NYC Radio Live – Details, episodes & analysis

As excitement builds for their performance this Fall at the Ragas Live Festival, we have a chat with Afghan superstars Homayoun Sakhi & Salar Nader. As the standard-bearers of Afghan traditional music, rubab master Homayoun Sakhi and tabla virtuoso Salar Nader carry the rich and varied legacy of classical compositions and folk melodies of this ancient Central Asian nation. At the heart of this musical odyssey lie the enchanting sounds of the rubab, Afghanistan's revered 21-stringed lute, renowned for its hauntingly soulful timbre. Accompanied by the tabla's rhythmic pulse, Salar's innovative fusion of Afghan and Indian percussion draws out the musical parallels with Hindustani music, exploring the essence of Ragas and the profound connection between two diverse yet harmonious traditions. These master musicians have perfected their art in the traditional ustâd-shâgird apprenticeship in the wake of their families’ flight from Afghanistan following the chaos of the Soviet invasion – Salar, disciple of the legendary Ustad Zakir Hussain; and Homayoun, disciple of the revered Afghan Rubab maestro Ustad Mohammed Omar. Salar has toured extensively with NEA Jazz Master Stanley Clarke, appeared on Broadway with “The Kite Runner,” and together with Homayoun Sakhi took part in a series of recordings of the music of Afghanistan and Central Asia sponsored by Aga Khan Music Initiative for the Smithsonian Folkways label. In a time when music has been banned in Afghanistan, the music of these master musicians serves as a powerful reminder of the resilience and importance of preserving cultural heritage. www.salarnader.com www.homayounsakhi.com

We get to hang with Michael Gordon, the prolific composer, co-founder/co-artistic director of Bang on a Can! 

Michael Gordon’s music merges subtle rhythmic invention with incredible power embodying, in the words of The New Yorker‘s Alex Ross, “the fury of punk rock, the nervous brilliance of free jazz and the intransigence of classical modernism.” Over the course of his composing career, Gordon has produced a strikingly diverse body of work, ranging from large-scale pieces for high-energy ensembles to major orchestral commissions to works conceived specifically for the recording studio. Transcending categorization, this music represents the collision of mysterious introspection and brutal directness.

In anticipation of the Ragas Live Festival 2023 coming October 14-15 to Pioneer Works, we will be broadcasting this amazing set from 2022 featuring Kane Mathis on Kora and Roshni Samlal on Tabla.  Kane Mathis, a man of many talents, also mixed and mastered this and all the recordings from Ragas Live Festival 2022.    The radio broadcast will be at WKCR 89.9 FM-NY (www.wkcr.org) at 7PM on August 6, or you can enjoy here on the NYC Radio Live Podcast.   Tix and info for Ragas Live Festival are available at www.ragaslive.com You can also watch a video of this performance on YouTube here.

In anticipation of the Ragas Live Festival 2023 coming October 14-15 to Pioneer Works, we will be broadcasting this amazing set from 2022 featuring Saraswathi Ranganathan on veena and Sriram Raman on Mridangam The radio broadcast will be at WKCR 89.9 FM-NY (www.wkcr.org) at 7PM on August 6, or you can enjoy here on the NYC Radio Live Podcast.   Tix and info for Ragas Live Festival are available at www.ragaslive.com You can also watch a video of this performance on YouTube here.

We connect with Musekiwa Chingdoza from Zimbabwe for the Ragas Live Festival 

Bansuri maestro Eric Fraser with Mir Naqibol Islam on tabla at the 2021 Ragas Live Festival.

Hamid Al-Saadi with Safaafir

Hamid Al-Saadi - vocal Amir ElSaffar - santur and vocal Dena El Saffar - joza, violin, and vocal Tim Moore - percussion George Ziadeh - oud Zahra Zubaidi - vocal Zahra Ali - vocal Omar Dewachi 

Subscribe to NYC Radio Live to enjoy the full festival.

An interview with Parvathy Baul, conducted by David Ellenbogen, produced with the support of SACSA. for the Ragas Live Festival

Parvathy Baul is a practitioner, performer and teacher of the Baul tradition from Bengal, India. She is also an instrumentalist, storyteller and painter.

She has performed in over forty countries, including such prestigious concert halls and music festivals as the Noh Theater in Kyoto, the World Music Center in New York City, Melbourne Arts Center and the Festival of World Sacred Music in Fez, Morocco.

She has also collaborated with world’s leading theater director Eugenio Barba.

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She visits several dance, theatre and music institutions across the globe in the capacity of a teacher.  

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The depth of her mesmerising performance is rooted in her deep spiritual practice.

It is described by critics as “riveting” and “spellbinding.” 

Parvathy’s performance work emerges from a long lineage of master Baul singers, dancers, and spiritual teachers.

She studied closely with two of the most respected Baul singer-gurus of the previous generation, Sri Sanatan Das Thakur Baul and Sri Shashanko Goshai.

She was recognized by her gurus as both a musical and spiritual teacher in the Baul tradition, carrying forward their spiritual legacy. 

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Parvathy has co-founded Ekathara Kalari along with Sri Ravi Gopalan Nair, a non-profit institution promoting ancient Indian spiritual traditions, with an emphasis on Baul arts and practice. 

As per her Guru Sri Sanatan Das Baul’s vision, she has established Sanatan Siddhashram, a traditional learning center for the Baul tradition in Birbhum district, West Bengal, India.

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Recognising her unbroken commitment to the tradition, the government of India conferred upon her the most esteemed Sangeet Natak Akademi award in the year 2019. It is the highest Indian recognition given to practicing artists.

She was felicitated by honorable President Sri Ramnath Kovind.

The opening set of the Ragas Live Festival 2021.  Subscribe for weekly updates with the following 24 sets...

This first live set is from Ragas Live 2020 Cape Town, South Africa

Derek Gripper - Guitar

Second live set is from Ragas Live 2020 Abidjan, Côte d’Ivoire

Dr. Toumani Diabate - kora

Ahmed Diabate - kora

Balla Diabate - kora