night Train

Transfigu

Coordinated Universal Time

3:00 am 4:00 am

Jazz Alte

Phil Lives

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Transfigured Night

NESDAY

THURSDAY

FRIDAY

SATURDAY Transfigured Night (cont’d)

k Express

Sounds of Asia

5:00 am 6:00 am 7:00 am 8:00 am 9:00 am

Birdflight Eastern Standard Time Early Music

10:00 am 11:00 am 12:00 pm

Across 110th Street

Out to Lunch

onteras

2:00 pm

Something Inside of Me

Bach Hour

Programming

Canción

o Brasil

ured Night

Hobo’s Lullaby

Middle Eastern Influences

Sonidos Colombianos

Saturday Night at the Opera 11:00 pm 12:00 am

The Mambo Machine

Transfigured Night

8:00 pm

10:00 pm

Notes From Underground Offbeat

7:00 pm

9:00 pm

Workaround The African Show

5:00 pm 6:00 pm

Traditions in Swing

ernatives

3:00 pm 4:00 pm

Afternoon Classical

Extended Technique

1:00 pm

El Sonido de la Calle

1:00 am 2:00 am 3:00 am 4:00 am

Jazz ‘til Dawn

OnAir · September 2023 13

Special Broadcasts BIRTHDAY BROADCASTS John Cage

Tuesday September 5th, all day

Arguably the most influential minimalist composer of the 20th century, John Cage challenged traditional notions of sound, silence, and performance. He also had a short stint as a WKCR DJ in 1987, when Station DJs would pass him opera records from which he played random excerpts while manipulating all the other sound variables controllable from the studio.

Sonny Rollins

Thursday, September 7th, all day

Dubbed the “the greatest living improviser”, Sonny Rollins will be celebrated on WKCR with 24 hours of music. The legendary jazz saxophonist holds an iconic place in the heart of New York City’s musical landscape.

SUNDAY PROFILES Sundays 2:00-7:00 PM

Helen Humes

September 3rd, 2:00 - 7:00 PM Host: Sid Gribetz (rerun)

The Velvet Underground September 10th, 2:00 - 7:00 PM Host: Ian Pumphrey

Labeled: Soul Note Records September 17th, 2:00 - 7:00 PM Host: Steve Mandel and J Cohn

Tony Bennett

September 24th, 2:00 - 7:00 PM Host: Rachel Smith

LIVE CONSTRUCTIONS Sundays 10-11pm

Caitlin Starr

John Coltrane

September 24th, 10-11pm

John Coltrane is a staple of WKCR programming, opening every one of Sharif Abdus-Salaam’s jazz alternative shows on Thursdays and gracing our schedule yearly with 24 hours of music. Our classic John Coltrane broadcast returns this year, with the usual magic of his genius.

SATURDAY NIGHT AT THE OPERA

Lata Mangeshkar

September 9, 9:00pm-12:30am

Saturday, September 23rd, all day

Thursday, September 28th, all day

Lata Mangeshkar, often referred to as the “Nightingale of India,” is famous for her extraordinary contributions to Indian music as a playback and ragas singer. Mangeshkar’s voice has graced thousands of songs in various Indian languages, making her an integral part of Bollywood history.

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Hosts: TBD

Saturdays 9:00 PM-12:30 AM

Le Temple de la Gloire (Rameau)

September 2, 9:00pm-12:30am Pre-recorded show originally supposed to air August 19th; did not due to technical issues with playback.

Host: Ale Díaz-Pizarro

Khovanshchina (Mussorgsky) Host: Ale Díaz-Pizarro

Florencia en el Amazonas (Catán) September 16, 9:00pm-12:30am Host: Ale Diaz-Pizarro

La Traviata (Verdi)

September 30, 9:00pm-12:30am Host: Ale Diaz-Pizarro

Show Listings

JAZZ

Daybreak Express, weekdays 5-8:20am Out to Lunch, weekdays 3-6pm Jazz Alternatives, weekdays 6-9pm These three programs comprise the core of our jazz offerings. Programming consists of everything from New Orleans jazz, jazz age, swing era, bebop, hard-bop, modal, free, and avant-garde. In short, you’ll encounter the entire range of recorded jazz on these programs.

Hosts rotate from day-to-day, offering an exciting variety of approaches, some of which include thematic presentation, artist interviews, or artist profiles Birdflight, Tues.-Fri. 8:20-9:30am Archival programs from the late Phil Schaap, one of the world’s leading jazz historians, who hosted this daily forum for the music of Charlie Parker for about 40 years.

Traditions in Swing, Sat. 6-9pm Archival programs hosted by the late Phil Schaap, this award-winning Saturday night staple presents focused thematic programs dealing with jazz up until about World War II. Schaap presents the music, much of it incredibly rare, from the best sound source, which is often the original 78 issue.

Phil Lives*, Mon. 3-5am This overnight show features archival broadcasts of longform programs from late NEA Jazz Master Phil Schaap.

CLASSICAL Cereal Music, Mon.-Thurs. 9:30am-12pm An entirely open-ended classical show to start your weekdays. Tune in to hear the most eclectic mix of classical music on the New York airwaves!

The Early Music Show, Fri. 9:30am-12pm Dedicated primarily to European medieval, Renaissance, and baroque music, all from before 1800 (±50 years).

Extended Technique*, Wed. & Thurs. 3-6pm WKCR’s first interdepartmental show (in the New Music and Classical departments) dedicated to contemporary classical music. You’ll hear everything from 12-tone and minimalist compositions to film and video game scores, and all things in between.

Afternoon Classical, Fri. 3-6pm.

Similar to Cereal Music, most of Afternoon Classical has no restrictions on what type of classical music to play.

The last hour of the show, however, is dedicated fully to the music of JS Bach.

Saturday Night at the Opera, Sat. 9pm-12:30am.

One of NYC’s longest running opera shows, Saturday Night at the Opera is a 3.5 hour show that allows operas to be played in their entirety, with room for commentary, descriptions, and some history.

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./Sat. 1-5am 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 DJ sets from Columbia students and local artists.

Live Constructions, Sun. 10-11pm This weekly program features a live in-studio performance or a performance pre-recorded specially for the show.

AMERICAN Honky Tonkin’, Tues. 10-11pm One of WKCR’s longest-running American music programs, Honky Tonkin’ lands in the harder side of Country music. Emphasizing the greatest voices in the genre, Honky Tonkin’ is a country music dance party every Tuesday night.

Tuesday’s Just as Bad, Tues. 11pm - Wed. 1am Tuesday’s Just as bad explores the world of blues prior to World War II. Shows weave their way through the first decades of recorded music history and turn to the postwar years in the final half hour.

* Indicates show was created after January 2022

OnAir · September 2023 15

LISTINGS FOR LISTENERS Night Train, Wed. 1-5am All aboard! One of our two overnight programs in the American department, Night Train rolls through the postwar R&B and soul tradition, from the genre’s emergence in the 1940’s and 50’s through the funk revolution in the 1970’s. Shows often feature extended live recordings and concerts.

Offbeat, Fri. 1-5am Offbeat is committed to broadcasting undiscovered new hip hop music. Shows typically focus on exposing underplayed or up-and-coming new artists, including experimental instrumental artists not typically played on mainstream hip hop radio.

Across 110th Street, Sat. 12-2pm Kicking off our Saturday afternoon American music run, Across 110th Street airs soul, funk, and dance music from the 1960’s through the 1980’s and 90’s.

Something Inside of Me, Sat. 2-4pm Something Inside of Me is WKCR’s Saturday afternoon blues show, focusing mostly on the 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.

From old staples like Leadbelly, Elizabeth Cotton, and Woody Guthrie to contemporary stalwarts like the Carolina Chocolate Drops and lesser known artists, domestic traditions are alive and well on Hobo’s Lullaby.

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 guestcuration.

Amazing Grace, Sun. 8-10am Greeting listeners on Sunday morning, Amazing Grace shares with listeners the world of 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, through * indicates show was created after January 2022

16 OnAir · September 2023

the genre’s pioneers in the 1940s and 50s and advancements in the 60s and 70s, through the leading innovators and stars of today.

The Tennessee Border Show, Sun. 12-2pm One third of WKCR’s country music programming, along with Honky Tonkin’ and the Bluegrass Moonshine Show, Tennessee Border highlights the singer-songwriter tradition, from Hank Williams and Townes Van Zandt to Lucinda Williams.

LATIN Caribe Latino, Mon. 10pm-12am Caribe Latino is a music program that features the diverse, upbeat music from numerous 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 A weekly Latin show airing contemporary sounds from Latin America, the Caribbean, and the diaspora, Urbano Latinx features mixes of salsa, merengue, Latin punk rock, and more.

Sin Fronteras*, Wed. 12-3pm Falling in the space of Out to Lunch on Wednesday afternoons, Sin Fronteras explores the tremendous Latin Jazz tradition.

Nueva Canción, Wed. 10-11pm Nueva Canción is an exploration of protest music created throughout Latin America during the 60s and 70s and its numerous other manifestations throughout other countries and time periods.

Som do Brasil, Wed. 11pm - Thurs. 1am From samba and bossa nova to MPB, hear the numerous and enchanting sounds and rhythms of Brazil.

Sonidos Colombianos, Fri. 10-11pm Sonidos Colombianos presents music from one of the most culturally diverse countries of Latin America: Colombia! Our bilingual musical tour is guaranteed to include 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 accordiondriven vallenato of the North Atlantic Coast.

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 presently plays a wide spectrum of Afro-Latin rhythms, combining new and old into an exciting, danceable mix.

El Sonido de la Calle*, Sun. 2-4am A companion show to Saturday night’s American Notes from Underground, El Sonido de la Calle highlights the diverse world of contemporary Spanish-language hiphop 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 our listeners the latest cut of music from anywhere in the world, especially highlighting music that does not get attention in America.

Our programming tries to bring the hottest and the most recent tunes to WKCR’s airwaves.

The African Show, Thurs. 10pm-12am The longest running African music radio show in the United States, the African Show brings you a variety of music from the entire continent of Africa.

Middle Eastern Influences, Fri. 12-1am During the hour-long show, Middle Eastern Influences features a wide range of beautiful tracks from regions of the Middle East, North Africa, and even, at times, South Asia.

Sounds of Asia, Sat. 6-8am Rechristened from Sounds of China, Sounds of Asia explores the recorded musical traditions and innovations of Asia and the Pacific islands.

Eastern Standard Time, Sat. 8am-12pm One of New York’s most popular Reggae programs, Eastern Standard Time takes listeners through Saturday morning from 8 am to noon 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. Tune in and you may catch field recordings that were recorded fifty years ago, others that were experimented with by your favorite Afternoon New Music artist, or even those documented in New York City by WKCR itself.

Raag Aur Taal, Sun. 7-9pm Raag Aur Taal explores the sounds and rich cultural heritage of South Asia. The term “Raag Aur Taal” roughly translates to “melody and rhythm,” indicating the classical nature of this program.

Back in the USSR, Sun. 11pm-12am Back in the USSR features music from across the former Soviet Union and soviet states across Eastern Europe and East and Central Asia, from the mid-20th century through the present.

NEWS & ARTS Monday Morningside*, Mon. 8:30-9:30am Monday Morningside is WKCR’s morning news broadcast to kick off the week, featuring news segments on events around Morningside Heights and upper Manhattan.

If you’re not an early bird, all episodes are available as podcasts on Spotify!

Free Samples*, Mon. 9-10pm Explores landmark hip hop albums and their place in history and music at large by playing a selection of songs and breaking them down into the samples that make them up—meaning this show often crosses over with other genres, such as jazz, soul, and funk.

SoundStage*, Sun. 9-10pm SoundStage features audio dramas and radio plays from the WKCR archives as well as new compositions by students and contemporary writers. Some shows also feature interviews with dramatists and directors.

SUNDAY PROFILES Sunday Profile, Sun. 2-7pm* A WKCR classic, programmers use five hours to showcase longform profiles of pioneering artists. While the primary focus remains on jazz music, we also feature other styles and traditions from across WKCR’s different programming departments.

* indicates show was created after January 2022

OnAir · September 2023 17

AMERICAN

The Sample Dilemma: Hip Hop and Copyright

F

by Ted Schmiedeler & Sarah B.

rom the very beginning (and for the fifty years of its existence, as of this year), hip hop has gone hand in hand with sampling. In 1973, DJ Kool Herc played at a block party in the South Bronx using a new setup: two turntables with identical records. While one record would play, he would rewind the second one and play it at the same place the first one started at. He could then rewind "Invitation" to the block party at which DJ Kool Herc's pioneering use of two the first one to that exact turntables with identical records ushered in the birth of hip hop. same spot, and continue to loop the same section of Prior to 1991, the law did not require artists the song, allowing for someone to rap overtop to request permission to use samples from of it. This was the birth of hip hop, and right their original copyright owners. Therefore, there at the core of this moment was sampling. sampling during this time—the birth and Sampling continued to develop into infancy of hip hop—was a free-for-all. This the 1980s, but became significantly more changed with the landmark case Grand Upright accessible with the invention of the SP-1200 Music, Ltd v. Warner Bros. Records Inc., in which and MPC60 sampling devices, which allowed songwriter Gilbert O'Sullivan sued rapper for portions of a song up to 10 seconds long Biz Markie for copyright infringement after to be recorded and looped with alterations to Biz sampled O’Sullivan’s song “Alone Again characteristics like speed and pitch. This put (Naturally)” without O’Sullivan’s consent.1 more tools into the hands of producers, who The court constituted that any sample used could make continually more creative beats. without permission from the owner is Today, the Internet and digital producing thereby considered copyright infringement, software has allowed for even more alterations evidentially changing the hip hop industry, to be done to sampled loops, keeping sampling at the heart of hip hop even into the present 1 The lack of consent regarding Biz’s use of O’Sullivan’s day. In short, you cannot have hip hop without music is rather arbitrary, due to the fact that O’Sullivan sampling—which meant that hip hop would be had transferred the title to Biz and his team and O’Sullivan himself testified to the effect. forever changed in 1991.

18 OnAir · September 2023

The cover of Biz Markie's All Samples Cleared! (1993), which poked fun at his 1991 court battle against Gilbert O'Sullivan, which would definitively reshape the commercial hip hop landscape.

by requiring every sample to be cleared by its original copyright holder in order for any artist to include it in their work.

While many hip hop artists may still neglect to clear samples, sample clearance is now a standard practice of hip hop music production.

Sampling often requires two clearances: the composition and the (master) recording. In order to clear a sample, music publishers and record labels will either ask for an upfront fee or for royalties. Royalty privileges allow the copyright holder to receive a percentage from the music sales generated from the song in which they are sampled. Depending on the length or prominence of the sample, a copyright holder may charge up to tens of thousands of dollars for rights to both the publishing and the master recording—a number that is rather arbitrary and depends on dozens of factors.

In any case, what is not arbitrary is the fact that sample clearance requires a hefty fee.

This may pose a major imposition on smaller and/or independent hip hop artists who do not receive an advance from a record label, while big artists backed by massive labels are able to

spend incredible amounts of money on sample clearances. In this case, money directly equates creative liberty: artists signed to big labels can make the beats they want to make, because they know the label has a very high budget for clearing samples; however, independent artists without label backing sometimes have to scrap songs if they cannot pay to clear the sample, even if those songs are some of their best work.

Danny Brown’s release of his magnum opus, Atrocity Exhibition (2016), on the independent label Warp, plunged him into debt, having personally spent $70,000 on sample clearances for the project. Had the album flopped, he likely would have put himself in dire financial straits. This is the case for many independent artists.

Altogether, sample clearance poses a clear dilemma. Should art exist in a pay-towin format? Should the biggest artists be able to use almost any sample they want and therefore get bigger while independent artists struggle to gain traction because they cannot afford to clear the samples they want to use?

Furthermore, is it fair to put an art form created by primarily Black artists behind a paywall that lines the pockets of rich executives and labels?

However, some compensation and recognition surely is necessary. Even if some of the money from sample clearances goes to labels and executives, some money does go to the artist who made the original song, for whom sample clearances may serve as a tangible form of credit for their influence.

A go-to example of sampled artists being undercompensated for their work is Clyde Stubblefield’s drum break on the James Brown song “Funky Drummer.” Born in Chattanooga, Stubblefield taught himself to play the drums as a kid and joined James Brown’s band in 1965, playing with them until 1970. It was Stubblefield playing drums on the 1970 track “Funky Drummer,” which experienced a revival in the late 1980s as hip hop producers began sampling Stubblefield’s drum break and using it in their tracks. It is featured in iconic songs like Public Enemy’s “Fight the Power,” LL Cool J’s “Mama Said Knock You Out,” N.W.A’s

OnAir · September 2023 19

essential tension between compensating the original artists and creating a level playing field for all artists who want to incorporate samples in their art. But while a solution might be out of reach, one foregone conclusion is not: the music industry is equally as eager for money as it is for creativity.

Ted's new show, Free Samples, explores the samples that serve as the building blocks for landmark hip hop albums. It premieres Monday, September 4th at 9pm.

Drummer Clyde Stubblefield in 2005.

Photo by Paul VanDerWerf.

“F*** Tha Police,” among other songs by the likes of Run-DMC, Eric B. & Rakim, De La Soul, and Mos Def. It is probably the most iconic and recognizable drum loop in late 80s and early 90s hip hop, which surely should have meant good things for Stubblefield and his career.

However, this turned out not to be the case. Although Stubblefield did gain some recognition from dedicated hip hop-heads who sought out the samples in their favorite tracks, he was largely uncredited and unpaid. Before 1991, samples did not even have to be cleared with the original artist, so Stubblefield’s drums could be heard on many tracks without him even knowing that he was the one playing on them. Additionally, once samples started needing to get cleared and compensation was required if requested, Stubblefield still went without seeing a dime. He was paid by James Brown back when he recorded the song, but since he did not have producer credits, none of the revenue that flowed from samples reached him, even though he was the one actually playing the instruments.

As with most issues this complicated, with strong cases supporting both sides, it is unlikely for a clear, all-pleasing solution to magically arise from the industry as it exists, with an

20 OnAir · September 2023

The first four episodes will be as follows: 9/4: It Takes a Nation of Millions to Hold Us Back - Public Enemy 9/11: The Infamous - Mobb Deep 9/18: Madvillainy - MF DOOM 9/25: 3 Feet High and Rising - De La Soul Before the year is up, WKCR will be celebrating the 50th Anniversary of Hip Hop. Stay tuned for future announcements!

SUPPORT WKCR TOP 5 REASONS TO DONATE TO WKCR 1. You’d be helping a student-run, listener-funded, and volunteer-based radio station continue to bring you the absolute best in what radio has to offer. Music, arts, news, and sports— we’ve got the works!

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3. WKCR donations are tax-deductible (so make sure you donate before tax season). For more info on that, or anything else business-related, email business@wkcr.org 4. Being “the Original FM,” our equipment is getting a bit old. For example, Buzz, the hamster that runs the wheel that powers the station, is getting a little worn-out and arthritic. We need a new hamster. Sorry, Buzz, but it’s gotta be done!

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OnAir · September 2023 21

22 OnAir · September 2023

WKCR 89.9 FM

2920 Broadway New York, NY 10027

Sp e c i a l t ha n ks to Adam Tendler, Ale DíazPizarro, Ashwin Marathe, Casey Lamb, Georgia Dillane, Maria Shaughnessy, Sam Seliger, Sarah Barlyn, Stephen Park, & Ted Schmiedeler.