WBGO Blog

  • Berklee, NPR Music, and WBGO to broadcast and webcast second season worldwide

    October 10, 2012. Posted by Brandy Wood.

    Add new comment | Filed under: Berklee, chihiro yamanaka, dayna stephens, jaleel shaw, Jazz Education, JazzSet, josh jackson, npr, walter smith III, wbgo

    WBGO, NPR Music, and Berklee College of Music are teaming up to present a second year of The Checkout – Live at Berklee. The series brings critically acclaimed, New York-based Berklee alumni back to their alma mater for concerts in the Red Room @ Cafe 939. The shows will be webcast live worldwide in high definition over NPRmusic.org and in New York over WBGO-FM as a special edition of The Checkout, the acclaimed multimedia show featuring what’s new on New York’s jazz scene. They will also be archived, and available for on-demand listening, at NPRmusic.org, and WBGO.

    Chihiro Yamanaka
    Chihiro Yamanaka

    Year two of The Checkout – Live at Berklee will debut with pianist and composer Chihiro Yamanaka’98 on October 18. The series continues with saxophonist and composer Dayna Stephens’01 on November 15, alto saxophonist Jaleel Shaw’00 on February 7, 2013, and tenor saxophonist Walter Smith III ’02 on March 7, 2013. Concerts and broadcasts will begin at 8:00 p.m. ET. Tickets to the live performances at the Red Room @ Cafe 939 are $10 for the general public and $5 with a Berklee ID. Tickets are available at cafe939.com.

    “Boston is a major incubator for jazz, and this series aims to underline that fact,” said Josh Jackson, host and producer of The Checkout. “WBGO and The Checkout are delighted to return to Berklee. We look forward to showcasing these young talents as they pursue their artistry and inspire future generations.”

    Chihiro Yamanaka is one of the most exciting jazz pianists and composers of her generation, and is the leader of the Chihiro Yamanaka Trio. 2012 has been a milestone year: she performed in the Mary Lou Williams Women In Jazz Festival at the Kennedy Center, in a concert featured on JazzSet with Dee Dee Bridgewater, at the Iridium Jazz Club and Dizzy's at Jazz at Lincoln Center in New York, at the Regattabar in Boston, and in a benefit concert at Carnegie Hall. Yamanaka’s new CD, Reminiscence is her second U.S. release. Reminiscence reached the #1 spot on the Japanese jazz charts and won the Nissan Presents Jazz Japan Award for Album of the Year.

    © 2012 WBGO

  • WBGO Celebrates Black History Month at AMNH

    February 14, 2012. Posted by Brandy Wood.

    Add new comment | Filed under: concerts, DMC, Hip Hop, Jazz Education, Live Music

    One of the ways WBGO will celebrate black history this month is a partnership with the American Museum of Natural History this Saturday. The event, The African-American Musical Mosaic, will feature performances by artists from jazz to hip hop, gospel and more.

    The program takes place Saturday, February 18 from noon to 6:30pm at the American Museum of Natural History located in Manhattan at Central Park West and 79th Street.

    © 2012 WBGO

  • WBGO Celebrates Jazz Apprecitation Month

    April 1, 2011. Posted by Brandy Wood.

    Add new comment | Filed under: Jazz Community, Jazz Education, Live Music, WBGO Community Events

    April is Jazz Appreciation Month and here at WBGO we are also appreciating our members in several ways.

    April 8-10 is Member Appreciation Weekend with special thank you gifts for new and renewing members. There is also a very special live broadcast from the WBGO performance studio in Newark on April 9 @ 3pm with Dr. Lonnie Smith!

    Dr. Lonnie Smith
    Dr. Lonnie Smith

    You can also join us on the following Saturdays at 12:30pm for a free WBGO Kids Jazz Concert :

    April 9 - Michael Carvin Quartet @ Burgdorff Cultural Center
    April 16 - Helen Sung @ Montclair Art Museum
    April 30 - Tia Fuller @ Newark Museum
    May 7 - Jon Faddis @ New Jersey Performing Arts Center - Victoria Theater

    We celebrate on air with an incredible lineup of student ensembles during the Jazz Appreciation Month Student Broadcast Festival live weekdays at 2pm. Hosted by Michael Bourne with series is produced with support from Berklee College of Music Summer Programs:

    April 1 – NYU, Wayne Shorter Ensemble
    April 4 – Queens College
    April 6 – William Paterson
    April 8 – New School – The New School Jazz JAM Ensemble, directed by Richard Boukas
    April 11 – Manhattan School of Music
    April 12 – Juilliard
    April 18 – SUNY Purchase – Purchase Jazz Endeavor (Jazz Combo)
    April 20 – NJCU – NJCU Jazz Ensemble directed by Ed Joffe
    April 22 – Rutgers – Rutgers New Brunswick Jazz Ensemble
    April 26 – Berklee College of Music
    April 28 – LaGuardia High School

    There are other special broadcasts during this appreciation month, including:

    April 7, 3pm - Live in studio performance by Marcia Ball
    April 13, 9pm - Josh Jackson hosts Live at the Village Vanguard featuring Martial Solal
    April 14, 8pm - Newark Today with Mayor Cory Booker
    April 22, 8pm - The Mingus Orchestra recorded live at St. Bart’s in Manhattan

    © 2011 WBGO