wnyc.org / 93.9fm / am 820

On Demand

Program Schedule

Topics

New Sounds Archive

  • 1998
  • Jan
  • Feb
  • Mar
  • Apr
  • May
  • Jun
  • Jul
  • Aug
  • Sep
  • Oct
  • Nov
  • Dec
  • 1997
  • Jan
  • Feb
  • Mar
  • Apr
  • May
  • Jun
  • Jul
  • Aug
  • Sep
  • Oct
  • Nov
  • Dec
  • 1996
  • Jan
  • Feb
  • Mar
  • Apr
  • May
  • Jun
  • Jul
  • Aug
  • Sep
  • Oct
  • Nov
  • Dec
  • 1995
  • Jan
  • Feb
  • Mar
  • Apr
  • May
  • Jun
  • Jul
  • Aug
  • Sep
  • Oct
  • Nov
  • Dec
  • 1994
  • Jan
  • Feb
  • Mar
  • Apr
  • May
  • Jun
  • Jul
  • Aug
  • Sep
  • Oct
  • Nov
  • Dec
  • 1993
  • Jan
  • Feb
  • Mar
  • Apr
  • May
  • Jun
  • Jul
  • Aug
  • Sep
  • Oct
  • Nov
  • Dec
  • 1992
  • Jan
  • Feb
  • Mar
  • Apr
  • May
  • Jun
  • Jul
  • Aug
  • Sep
  • Oct
  • Nov
  • Dec
  • 1969
  • Jan
  • Feb
  • Mar
  • Apr
  • May
  • Jun
  • Jul
  • Aug
  • Sep
  • Oct
  • Nov
  • Dec

April 2006

Gagaku and Beyond

Sunday, April 30, 2006

There’s music inspired by the courts and gardens of imperial Japan on this edition of New Sounds. Multi-talented violinist Eyvind Kang’s latest is a record called Virginal Co-ordinates, where he oversees a 22 piece orchestra making siren-like wails, not unlike the sustained static feeling of gagaku. Hear selections from Kang's CD along with selections from Herbie Mann’s import-only release from 1976, called “Gagaku and Beyond.” This effort, pairing a traditional Japanese ensemble (samisen, koto, riu teki, kakko, shoko, shakuhachi, and big taiko drums, occasionally with chanting Zen monks) together with Mann’s band, was a great success long before the “world fusion” term had ever been coined. Melodic and contemplative, the two ensembles engage each other and have hauntingly similar intentions: to articulate inner spaces, and dwell on the stately stasis inherent in Japanese court music. Also, there’s more beautifully scarce movement, and emptiness intensified, as heard in John Cage’s work Ryoanji, after the Japanese rock garden of the same name.


Lullabies From the "Axis of Evil"

Saturday, April 29, 2006

In his 2002 State of the Union address, President Bush singled out Iran, Iraq, and North Korea and their allies as part of an "axis of evil." In response to this branding, the Norwegian Eric Hillestade traveled to Iraq, Palestine, Iran and North Korea to record lullabies mothers sang to their children. The result is a new compilation called “Lullabies from the Axis of Evil.” The album contains lullabies from Iran, Iraq, North Korea, Palestine, Syria, Afghanistan and Cuba, sung by women from these countries, along with a western version sung by singers like Nina Hagen (Germany), Eddi Reader (Scotland), and Lila Downs (USA/Mexico). Hear some of these lullaby collaborations from the project on this edition of New Sounds. Also, lullabies from Rinde Eckert, Tom Waits, the World Sax Quartet, the Dylan Group, and more.


April 2006 New Releases

Friday, April 28, 2006

It's that time of the month again for the new releases show on New Sounds. John Schaefer carefully sorts through the stacks, bins, and boatloads of new CDs which have come across his desk over the past month to present some of the choice cuts. Perhaps we'll hear music featuring a percussion instrument called The Hang (pronounced "hung" - it's Bernese), along with some music for shamisen by the Yoshida Brothers. Also, not-exactly-jazz from a new label called Skirl and new material from Susana Baca are toward the top of the stacks on the desk. And possibly lots more that we can't see...


Music for Multiples

Thursday, April 27, 2006

What’s better than music for accordion? Music for 4 or 5 accordions, of course! On this New Sounds, hear musical works for small armies of one kind of instrument - clarinets, guitars, pianos, and accordions, among others. Listen to the World Guitar Ensemble –ten guitarists from eight different countries – who, with their sheer numbers of nylon strings, creatively fuse together pop, jazz, and classical with synthetic loops and distorted guitars so that anything is possible. Also, there’s music by the six pianist collective called Piano Circus, who only perform new music, most of it written specially for them. Rounding out the show is music from the Accordion Tribe, whose ringleader in both incarnations, I and II, is none other than Guy Klucevsek.


Luscinia’s Lullaby

Wednesday, April 26, 2006

Canadian vocalist and composer Laurel MacDonald visits the studio for this edition of New Sounds. MacDonald's arresting new CD is called Luscinia’s Lullaby, and features eclectic instrumentation and soundscapes concocted by producer and sound designer Philip Strong. This richly-textured music ranges from trippy, groove-driven polyphonic chant to torch songs with slide guitar and liquid violins.


Computer Music

Tuesday, April 25, 2006

For this New Sounds, it’s a sampling of computer music. Hear Neil Rolnick’s piece, “Digits,” - not just 0 and 1 anymore - where pianist Kathleen Supové takes her own digits, via digital looping and computer processing, on a wild ride. Listen also to Michael McNabb’s music for the ballet “Invisible Cities,” (inspired by the dream-like images from Italo Calvino’s novel of the same name), with digitally processed environmental sounds, and two live instrumental/electronic performers. Plus, there's music by computer music pioneer Paul Lansky, whose processed sounds have included his children playing kitchen utensils, and most recently, the alphabet, as recited by longtime collaborator Hannah MacKay.


New Music for Arab Lute

Monday, April 24, 2006

Music for Arab lutes dominates this New Sounds program. Listen to Kabul-stylings of the Afghan rubâb player Homayun Sakhi, who is heir to a musical lineage steeped in the North Indian classical tradition. Also, there’s “shiny” oud music by a trio of brothers, Le Trio Joubran, sons in a long line of a family of luthiers, in this case, oud-crafters. Their music willfully plays with dividing lines between music of the classical Arab world and Indian classical music, Spanish flamenco, and American jazz. Plus, there’s spacious and absorbing trio work from the Tunisian oud master Anouar Brahem, who is joined by Jean-Louis Matinier on accordion and François Couturier on piano.


Celtic & Nearly Celtic Music

Sunday, April 23, 2006

There’s an hour of Celtic and nearly-Celtic music on this edition of New Sounds, featuring Mozaik, a Celtic band with Balkan, Romanian, Macedonian and klezmer leanings in their tunes. Also, hear the lush vocals, innovative arrangements and masterful instrumental playing of the all-female band The Poozies. Then there’s the relentless sounds of jigs, reels, slides and polkas, skillfully delivered by the acoustic traditional Celtic band Bohola, plus the Celtic-flavored folk of Fairport Convention. Music by the English zither player Andrew Cronshaw rounds out the show.


Earth Day Music

Saturday, April 22, 2006

On this edition of New Sounds, hear music to celebrate Earth Day. There’s a helping of music by Tasmanian composer and naturalist Ron Nagorcka, who uses the sounds of forest surroundings, like water, birds, and wind. Hear music from Steven Feld’s Rainforest Soundwalks, an aural collection of purely environmental sound with a stunning depth of field. Plus, listen to excerpts from Elodie Lauten's Gaia Cycle, an electronic work based on a correspondence with the rotation of the earth and the yearly cycle, and much more.


Downtown Gamelan

Friday, April 21, 2006

Listen to the clangorous sounds of gamelan-inspired music from New York’s "downtown" scene on this New Sounds. Gamelan is a group of instruments meant to be played together, generally struck or hammered, from the Javanese, "gamel," and can include tuned metallophones, various gongs, flutes, drums and other percussion. Hear works from the new music ensemble Gamelan Son of Lion, whose instruments were built by Barbara Benary using hubcaps, PVC pipes, steel keys and cans. There’s also music from composer David Simons, whose instrument textures range from theremin to the chain saw, and from the Slinky® to gamelan. Plus, music by Patrick Grant, and more.


Song of Realization

Thursday, April 20, 2006

Minnesota guitarist Steve Tibbetts faces east once again on his most recent release, Selwa, a follow-up to his 1997 collaboration with the Tibetan Buddhist nun Chöying Drolma. He joins us in the studio for this edition of New Sounds to talk about the new recording and its gorgeous layers of ancient ritual chants with electronic sounds, acoustic guitar and percussion.


Story Ballads

Wednesday, April 19, 2006

For this New Sounds, gather round for some story ballads, old and new. Traditional British and American ballads from Fairport Convention, Darol Anger, and Traffic meet their contemporary descendants in songs by The Knitters (members of X), Bill Morrissey, and The Decemberists. Listen to selections ranging from the story of the ill-fated leader of the Peasant’s Revolt to burials at sea, and possibly a version of "Black is the Color of My True Love's Hair. Perhaps even a murder ballad will grace the mix, and more.


Indigenous Shrinking World

Tuesday, April 18, 2006

For this New Sounds, sample some music whose instrumentation, tuning, and blend of styles reflects the collision of East and West, old and new, composed and improvised. This "indigenous music for a shrinking world" includes music by Ken Schaphorst, this time in a trio setting, from his release Indigenous Technology, which layers rich textures of cello, piano, and marimba. Plus, there’s music by Steven Mackey, whose work “Indigenous Instruments,” sounds like folk music from an invented world, what with the microtones, extended techniques and unusual sounds. And more.


Spiritual Strings

Monday, April 17, 2006

Hear some new works for violins and other strings that draw from medieval sacred chant as a source of inspiration on this New Sounds program. Listen to “O Ignis” by the Swiss violinist and composer Paul Giger, which is actually based on music by Hildegard von Bingen and manages to create a blend of early music and improvisation. There's also ethereal music by Arvo Pärt and Sir John Tavener as well.


A Private Reel

Sunday, April 16, 2006

On this New Sounds program, it’s another installment of the “Private Reel” series of shows, exclusive live performances from the WNYC studio. Hear works by bassist Edgar Meyer with Jerry Douglas and Sam Bush, tunes by Michael Franti and Spearhead, and music by vocalist Sanda Weigl. Listen to live improvisation by sitar maestro Shahid Parvez Khan and works by flamenco singer/songwriter Enrique Morente. Plus, the Japanese duo the Yoshida Brothers perform updated shamisen music, and German cabaret star Wenzel sings music by Woody Guthrie.


Songs & Choros

Saturday, April 15, 2006

Choro is a musical style which first emerged in the 1870s. Literally meaning "a cry," choro may also refer to lilting melodic lines that sound like they are weeping. Somehow the choro evolved into a mix of the happy and the melancholy, as Brazilian street musicians combined serenades with African elements, namely syncopated rhythms, which were gradually played faster over time. On this edition of New Sounds, hear choros and songs from Brazil, including Choro #7, a duo full of rich grooves by pianist Cesar Camargo Mariano with guitar player Romero Lubambo. There’s also music by Brazilian singer/songwriter and musical revolutionary Caetano Veloso, who tackles American popular song on his recent CD, A Foreign Sound. He somehow manages to make popular standards, like “Manhattan,” and “Love For Sale” fresh, new, and unbelievably beautiful in the phrasing and arrangements. Hear selections from Veloso, along with works by Badi Assad with Larry Coryell and John Abercrombie, Sharon Isbin and Thiago de Mello, and more.


You're From Where?

Friday, April 14, 2006

On this edition of New Sounds, look forward to unexpected collaborations across the continents, from Podjama & Saraswati, the Euro-jazz and Balinese gamelan project to Baka Beyond, the African-Celtic crossover band inspired by the music of a pygmy community in West Africa. Plus hear music by Bachir Attar, Frank London’s Brotherhood of Brass, and Charlie Mariano & The Karnataka College of Percussion.


New York-based Ensembles

Thursday, April 13, 2006

For this edition of New Sounds, tenor saxophonist Paul Shapiro stops by to celebrate Passover and presents tracks from his latest exuberant release, “It’s in the Twilight” (another in John Zorn’s Radical Jewish Culture series.) The record is full of playful interactions that might be best described as Cuban-Jewish Blue Note soul that jumps, jives, and swings, while somehow merging the secular and the spiritual throughout. Listen for a traditional Passover Seder tune arranged for the band. Also, hear from drummer Bobby Previte’s latest project - The Coalition of the Willing - an all-star band doing guitar fueled instrumental rock/jazz, and much more.


Blues Fallin' Down Like Rain, part 3

Wednesday, April 12, 2006

For this New Sounds, hear still more excerpts from the NY Guitar Festival concert series, reinterpretations of classic blues by Mississippi John Hurt, Skip James, Elizabeth Cotten, and Charlie Patton. Some of the live performers included Jorma Kaukonen, Taj Mahal, Toshi Reagon, Alvin Youngblood Hart, and many more.


Live Crafty Guitars

Tuesday, April 11, 2006

On this edition of New Sounds, listen to an in-studio performance by the group Zum, an international guitar ensemble consisting of members of Robert Fripp’s League of Crafty Guitarists. The members of ZUM have been working in Guitar Craft for nearly a decade and have a knack for gorgeous and dynamic arrangements of works by Astor Piazzolla, the Beatles, and a wide range inbetween. Also on the program, there’s music from Bigtime, another international group who have worked in Guitar Craft, (they would have joined us live too, but for visa troubles), and more.


Music from East Africa

Monday, April 10, 2006

It’s a musical journey through an overlooked part of Africa, with excerpts from the Ethiopiques series, the new Zanzibara series, and recordings by Nursery Boys, Samite, and more. For this program, we’ll dip into the Ethiopiques series, so far numbering 21 in a series of 30 releases, all kinds of hypnotic groove from the "golden" years of the late '60s and early '70s in "swinging" Addis Ababa. Hear the ska, funk, and blues which permeated the Ethiopian pop and jazz music of the day, some with ferocious horns, some with swirls of Latino and Middle Eastern sounds as well. Plus, there’s orchestral taarab music from the island of Zanzibar – from the brand new series called Zanzibara. With oud, ney, qanun (zither) and frame drum, augmented with violins and accordion, it’s a blend of sounds from the Arab world, India, Indonesia and the West, combined with the classical traditions of Swahili poetry, local rhythm and melody. And more.


Celtic Call and Response

Sunday, April 09, 2006

Susan McKeown and friends join John Schaefer for this edition of New Sounds. McKeown’s latest album, “Sweet Liberty,” offers unusual arrangements of Celtic songs, with West African and Mexican elements, along with heart-stopping renditions of traditional tunes like “When I Was on Horseback.” She and her core ensemble play unplugged in the WNYC studios and tell tales about the recording.


Musical Leftovers

Saturday, April 08, 2006

From the New Sounds Live concert series, there’s more music on this program from the biannual New York Guitar Festival Guitar Marathon, featuring works by global slide guitarist Bob Brozman, Brazilian guitar great Vinicius Cantuaria, and African guitarist and griot Abdoulaye Diabate joined by guitarist, journalist and radio personality Banning Eyre. Also, David Starobin plays Fernando Sor, Michael Newman plays Villa-Lobos, and sometime Weissenborn guitar player Ed Gerhard performs “The Water is Wide.” Plus, hear music by the Tin Hat Trio recorded live at Merkin Hall.


Modern Jazz Pop Chamber Rock

Friday, April 07, 2006

The Four Bags, with trombone, accordion, guitar and clarinet or saxophone, are an adventure into chamber music by way of modern jazz, rock and pop. Hear music from their latest release, "Off Shore" on this New Sounds Program, along with the ambient foggy swells of Terje Rypdal and "After the Requiem" by Gavin Bryars. Plus, music from the ambitious new record by the Pat Metheny Group, "The Way Up."


Mobile, Solo Kotche

Thursday, April 06, 2006

The percussionist Glenn Kotche, best known as the drummer for the band Wilco, joins host John Schaefer for a tour through his new solo CD "Mobile," on this edition of New Sounds. It's an incredible feat that somehow Kotche plays with the patterns of Steve Reich's "Clapping Music," takes apart the Nonesuch Explorer recordings of Shona Mbira music, works through mobile sculpture, negative space and Wilco drumbeats, and nods to percussionists Tony Allen and Ed Blackwell in just 8 tracks. For the crowning masterpiece of the CD, he uses live crickets (looped), plastic piping, vibraphone, springs, gongs, orchestral bells, and a fruit basket to create an original percussive rendering of the "Monkey Chant," based on the Ramayana story of the abduction of Sita and her subsequent rescue by an army of monkeys.


New Choral Works

Wednesday, April 05, 2006

Composer Eric Whitacre purports to be influenced by Depeche Mode, Bjork and seventies prog rock as much as he is by Bartok, Barber and Monteverdi. Whitacre, who published his first choral work at 21, has shrewdly centered his oeuvre around choral writing, since those works are more likely to get premiered and then have continuing performances. But his electric chilling harmonies and tone-clusters have also been transcribed for concert band, and electronics have recently made their way into his work as well. On this edition of New Sounds, sample some of Whitacre’s new record, “Cloudburst,” along with music by Gyorgy Ligeti. Plus, the latest from the group Chanticleer and more.


Loungey Latin Jazz

Tuesday, April 04, 2006

Sample some Latin/lounge/jazz-tinged music for this edition of New Sounds. There's music by Tex-Mex cumbia-fication practioners Charanga Cakewalk, along with exotic and soulful yet danceable Jewish-Cuban tunes from Septeto Rodriguez. Also, listen to David Kane's Them JazzBeards, where rock meets jazz meets film noir in a kind of campy 1950’s sci-fi way. Plus, hear music by M'Lumbo, a “brilliantly silly seven-piece jazz/funk/afropop improvisarama” (Richard Gehr,Village Voice) and something from Gustavo Santaolalla. And much more.


Infectious Beat

Monday, April 03, 2006

This New Sounds program is an hour of dance music inspired by klezmer, Balkan and gypsy music, featuring the Klezmatics’s new CD “Brother Moses Smote The Water.” This incredible live CD, with special guests Joshua Nelson and Kathryn Farmer, captures the New York-based klezmer band taking on the mantle of a fire-and-brimstone gospel group, with deep drinks of soul and blues. Also, listen to Uri Caine’s klezmer-infected arrangement of Mahler’s Symphony #1, a clangorous re-working of the original Teutonic symphonic cloudbursts. Plus, works from Canzoniere Grecanico Salenico, Acquaragia Drom, The Beat Circus, and accordionist/composer Guy Klucevsek.


The "Classical" Frank Zappa

Sunday, April 02, 2006

Frank Zappa came to music by Edgar Varèse in his teens and was, according to Pierre Boulez, “hypnotized by [music of] Edgar Varèse.” The influence of this music was not so much that Zappa became a follower of Varèse, but that it stimulated his ambitions to become a composer. On this episode of New Sounds, hear music composed by the late guitarist and innovator, Frank Zappa. Listen to some of his dense and demanding work written for the Ensemble Intercontemporain (and commissioned by Boulez.) Hear The Ensemble Modern, Zappa's "last band," from their recent CD of Zappa’s works, along with brass arrangements of Zappa tunes by the Meridian Arts Ensemble. Plus, Frank Zappa spins Baroque composer Francesco Zappa’s classical pieces on his Synclavier and the Finnish Ensemble Ambrosius plays Zappa's music on Baroque instruments.


Jazz Plus...

Saturday, April 01, 2006

Jazz plus trip-hop, jazz plus musical theatre, and even jazz plus funk, rock, electronica, pop, and everything else are offered up on this New Sounds program, “Jazz Plus.” Hear music from Club D’elf, who mix trip-hop and electronica with their improvisational jazz. Also, listen to the inimitable trio, The Bad Plus, who bring classical, rock, and pop into their jazz. Plus, music from Brian Woodbury, Ken Schaphorst, and something from the Mark Anthony Turnage project of re-imagined John Scofield themes, “Scorched.”