![](https://npr.brightspotcdn.com/dims4/default/5963006/2147483647/strip/true/crop/1242x1656+0+270/resize/150x200!/quality/90/?url=http%3A%2F%2Fnpr-brightspot.s3.amazonaws.com%2F2c%2Fdb%2F39310b934fe8a0db97ea9d5f6816%2Fabeener-1.jpg)
Angélika Beener
HostAngélika Beener is an award-winning journalist, DJ, host, and producer. Angélika has contributed her work to Downbeat, TIDAL, The Huffington Post, NPR Music, Jazz at Lincoln Center, and National Public Radio. In addition, she has contributed liner notes to several acclaimed recording projects, including two GRAMMY®-winning albums. A journalist who writes about music and culture at the intersections of race, gender, and generation, her work in public radio has been recognized by The Corporation for Public Broadcasting and The New York Association of Black Journalists.
Additionally, you can find her name attached to various notable recording projects including Droppin’ Science: Greatest Samples from the Blue Note Lab; Marcus Strickland’s People Of the Sun; and legendary bassist Ron Carter’s Dear Miles. An advocate for gender and racial equity, particularly in the arts, Angélika served as a dedicated member of the Board of Directors for Willie Mae Rock Camp, a nonprofit organization dedicated to empowering girls and gender-expansive youth through music education and mentorship.
In 2019, Angélika was consulting producer for the award-winning documentary Digging for Weldon Irvine, based on the unsung jazz fusion forefather. She was featured in the 2022 documentary Jackie Robinson: Get to the Bag, alongside the film’s executive producer MLB All-Star Mookie Betts, NBA Hall of Famer Earvin “Magic” Johnson, WNBA all-star Candice Wiggins, MLB veteran Alex Rodriguez, and acclaimed historian Peter Dreier.
As host, Angélika has emceed the Jazz Journalist Association Awards three times. In 2021, she co-hosted Jazz Foundation of America’s “Spotlight Jazz” mini gala at City Winery with award-winning actor, producer, and activist Danny Glover.
In May of 2021, Angélika was a guest panelist for Marvin Gaye and the Legacy of What’s Going On: Christian McBride in Conversation, which included fellow panelists Janis Gaye, David Ritz, Nelson George, and Steven Reineke, presented by 92Y.
In November 2022, Angélika co-produced and directed Represent! A Night of Hip Hop, Jazz, and Spoken Word at New Jersey Performing Arts Center (NJPAC) with NJPAC Jazz Advisor and musical director Christian McBride. The historic program uniquely brought these artistic mediums together with an illustrious line-up including Black Thought (The Roots), Speech (Arrested Development), Councilman Dupre “Doitall” Kelly (Lords of the Underground), and legendary poets and spoken word performers Nikki Giovanni, jessica Care moore, Mayor Ras Baraka, and The Last Poets. The concert, a major highlight of the TD James Moody Jazz Festival, was also a part of City Verses, a unique joint initiative between NJPAC and Rutgers-Newark, which celebrates the rich historical connection between jazz and poetry, creates opportunities for public engagement, strengthens community ties through the arts, amplifies the authentic voices of the people of Greater Newark, and engages a new generation of poets, jazz musicians and teaching artists.
As a DJ and music curator, Angélika has performed at several notable NYC venues, including Le Poisson Rouge, Triad Theater, Madam X, Time Out Market New York, Brooklyn’s Dumbo Drop, and Ginny’s Supper Club. She was the featured DJ at Jazz at Lincoln Center’s 2020 Worldwide Concert for Our Culture Gala after-party and for The National Jazz Museum in Harlem Gala in 2022.
Visit kulturedchild.com to stay in touch.
-
The Journey to Max Roach Way: Iconic drummer receives street co-naming honor in Brooklyn during centennial year
-
Pianist, composer, educator and advocate Bertha Hope-Booker, joins us to discuss her fascinating musical journey -- including her recording career and her legacy and preservation work. With a career spanning over six decades, we take a deep dive into the early years that brought her from Los Angeles to New York City, the keys to developing her own sound, the best advice she received from Philly Joe Jones and Johnny Griffin, and her thoughts on being an inspiration to women in jazz.
-
Legendary pianist, composer, arranger, and contemporary jazz giant Bob James joins Milestones as we delve into his experimental CTI debut, One, for its 50th anniversary.
-
Soundtracking Society: Brian Jackson Talks Winter in America at 50
-
Host Angélika Beener looks back at the first two seasons of her podcast Milestones: Celebrating the Culture
-
The third season of the Milestones podcast with Angélika Beener begins June 28
-
In Part Two of our special Isley Brothers celebration, award winning vocalist, instrumentalist, producer, composer, and cultural historian TL Cross is back to help unpack the genius of The Isley Brothers' 1973 classic '3+3.'
-
In Part One of this episode of the Milestones podcast, host Angelika Beener talks with vocalist, instrumentalist, producer, composer, and cultural historian TL Cross about the legacy of The Isley Brothers.
-
In honor of Coltrane's 97th birthday, renowned astrologer Sam Reynolds joins Milestones host Angelika Beener to explore the inner journey of John Coltrane through the lens of astrology.
-
Lauded musicians Josh Evans and Marcus Strickland join Milestones to discuss the debut album from saxophone giant Joe Henderson.