The New Americans

WNYC presents The New Americans, a station-wide celebration of foreign-born artists now residing in the United States.

In addition to special programming on Evening Music and our HD/Internet channel WNYC2, we feature in-depth interviews with artists on shows including Ear to Ear, Soundcheck, New Sounds, and The Fishko Files, as well as The New Americans Portraits series and other related cultural features.
WNYC's The New Americans series is supported in part by the New York State Music Fund, established by the New York State Attorney General at Rockefeller Philanthropy Advisors.

The executive producer for The New Americans is Limor Tomer.

Nation Beat Live

Monday, October 15, 2007

The Brooklyn based group Nation Beat transcends borders, musically and literally. This eclectic world-groove ensemble is inspired by the Afro Brazilian rhythms of Northern Brazil as well as New Orleans style of second-line funk and jazz. The group joins us to perform music from their album "Maracatuniversal."

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Ute Lemper

Friday, November 02, 2007

Before she kicks off Carnegie Hall's "Berlin in Lights" festival tonight at the Neue Gallerie, Ute Lemper joins us to talk about a program that includes the dark gems of Bertolt Brecht and Kurt Weill. And she gives us a sneak preview of her appearance all next week on WNYC's ...

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Another Side of Ireland

Wednesday, November 21, 2007

Alen MacWeeney is the author of "Irish Travellers: Tinkers No More," a collection of stories, photographs, and songs on an accompanying CD that document Ireland’s indigenous nomads, known as Travellers. They have been a fixture on the Irish landscape for hundreds of years, but this is, in many ways, the ...

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Rackett

Monday, December 03, 2007

Paul Muldoon is a Pulitzer prize-winning poet who is also the leader of the band Rackett. He describes their music as "where Cole Porter meets prog and punk, or Ira Gershwin glam and grunge." They join us to explain what that means, and they play live in studio.

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Sergio and Odair Assad Live

Tuesday, December 04, 2007

On their latest album, "Jardim Abandonado" (Abandoned Garden), the Brazilian guitar duo of Sergio and Odair Assad offer a collection of songs drawn from the duo's performance repertoire of the last decade, including Gershwin's "Rhapsody in Blue," and selections by Debussy, Milhaud, Jobim and others. The duo performs in our ...

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Susie Ibarra and Roberto Rodriguez

Tuesday, December 18, 2007

She is Filipino-American, he is Cuban-American. They are both percussionists who are building a family to the rhythm of dozens of drums. WNYC's Siddhartha Mitter spent time with Susie Ibarra and Roberto Rodriguez.

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Sofia Koutsovitis

Thursday, January 17, 2008

Argentinian-born singer Sofia Koutsovitis moved to the U.S. in 2001 and began absorbing Afro-Colombian, Indian and African music traditions. The Buenos Aires native landed first in Boston, then relocated to New York -- a perfect laboratory for her musical explorations. Koutsovitis talks about her debut album, "Ojala," and performs live ...

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Omer Klein Trio Live

Thursday, January 31, 2008

Pianist and composer Omer Klein is a rising star of the NY jazz scene, known for mixing jazz with Israeli music and North-African roots sounds. He joins us to perform live with his trio in our studio.

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The Assad Brothers

Friday, February 22, 2008

Brazilian-born brothers Sergio and Odair Assad are one of today's leading classical guitar duos. They join us to share their new album, "Jardim Abandonado," and perform in the studio.

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Choro Ensemble Live

Wednesday, February 27, 2008

Choro is a Brazilian rhythm that started in Rio de Janeiro in the 1930s. It can now be heard every week in New York, courtesy of a Brazilian/Israeli group called Choro Ensemble. They join us for a live performance of old tunes and original compositions.

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The Arabesque Music Ensemble

Friday, February 29, 2008

They are in their 20s and 30s, living in the US and some have recorded with Shakira and Beyonce. But when they play as the Arabesque Music Ensemble, their focus is on traditional, even obscure, Arab music. Members of the ensemble join us to talk about the group’s second album, ...

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Dengue Fever

Wednesday, March 05, 2008

On a trip to Cambodia in 1997, organist Ethan Holtzman encountered two things: a tropical disease and Cambodian psychedelic pop from the 1960s. He pays tribute to both with his band Dengue Fever. Based in LA, the group features a Cambodian-born singer and five American alt-rockers. They join us to ...

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Aquiles Báez

Thursday, March 06, 2008

Guitarist, arranger, and composer Aquiles Báez is one of the artists on the new Venezuelan label Cacao Musica. The label is backed by two heavyweights: Bobby Abreu of the New York Yankees and drummer and broadcaster Omar Jeanton. Aquiles joins us to talk about Cacao, Venezuelan music, and to play ...

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Four Hands, Two Pianos, One Relationship

Friday, March 07, 2008

Next week, the world's biggest competition for piano duos gets underway in Miami and it affords a perfect opportunity to explore this unique musical medium. Marilyn Blank, a pianist and music psychologist, talks about her research into the social dynamics of a piano duo. And the duo piano team Saar ...

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Chicha Libre

Friday, March 14, 2008

The band Chicha Libre plays a mixture of Latin rhythms, surf music and psychedelic pop inspired by Peruvian music from the Amazon. This Brooklyn-based group revives forgotten Chicha classics and puts their own cross-cultural spin on them as we hear in a live performance.

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Carlos Barbosa Lima's Golden Anniversary

Wednesday, April 02, 2008

Brazilian guitarist Carlos Barbosa Lima started playing the guitar when he was seven and recorded his first album when he was 12. Fifty years later, he's one of the world’s leading guitar masters. He joins us for a live performance in our studio.

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Anna Ternheim

Thursday, April 10, 2008

Sweden is exporting so many pop stars at the moment, it’s a wonder the country has time to produce any Volvos or Saabs. Singer-songwriter Anna Ternheim’s breathy vocals and moody pop sound is already nabbing award nods inside her native country. She's releases her American full-length debut, “Halfway to Fivepoints,” ...

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Helio Alves and Duduka da Fonseca

Wednesday, April 30, 2008

Pianist Helio Alves and drummer Duduka da Fonseca are Brazilian musicians who play in the New York jazz scene. They've been friends for 15 years. They join us talk about their first album together, "Songs from the Last Century."

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Pacha Massive

Tuesday, May 13, 2008

Bronx-based duo Pacha Massive always navigates the American and Latin worlds. The band is made of a Dominican multi-instrumentalist, Ramon Nova, and a bassist from Washington Heights, Maya Martinez. The editors at Apple's iTunes named them 2007's best new Latin artist and songs from their debut album have been featured ...

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Omer Klein Trio Live

Friday, June 27, 2008

Pianist and composer Omer Klein is a rising star of the NY jazz scene and he combines jazz with Middle-Eastern and North-African music. He brings his trio for a live performance in our studio.

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The Arabesque Music Ensemble

Tuesday, July 01, 2008

They are in their 20s and 30s, living in the US and some have recorded with Shakira and Beyonce. But when they play as the Arabesque Music Ensemble, their focus is on traditional, even obscure, Arab music. Members of the ensemble join us to talk about the group’s second album, ...

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Lionel Loueke

Friday, July 18, 2008

West African Lionel Loueke is the guitarist on Herbie Hancock’s "River: The Joni Letters," which just won a Grammy for best album of 2007. He is now releasing his Blue Note debut, Karibu, which includes appearances by Hancock himself and saxophonist Wayne Shorter. Lionel Loueke joins us to talk about ...

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Grupo Afroperuano Caracumbe

Tuesday, July 22, 2008

Old-school Dominican bachata and Nuyorican experimental rock meet at the indoor Queens Theatre in the Park for the annual Chase Latino Cultural Festival. The Grupo Afroperuano Caracumbe, which will open the festival, stops by Soundcheck to perform live.

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Regina Spektor

Tuesday, August 12, 2008

Since she got her start in New York’s anti-folk scene of the ‘90s, Regina Spektor has made quirky, eclectic and always personal music. This summer she can be heard performing the duet "You Don't Know Me" with Ben Folds, and her song “The Call” is featured in the movie “The ...

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Charles Boyer

Friday, May 09, 2008

Actor Charles Boyer had a continental flavor that went over big in the U.S. Ten of his most engaging films will be screened in New York this month. Sara Fishko asks why... in this edition of the Fishko Files.

To learn more about Hollywood's studio system of the 1930s, 40s ...

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Lalo Schifrin

Friday, June 27, 2008

A new book by composer Lalo Schifrin is called "Mission Impossible" – after Schifrin's famous TV theme. As WNYC’s Sara Fishko tells us, Schifrin's musical life has been rich with possibilities.

Schifrin's book will be available on Scarecrow Press.

Explore Lalo Schifrin's discography at dougpayne.com.

Watch the iconic ...

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#2722: Contemporary Traditional Music

Tuesday, October 09, 2007

We hear from the latest recording by Yo Yo Ma & the Silk Road Ensemble, "New Impossibilities," which interprets tradition-based and/or newly composed works inspired by the historic splendors of the Silk Road. Also, new music ghazals from the Indian-born Canadian Kiran Ahluwalia, who now lives in New York City.

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#2726: New Americans: China

Wednesday, October 17, 2007

We focus on foreign-born artists from China, with music by pipa virtuoso Min Xiao Fen, along with works by David Mingyue Liang, Tan Dun, Zhou Long, and Bun Ching Lam.

PROGRAM #2726, New American Voices II - China (First aired on Wednesday, 10/17/07)

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#2729: New Americans: Africa

Tuesday, October 23, 2007

Listen to music by foreign-born artists from Africa, including Mandingo griot Foday Musa Suso (Gambia), Moroccan trance musician Hassan Hakmoun, master drummer Obo Addy (Ghana) with the Kronos Quartet, kora player Mamadou Diabate (Mali), and others.

PROGRAM #2729, New American Voices, III: Africa (First aired on Tuesday, 10/23/07) ...

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#2732: New Americans: Eastern Europe

Tuesday, November 06, 2007

Hear a brand new release from Kitka, the all-women's ensemble who specialize in Balkan music (in collaboration with the Ukrainian-born singer and composer Mariana Sadovska). Also on the show, music by Ljova, Victoria Jordanova, Dusan Bogdanovic, and Milos Raickovich, among others.

PROGRAM #2732, The New Americans: Eastern Europe ...

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#2736: New Americans V: The Far East

Thursday, November 15, 2007

Hear music from Kyaw Kyaw Naing, the master of the pat waing (a traditional Burmese drum-circle instrument). Also, works by composer Jin Hi Kim for the komungo (a Korean bass zither), and Miya Masaoka, an American musician and composer who performs on a 17-string Japanese koto (zither). Masaoka also employs ...

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#2741: New Americans: Latin America

Thursday, December 06, 2007

We focus on works from Latin America, including music by Argentinian-born Osvaldo Golijov. Also, music from Brazil by pianist/composer Marcelo Zarvos and guitarist/composer Sergio Assad, along with something from composer and Teaching Artist for the Third Street Music School Settlement Raimundo Penaforte.

PROGRAM #2741, “New Americans, VI: Latin ...

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#2746: New Americans: Central Europe

Tuesday, December 18, 2007

Listen to works by vocal gymnast Theo Bleckmann and composer Michael Hoenig (both are American-based musicians originally from Germany). Also, German chanteuse, actress, painter, and as of late, radio host Ute Lemper — along with something from guitarist vocalist, composer and orchestrator Leni Stern.

PROGRAM #2746, New Americans ...

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#2757: New Americans: The Middle East

Friday, January 18, 2008

Hear music from Israeli-born musicians like composer Anat Fort and cellist Maya Beiser, and Palestinian-born oud player Simon Shaheen. Plus, works from Iranian-born singer/composer Sussan Deyhim, Turkish-born flute/lute player Omar Faruk Tekbilek, and Lebanese-born composer/musicologist Ali Jihad Racy.

PROGRAM #2757, New American Voices VIII: the Middle East (First ...

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#2764: New Americans IX: India & Pakistan

Wednesday, February 06, 2008

Some of the Indian subcontinent's greatest living artists have lived and worked here in the States for many years, including Ravi Shankar, percussionist Zakir Hussain, double-violinist Shankar, and younger musicians like Rez Abbasi, and Kiran Ahluwalia.

PROGRAM #2764, New Americans IX: India & Pakistan (First aired on Wednesday, ...

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#2774: New Americans: Australia & Canada

Tuesday, March 11, 2008

Listen to music by Canadian Michael Brook, who has most recently made a splash with the soundtrack to Al Gore's documentary, "An Inconvenient Truth." Plus, music from Clogs, the World Saxophone Quartet and Adam Rudolph's Moving Pictures.

PROGRAM #2774, New Americans X: Australia, Canada (First aired on Tuesday, ...

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#2778: New Americans XI

Monday, March 24, 2008

Hear music from the Algerian-Jewish community by pianist Maurice El Medioni together with Cuban-born, New York-based percussionist Roberto Rodriguez. Then there's music from fellow Algerian Cheb I Sabbah, now living in San Francisco. Plus, works by Ethiopian singer Aster Aweke, Tibetan refugee Yungchen Lhamo, and Argentinian tango king Astor Piazzolla.

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#2726: New Americans: China

Monday, December 01, 2008

We focus on foreign-born artists from China, with music by pipa virtuoso Min Xiao Fen, along with works by David Mingyue Liang, Tan Dun, Zhou Long, and Bun Ching Lam.

PROGRAM #2726, New American Voices II - China (First aired on Wednesday, 10/17/07)

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#2729: New Americans: Africa

Thursday, December 04, 2008

Listen to music by foreign-born artists from Africa, including Mandingo griot Foday Musa Suso (Gambia), Moroccan trance musician Hassan Hakmoun, master drummer Obo Addy (Ghana) with the Kronos Quartet, kora player Mamadou Diabate (Mali), and others.

PROGRAM #2729, New American Voices, III: Africa (First aired on Tuesday, 10/23/07) ...

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#2778: New Americans XI

Monday, May 04, 2009

Hear music from the Algerian-Jewish community by pianist Maurice El Medioni together with Cuban-born, New York-based percussionist Roberto Rodriguez. Then there's music from fellow Algerian Cheb I Sabbah, now living in San Francisco. Plus, works by Ethiopian singer Aster Aweke, Tibetan refugee Yungchen Lhamo, and Argentinian tango king Astor Piazzolla.

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New York's Little Israel

Wednesday, May 07, 2008

Tomorrow marks Israel’s 60th anniversary as an independent nation. Here in New York, Israelis and others will be celebrating with concerts, parties and -- of course -- with food. In preparation for the holiday, Daniela Gerson paid a visit to an East Village grocery store ...

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Lunar New Year Kicks Off in Flushing

Thursday, February 07, 2008

Yesterday marked the start of Lunar New Year for many in the city’s Asian-American communities. Reporter Amanda Aronczyk visited a celebration this past weekend at the Queens Library in Flushing.

Calligrapher ambi: Yeah! Everybody’s happy! Ambi of people having their name written with lucky blessings

NARR: ...

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Carnival Comes Early in Southeast Queens

Tuesday, January 15, 2008

The days before Ash Wednesday mark February’s internationally known celebrations in the Caribbean nation of Trinidad and Tobago. But wintertime hasn’t tamped down anticipation in New York neighborhoods like Richmond Hill. Corey Takahashi found that this year, Carnival came early to southeast Queens.

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From the Philippines to Upstate

Friday, December 14, 2007

Two percussionists, making a life together and building a family to the rhythm of dozens of drums. She is Filipino-American, he is Cuban-American and they make music that combines both their cultures - and many others. WNYC’s Siddhartha Mitter spent time with Susie Ibarra and ...

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A Day of Music in New York, for Colombia

Wednesday, November 28, 2007

Seventeen bands tune up and stretch their musical endurance muscles to take part in the fifth annual Colombian Music Encuentro, an all-day musical marathon hosted at New York’s Zipper Theater. WNYC’s Rob Weisberg spoke with some of the event participants.


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