American pianist Lara Downes has been redefining what it means to be a classical musician, often by expanding our definition of classical music. She’s championed the works of women and Black composers; she’s been a cultural activist and a broadcaster. Now, she’s commissioned a radical new arrangement of Gershwin's "Rhapsody In Blue" by Puerto Rican composer Edmar Colón, to mark the 100th anniversary of Gershwin’s iconic piece. Lara Downes and Edmar Colón play some of "Rhapsody in Blue, Reimagined", in-studio. 

Set List: 1. Love Will Find A Way (Eubie Blake) 2. My Lord What A Mornin’ (trad/arr. H.T. Burleigh) /  On Bended Knees (Burleigh arr of Nobody Knows The Trouble I’ve Seen) 3. Study in Blue (Gershwin/Edmar Colón)

Canadian-based Afro-Cuban duo OKAN takes their name from the word for heart/soul in the Afro Cuban religion Santeria. Both co-leaders, composers and multi- instrumentalists Elizabeth Rodriguez and Magdelys Savigne are classically-trained musicians (violin and percussion and orchestration); and their music combines the traditional chants and rhythms of the Afro-Cuban tradition with jazz, electronica, and pop. The Juno-Award winning OKAN plays compositions from their latest record, Okantomi, in-studio.

Set list: 1. Oriki Oshun 2. Okantomi 3. La Reina del Norte

Self-described “lifelong hustler,” Xavier Amin Dphrepaulezz, is better known by his stage name Fantastic Negrito, and makes “black roots music for everyone” - blues with a giant undercurrent of punkass. Fantastic Negrito’s songs tell of a hard life with some complete do-overs and a few near-death experiences. Coming from a crossroads with optional deals, his music might be informed just as much by California funk-punk (Bad Brains and Fishbone), hip hop, thrash metal, punk, Prince and his self-taught ways - specifically Dirty Mind (according to this Guardian interview) and the blues records he’d heard as a kid, visiting family in southern Virginia.

Lately, his tunes have been placed and licensed for TV and film series (Empire, Hand of God, and in the case of his song “Working Poor,” Bernie Sanders’ political campaign.) But back in the early 2000's he had co-founded a record label, which grew into Oakland-based multimedia creative collective, the Blackball Universe cooperative, fed and financed with the publishing royalties of his own musical alter egos Chocolate Butterfly, Me and This Japanese Guy and Blood Sugar X. 

Fantastic Negrito's 2018 record, Please Don’t Be Dead, references his own near-fatal car crash, and is driven in part by political and social issues in these broken and fractured times. The record is full of heavy riffs, cheeky songwriting, playful musicianship, and a whole lot of surviving. It brings Fantastic Negrito to the studio to play some of these tunes. -by Caryn Havlik

Watch the individual songs below:

The singer and guitarist Lau Noah is based here in New York, but she’s originally from Catalonia in Spain, and her guitar playing reflects the sounds of Spanish classical and flamenco music. But there are also elements of Latin American music, jazz, pop, even bluegrass on her latest album. That’s because that record, called A Dos, is (as the title implies) a series of duets with people like jazz singer Cecile McLorin Salvant, mandolinist Chris Thile, and pop star Jacob Collier. Lau Noah with fellow singer Elliott Skinner, plays some of these duets, in-studio. 

Set list: 1. Wooden Chair 2. Siete Lágrimas 3. If a Tree Falls in Love with a River

Lau Noah's album release show for A Dos is on January 23rd at Joe's Pub

Nashville-based Brooklyn-born The Lone Bellow blends passionate, acoustic-based blues, country, and roots music into folky Americana with three-part vocal harmonies. They first brought their ever-shifting blend of American folk music and heartland rock to our studio before that first album even came out, and they’ve joined us at various points during their 10 year journey. The Lone Bellow plays songs built around warm, twangy guitar riffs, and a single old-timey microphone, in-studio, to celebrate their tenth anniversary.  

Set list: 1. Green Eyes and a Heart of Gold 2. Cost of Living 3. Honey

Singer and multi-instrumentalist Louis Michot won a Grammy with his band the Lost Bayou Ramblers, a group that takes the Cajun tradition and adds a healthy dose of punk energy and occasional electronics. Now, he’s released a solo album called R​ê​ve du Troubadour – the troubadour’s dream – and it’s full of traditional Cajun sounds married to contemporary beats, whistled choruses, and guest musicians like Bombino, the Tuareg guitarist from Niger, and the cellist Layla McCalla. Louis Michot and his trio play some of these old melodies, enhanced with field recordings and danceable beats, in-studio. 

Set list: 1. Amourette 2. R​ê​ve du Troubadour 3. Chanquaillie/Acadiana Culture Backstep

Hear favorite live performances from the WNYC studios this year: music by Indigenous two-spirit song carrier and activist Jeremy Dutcher; electronically-enhanced piano-based work by German-Swiss duo Grandbrothers; and Irish garage-punk band Sprints. Also, there's the quiet thrill and expressive song-play of Argentinian vocalist Sofía Rei and Peruvian bass player Jorge Roeder. Plus, listen to partly composed, and partly improvised music from Serbian quartet EYOT.

ARTIST: Jeremy DutcherWORK: Honor Song [4:29]RECORDING: Live on Soundcheck, Oct. 2023SOURCE: This performance not commercially available. INFO: jeremydutcher.com

ARTIST: GrandbrothersWORK:  Blood Flow [5:55]RECORDING: Live on Soundcheck, Sept. 2023SOURCE: This performance not commercially available. INFO: grandbrothersmusic.com

ARTIST: SprintsWORK: Up and Comer [3:44]RECORDING: Live on Soundcheck, Dec. 2023SOURCE: This performance not commercially available. The song appears on the album, Letter to SelfINFO: https://www.sprintsmusic.com/

ARTIST: Sofía Rei and Jorge RoederWORK:  Días de Sitio [2:54]RECORDING: Live on Soundcheck, Aug. 2023SOURCE: This performance not commercially available. The song appears on the album, Coplas EscondidasINFO: https://jorgeroeder.bandcamp.com/album/coplas-escondidas

ARTIST: EYOTWORK: 557799 [5:57]RECORDING: Recorded for the Soundcheck Podcast, May 2023SOURCE: This performance is not commercially availableINFO: A version appears on 557799

Hear favorite live performances from the WNYC studios this year: including Mercury Prize-winning London Afrobeat-jazz-hip hop quintet Ezra Collective; drummer Allison Miller’s chamber jazz band (with tap dance!); and beatmaker/bandleader Kassa Overall’s jazz meets rap and sound design. Plus, the furiously exhilarating post-punk of Atlanta-born quartet Algiers; and Mexican singer Magos Herrera with members of Brooklyn’s own The Knights.

Playlist:

ARTIST: Ezra CollectiveWORK: No Confusion [5:01]RECORDING: Live on the Soundcheck PodcastSOURCE:  This performance not commercially available. The song appears on the album, Where I'm Meant To BeINFO: https://ezracollective.bandcamp.com/album/where-im-meant-to-be

ARTIST: Allison MillerWORK: Hudson [5:12]RECORDING: Live on Soundcheck, Nov. 2023SOURCE: This performance not commercially available. INFO: allisonmiller.com

ARTIST: Magos Herrera, Members of The KnightsWORK: Aire [5:02]RECORDING: Live on Soundcheck, August 2023SOURCE: This performance not commercially available.INFO: https://magosherrera.bandcamp.com/album/aire

ARTIST: Kassa OverallWORK: Make My Way Back Home [4:57]RECORDING: Recorded for the Soundcheck Podcast, July 2023SOURCE: This performance is not commercially available. A version appears on AnimalsINFO: https://www.kassaoverall.com/

ARTIST: AlgiersWORK: Irreversible Damage [5:04]RECORDING: Recorded for the Soundcheck Podcast, April 2023SOURCE: This performance is not commercially available. A version appears on ShookINFO: https://www.algierstheband.com

The phenomenal pianist Stewart Goodyear, known as both an improviser and composer, famously played all 32 of Beethoven's sonatas in one sitting, when he turned 32 years old. In predictably jaw-dropping fashion, Stewart then turned his electrifying powers to Tchaikovsky's 'The Nutcracker,' with his own transcription of the complete ballet. (The album, released in October 2015, was chosen by the New York Times as one of the best classical music recordings of 2015.) He has since recorded Ravel piano works, his own "Callaloo" Suite and Piano Sonata, and Gershwin's Rhapsody in Blue. He was supposed to have toured with Chineke! Orchestra, playing his "Callaloo" Suite this past year, but well. Yeah. 2020. Instead, we'll revisit this 2015 in-studio performance of pieces from Tchaikovsky's 'The Nutcracker.' 

JJJJJerome Ellis describes himself as “a stuttering, Afro-Caribbean composer, poet, and performer.” His last album, The Clearing, was a brilliant mix of sax, electronic music, and storytelling, featuring his own, stuttering voice. But his new project doesn’t involve speech – though it is inspired by prayer. It’s called Compline, named after the old evening prayers of Western Christianity, and it’s a series of contemplative works for solo piano. JJJJJerome Ellis plays improvisations on Compline, his new set of piano works, in-studio.

Set list: Compline Improvisation No. 4, Compline Improvisation No. 2, Compline Improvisation No. 3

Compline in Nine Movements by JJJJJerome Ellis