Deep Focus
Host Mitch Goldman and his musician-guest explore rare archival recordings of one of the guest's favorite artists. Each episode delves into obscure tracks and forgotten gems, offering a unique listening experience for music enthusiasts.
Episodes
2026.06.08 Vijay Iyer on Alice Coltrane Turiyasangitananda- 1 of 3
The moment you invoke the name of Alice Coltrane Turiyasangitananda, the widow of John Coltrane, you open a door into other ways of understanding. She was part of her husband's last working band, but after his death, and for the next 40 years, her music became suffused with her spiritual practice and mystical experiences. Her conviction was so thorough that some listeners found it alienating, bu
2026.05.25 Michael Veal on Miles Davis - 3 of 3
When they go deep, we go deeper.
We have been thinking about Miles Davis in anticipation of his centennial (May 26). How about we explore a dark corner of his vast touring history, his so-called "Lost Quintet"? We have so many questions about it, but who to ask? How about the guy who literally wrote the book on the subject?
On this week's Deep Focus, host Mitch Goldman welcomes musician
2026.05.25 Michael Veal on Miles Davis - 2 of 3
When they go deep, we go deeper.
We have been thinking about Miles Davis in anticipation of his centennial (May 26). How about we explore a dark corner of his vast touring history, his so-called "Lost Quintet"? We have so many questions about it, but who to ask? How about the guy who literally wrote the book on the subject?
On this week's Deep Focus, host Mitch Goldman welcomes musician
2026.05.25 Michael Veal on Miles Davis - 1 of 3
When they go deep, we go deeper.
We have been thinking about Miles Davis in anticipation of his centennial (May 26). How about we explore a dark corner of his vast touring history, his so-called "Lost Quintet"? We have so many questions about it, but who to ask? How about the guy who literally wrote the book on the subject?
On this week's Deep Focus, host Mitch Goldman welcomes musician
2026.04.27 Melvin Gibbs on Fela Kuti - 3 of 3
Fela Kuti has been the subject of at least half a dozen documentaries, a Broadway play, a shelf of books, and at least one richly lauded podcast series. It's hard to imagine a time when Fela would have been considered an obscure musician from a largely unknown continent. But that was very much the case in the seventies when bassist Melvin Gibbs heard his music blasting out of a record store on
2026.04.27 Melvin Gibbs on Fela Kuti - 2 of 3
Fela Kuti has been the subject of at least half a dozen documentaries, a Broadway play, a shelf of books, and at least one richly lauded podcast series. It's hard to imagine a time when Fela would have been considered an obscure musician from a largely unknown continent. But that was very much the case in the seventies when bassist Melvin Gibbs heard his music blasting out of a record store on
2026.04.27 Melvin Gibbs on Fela Kuti - 1 of 3
Fela Kuti has been the subject of at least half a dozen documentaries, a Broadway play, a shelf of books, and at least one richly lauded podcast series. It's hard to imagine a time when Fela would have been considered an obscure musician from a largely unknown continent. But that was very much the case in the seventies when bassist Melvin Gibbs heard his music blasting out of a record store on
2026.03.16 William Hooker and Ahmed Abdullah on Old and New Dreams - 3 of 3
Throw away the map. Now, how are you going to find your way to your destination? You will probably find many more answers than you may have thought you'd find when you were looking at that folded-up piece of paper.
The band Old and New Dreams didn't have to follow chord changes, disregarded time signatures, but their music was full of story-songs, each with a beginning, a middle, and an end.
2026.03.16 William Hooker and Ahmed Abdullah on Old and New Dreams - 2 of 3
Throw away the map. Now, how are you going to find your way to your destination? You will probably find many more answers than you may have thought you'd find when you were looking at that folded-up piece of paper.
The band Old and New Dreams didn't have to follow chord changes, disregarded time signatures, but their music was full of story-songs, each with a beginning, a middle, and an end.
2026.03.16 William Hooker and Ahmed Abdullah on Old and New Dreams - 1 of 3
Throw away the map. Now, how are you going to find your way to your destination? You will probably find many more answers than you may have thought you'd find when you were looking at that folded-up piece of paper.
The band Old and New Dreams didn't have to follow chord changes, disregarded time signatures, but their music was full of story-songs, each with a beginning, a middle, and an end.
2026.03.02 Eric Person on Eddie Harris - part 2 with Ethan Singer - 3 of 3
This episode of Deep Focus has been decades in the making. Deep Focus host Mitch Goldman started DJing Monday nights at WKCR in 1985. At that time, he alternated Mondays with fellow WKCR programmer Ethan Singer. Mitch and Ethan soon discovered that they both loved a lot of the same music and both loved the live music experience. They merged forces and started producing a show with live session
2026.03.02 Eric Person on Eddie Harris - part 2 with Ethan Singer - 2 of 3
This episode of Deep Focus has been decades in the making. Deep Focus host Mitch Goldman started DJing Monday nights at WKCR in 1985. At that time, he alternated Mondays with fellow WKCR programmer Ethan Singer. Mitch and Ethan soon discovered that they both loved a lot of the same music and both loved the live music experience. They merged forces and started producing a show with live session
2026.03.02 Eric Person on Eddie Harris - part 2 with Ethan Singer - 1 of 3
This episode of Deep Focus has been decades in the making. Deep Focus host Mitch Goldman started DJing Monday nights at WKCR in 1985. At that time, he alternated Mondays with fellow WKCR programmer Ethan Singer. Mitch and Ethan soon discovered that they both loved a lot of the same music and both loved the live music experience. They merged forces and started producing a show with live session
2026.02.16 Steve Slagle on Charlie Haden - 3 of 3
The music, the people playing it, and the audience are all in a state of total oneness. It's a spontaneous improvisation as delicate as an eggshell. You're almost afraid to breathe lest this moment dissolve, and we are all dropped back to the cold earth. Then you open your eyes to see that the bassist is Charlie Haden, and you know that this moment will not end until its time has come, because
2026.02.16 Steve Slagle on Charlie Haden - 2 of 3
The music, the people playing it, and the audience are all in a state of total oneness. It's a spontaneous improvisation as delicate as an eggshell. You're almost afraid to breathe lest this moment dissolve, and we are all dropped back to the cold earth. Then you open your eyes to see that the bassist is Charlie Haden, and you know that this moment will not end until its time has come, because
2026.02.16 Steve Slagle on Charlie Haden - 1 of 3
The music, the people playing it, and the audience are all in a state of total oneness. It's a spontaneous improvisation as delicate as an eggshell. You're almost afraid to breathe lest this moment dissolve, and we are all dropped back to the cold earth. Then you open your eyes to see that the bassist is Charlie Haden, and you know that this moment will not end until its time has come, because
2026.01.19 Mazz Swift on Butch Morris - 3 of 3
Improvisation is considered a high art form for an instrumentalist, but what about for a composer? Is it even possible to create a piece of music for an ensemble, and to hear it performed in real time? How would you go about that? You would have to have an entire group imagining together. Lawrence "Butch" Morris did it by creating a compositional language that allowed him to convey musical idea
2026.01.19 Mazz Swift on Butch Morris - 2 of 3
Improvisation is considered a high art form for an instrumentalist, but what about for a composer? Is it even possible to create a piece of music for an ensemble, and to hear it performed in real time? How would you go about that? You would have to have an entire group imagining together. Lawrence "Butch" Morris did it by creating a compositional language that allowed him to convey musical idea
2026.01.19 Mazz Swift on Butch Morris - 2 of 3
Improvisation is considered a high art form for an instrumentalist, but what about for a composer? Is it even possible to create a piece of music for an ensemble, and to hear it performed in real time? How would you go about that? You would have to have an entire group imagining together. Lawrence "Butch" Morris did it by creating a compositional language that allowed him to convey musical idea
2026.01.19 Mazz Swift on Butch Morris - 1 of 3
Improvisation is considered a high art form for an instrumentalist, but what about for a composer? Is it even possible to create a piece of music for an ensemble, and to hear it performed in real time? How would you go about that? You would have to have an entire group imagining together. Lawrence "Butch" Morris did it by creating a compositional language that allowed him to convey musical idea
2026.01.05 Jay Rodriguez on Jim Pepper - 3 of 3
Meet me at Edge City. Isn't that place where worlds collide the only one where new ideas are ever generated? Saxophonist Jim Pepper knew all about these cultural collisions. His band Free Spirits was arguably the first to combine rock and jazz elements, and his oft-covered song Witchitai-To is perhaps the only hit to feature an authentic Native American chant in the history of the Billboard pop
2026.01.05 Jay Rodriguez on Jim Pepper - 2 of 3
Meet me at Edge City. Isn't that place where worlds collide the only one where new ideas are ever generated? Saxophonist Jim Pepper knew all about these cultural collisions. His band Free Spirits was arguably the first to combine rock and jazz elements, and his oft-covered song Witchitai-To is perhaps the only hit to feature an authentic Native American chant in the history of the Billboard pop
2026.01.05 Jay Rodriguez on Jim Pepper - 1 of 3
Meet me at Edge City. Isn't that place where worlds collide the only one where new ideas are ever generated? Saxophonist Jim Pepper knew all about these cultural collisions. His band Free Spirits was arguably the first to combine rock and jazz elements, and his oft-covered song Witchitai-To is perhaps the only hit to feature an authentic Native American chant in the history of the Billboard pop
2025.12.22 Will Calhoun on Jack DeJohnette - 3 of 3
Plate tectonics, this idea that the very surface of the earth is not an unyielding solid, but a set of independent segments in a constant state of flow, was not always accepted as truth. It was only developed in 1967, but once geophysicists saw how accurately it described familiar phenomena, there was no going back.
At the exact same time, Jack DeJohnette was emerging as a new force on drums.
2025.12.22 Will Calhoun on Jack DeJohnette - 2 of 3
Plate tectonics, this idea that the very surface of the earth is not an unyielding solid, but a set of independent segments in a constant state of flow, was not always accepted as truth. It was only developed in 1967, but once geophysicists saw how accurately it described familiar phenomena, there was no going back.
At the exact same time, Jack DeJohnette was emerging as a new force on drums.
2025.12.22 Will Calhoun on Jack DeJohnette - 1 of 3
Plate tectonics, this idea that the very surface of the earth is not an unyielding solid, but a set of independent segments in a constant state of flow, was not always accepted as truth. It was only developed in 1967, but once geophysicists saw how accurately it described familiar phenomena, there was no going back.
At the exact same time, Jack DeJohnette was emerging as a new force on drums.
2025.11.24 Henry Threadgill on Ahmad Jamal - 3 of 3
Listen to Henry Threadgill's music. What a phantasmagoria of splendors and esoterica must animate his mind! Don't you just want to go to that place? Maybe for a night out on the town? Or a picnic in The Secret Garden? Aren't you curious about where his inspiration comes from? You could read his autobiography, Easily Slip Into Another World: A Life in Music (in fact, we recommend you do), but
2025.11.24 Henry Threadgill on Ahmad Jamal - 2 of 3
Listen to Henry Threadgill's music. What a phantasmagoria of splendors and esoterica must animate his mind! Don't you just want to go to that place? Maybe for a night out on the town? Or a picnic in The Secret Garden? Aren't you curious about where his inspiration comes from? You could read his autobiography, Easily Slip Into Another World: A Life in Music (in fact, we recommend you do), but
2025.11.24 Henry Threadgill on Ahmad Jamal - 1 of 3
Listen to Henry Threadgill's music. What a phantasmagoria of splendors and esoterica must animate his mind! Don't you just want to go to that place? Maybe for a night out on the town? Or a picnic in The Secret Garden? Aren't you curious about where his inspiration comes from? You could read his autobiography, Easily Slip Into Another World: A Life in Music (in fact, we recommend you do), but
2025.11.10 Craig Harris on David Murray - 3 of 3
Breaking new ground requires a willingness to plunge into the unknown. You don't know what terrors and wonders you might find there. The risks are concealed until it's too late to turn back. That's one thing when it's your pursuit. What about when it's someone else's vision, and you need to lead them through it? What do you do? Just dive into the Vast Empty? Yes, you do if you're trombonist
2025.11.10 Craig Harris on David Murray - 2 of 3
Breaking new ground requires a willingness to plunge into the unknown. You don't know what terrors and wonders you might find there. The risks are concealed until it's too late to turn back. That's one thing when it's your pursuit. What about when it's someone else's vision, and you need to lead them through it? What do you do? Just dive into the Vast Empty? Yes, you do if you're trombonist
2025.11.10 Craig Harris on David Murray - 1 of 3
Breaking new ground requires a willingness to plunge into the unknown. You don't know what terrors and wonders you might find there. The risks are concealed until it's too late to turn back. That's one thing when it's your pursuit. What about when it's someone else's vision, and you need to lead them through it? What do you do? Just dive into the Vast Empty? Yes, you do if you're trombonist
2025.10.27 Brian Charette on Larry Young - 3 of 3
If you want to change the game, first you need to master the game. Coming up in Newark in the fifties was the exact right place and time for Larry Young to learn the idiom of the Hammond B-3 organ, and he learned his lessons well. His early records embody the soul-jazz organ trio sound made popular by Jimmy Smith.
But as the sound of the sixties emerged, Larry Young (also known by his Muslim
2025.10.27 Brian Charette on Larry Young - 2 of 3
If you want to change the game, first you need to master the game. Coming up in Newark in the fifties was the exact right place and time for Larry Young to learn the idiom of the Hammond B-3 organ, and he learned his lessons well. His early records embody the soul-jazz organ trio sound made popular by Jimmy Smith.
But as the sound of the sixties emerged, Larry Young (also known by his Muslim
2025.10.27 Brian Charette on Larry Young - 1 of 3
If you want to change the game, first you need to master the game. Coming up in Newark in the fifties was the exact right place and time for Larry Young to learn the idiom of the Hammond B-3 organ, and he learned his lessons well. His early records embody the soul-jazz organ trio sound made popular by Jimmy Smith.
But as the sound of the sixties emerged, Larry Young (also known by his Muslim
2025.09.29 Vernon Reid on James Blood Ulmer - 3 of 3
What is the great lesson of a James Blood Ulmer for fellow guitarist/composer/bandleader Vernon Reid? Find out this Monday (9/29) when Vernon Reid and host Mitch Goldman plunge into the WKCR archives in search of rare, live recordings. Some of them might even feature Vernon's early spirit guide and Blood's fellow Prime Timer, Ronald Shannon Jackson.
Now, for those of you who can't stand the
2025.09.29 Vernon Reid on James Blood Ulmer - 2 of 3
What is the great lesson of a James Blood Ulmer for fellow guitarist/composer/bandleader Vernon Reid? Find out this Monday (9/29) when Vernon Reid and host Mitch Goldman plunge into the WKCR archives in search of rare, live recordings. Some of them might even feature Vernon's early spirit guide and Blood's fellow Prime Timer, Ronald Shannon Jackson.
Now, for those of you who can't stand the
2025.09.29 Vernon Reid on James Blood Ulmer - 1 of 3
What is the great lesson of a James Blood Ulmer for fellow guitarist/composer/bandleader Vernon Reid? Find out this Monday (9/29) when Vernon Reid and host Mitch Goldman plunge into the WKCR archives in search of rare, live recordings. Some of them might even feature Vernon's early spirit guide and Blood's fellow Prime Timer, Ronald Shannon Jackson.
Now, for those of you who can't stand the
2025.09.01 Ben Tyree on Spectrum Road - 3 of 3
Who came up with the idea that the middle of the road is the right place to be? Regular listeners to Mitch Goldman's Deep Focus know that it's those shadowy corners, those Edge Cities, where new things start to happen. And who embodied this idea more than drummer Tony Williams' late sixties supergroup, Lifetime?
Lifetime inspired another supergroup in 2008 when guitarist Vernon Reid and bassi
2025.09.01 Ben Tyree on Spectrum road - 2 of 3
Who came up with the idea that the middle of the road is the right place to be? Regular listeners to Mitch Goldman's Deep Focus know that it's those shadowy corners, those Edge Cities, where new things start to happen. And who embodied this idea more than drummer Tony Williams' late sixties supergroup, Lifetime?
Lifetime inspired another supergroup in 2008 when guitarist Vernon Reid and bassi
2025.09.01 Ben Tyree on Spectrum road - 1 of 3
Who came up with the idea that the middle of the road is the right place to be? Regular listeners to Mitch Goldman's Deep Focus know that it's those shadowy corners, those Edge Cities, where new things start to happen. And who embodied this idea more than drummer Tony Williams' late sixties supergroup, Lifetime?
Lifetime inspired another supergroup in 2008 when guitarist Vernon Reid and bassi
2025.08.18 Bob Dee on Jef Lee Johnson - 3 of 3
How is it possible that you have never heard guitarist Jef Lee Johnson? He was as incendiary and as nakedly original as any soloist you have ever heard (absolutely any!). But his greater distinction might have been his songwriting. You don’t learn to write songs that are that revealing, that insightful, that cleverly put-together, and that hilariously funny, just by working at it. First, you h
2025.08.18 Bob Dee on Jef Lee Johnson - 2 of 3
How is it possible that you have never heard guitarist Jef Lee Johnson? He was as incendiary and as nakedly original as any soloist you have ever heard (absolutely any!). But his greater distinction might have been his songwriting. You don’t learn to write songs that are that revealing, that insightful, that cleverly put-together, and that hilariously funny, just by working at it. First, you h
2025.08.18 Bob Dee on Jef Lee Johnson - 1 of 3
How is it possible that you have never heard guitarist Jef Lee Johnson? He was as incendiary and as nakedly original as any soloist you have ever heard (absolutely any!). But his greater distinction might have been his songwriting. You don’t learn to write songs that are that revealing, that insightful, that cleverly put-together, and that hilariously funny, just by working at it. First, you h
2015.08.03 Eric Person on Ornette Coleman - 3 of 3
Ornette Coleman, one of our brightest lights, died in June of 2015. Here is a Deep Focus from August of that year, with Eric Person as my guest, remembering Ornette. This show features a beautiful live recording from 1978. Officially, his band is listed as the Ornette Coleman Sextet, but his fans know them as Prime Time.
2015.08.03 Eric Person on Ornette Coleman - 2 of 3
Ornette Coleman, one of our brightest lights, died in June of 2015. Here is a Deep Focus from August of that year, with Eric Person as my guest, remembering Ornette. This show features a beautiful live recording from 1978. Officially, his band is listed as the Ornette Coleman Sextet, but his fans know them as Prime Time.
2015.08.03 Eric Person on Ornette Coleman - 1 of 3
Ornette Coleman, one of our brightest lights, died in June of 2015. Here is a Deep Focus from August of that year with Eric Person as my guest, remembering Ornette. This show features a beautiful live recording from 1978. Officially, his band is listed as the Ornette Coleman Sextet, but his fans know them as Prime Time.
2025.07.21 Jean-Paul Bourelly on Arthur Blythe, S. Sharrock + P. Sanders, JB Ulmer - 3 of 3
This is a rare treat: a former subject of Deep Focus becomes the guest. In 2016, drummer Will Calhoun was our guest for a Deep Focus on one of his heroes, Elvin Jones. Will brought a cassette of a set of music that he had heard as a teenager at the Village Vanguard. At the time, Elvin had an emerging guitarist with a sound entirely unlike that of anyone else who had ever picked up the instrumen
2025.07.21 Jean-Paul Bourelly on Arthur Blythe, S. Sharrock + P. Sanders - 2 of 3
This is a rare treat: a former subject of Deep Focus becomes the guest. In 2016, drummer Will Calhoun was our guest for a Deep Focus on one of his heroes, Elvin Jones. Will brought a cassette of a set of music that he had heard as a teenager at the Village Vanguard. At the time, Elvin had an emerging guitarist with a sound entirely unlike that of anyone else who had ever picked up the instrumen
2025.07.21 Jean-Paul Bourelly on Arthur Blythe, S. Sharrock + P. Sanders - 1 of 3
This is a rare treat: a former subject of Deep Focus becomes the guest. In 2016, drummer Will Calhoun was our guest for a Deep Focus on one of his heroes, Elvin Jones. Will brought a cassette of a set of music that he had heard as a teenager at the Village Vanguard. At the time, Elvin had an emerging guitarist with a sound entirely unlike that of anyone else who had ever picked up the instrumen
2013.11.13 Roy Campbell on Woody Shaw - 3 of 3
When Mitch Goldman invited Roy Campbell to be his guest on Deep Focus, he knew that Roy was a master student of the entire history of the music, but he had no idea that Roy knew Woody Shaw personally. Stunning tales of Ornette Coleman, Lee Morgan, and others emerge in this remarkable program, recorded not 2 months before Roy Campbell's tragic early passing. Roy, you are missed!
#WKCR #DeepFocus
2013.11.13 Roy Campbell on Woody Shaw - 2 of 3
When Mitch Goldman invited Roy Campbell to be his guest on Deep Focus, he knew that Roy was a master student of the entire history of the music, but he had no idea that Roy knew Woody Shaw personally. Stunning tales of Ornette Coleman, Lee Morgan, and others emerge in this remarkable program, recorded not 2 months before Roy Campbell's tragic early passing. Roy, you are missed!
2013.11.13 Roy Campbell on Woody Shaw - 1 of 3
When Mitch Goldman invited Roy Campbell to be his guest on Deep Focus, he knew that Roy was a master student of the entire history of the music, but he had no idea that Roy knew Woody Shaw personally. Stunning tales of Ornette Coleman, Lee Morgan, and others emerge in this remarkable program, recorded not 2 months before Roy Campbell's tragic early passing. Roy, you are missed!
2025.05.26 Uri Caine on Chick Corea and Herbie Hancock - 3 of 3
In the seventies, when Uri Caine was discovering the piano, two dominant influences were Chick Corea and Herbie Hancock. Both were in their thirties, both had played emerging electric music with Miles Davis after having established their Jazz bona fides, both led successful fusion bands (Chick with Return To Forever, Herbie with his Head Hunters band), and each had a distinctive voice on the keyb
2025.05.26 Uri Caine on Chick Corea and Herbie Hancock - 2 of 3
In the seventies, when Uri Caine was discovering the piano, two dominant influences were Chick Corea and Herbie Hancock. Both were in their thirties, both had played emerging electric music with Miles Davis after having established their Jazz bona fides, both led successful fusion bands (Chick with Return To Forever, Herbie with his Head Hunters band), and each had a distinctive voice on the keyb
2025.05.26 Uri Caine on Chick Corea and Herbie Hancock - 1 of 3
In the seventies, when Uri Caine was discovering the piano, two dominant influences were Chick Corea and Herbie Hancock. Both were in their thirties, both had played emerging electric music with Miles Davis after having established their Jazz bona fides, both led successful fusion bands (Chick with Return To Forever, Herbie with his Head Hunters band), and each had a distinctive voice on the keyb
2025.05.12 Eric Person on Eddie Harris - 3 of 3
"Eddie (Harris) was an enigma. He was also a soulful intellectual. He was an innovator who had hit records. He was a success, but he didn't appear all that popular. I think he must have had 3 audiences in one. Each person seeing something different in his music, and that's problematic to navigate in. But he was who he was. He was a creative force with many talents and interests." Saxophonist/ban
2025.05.12 Eric Person on Eddie Harris - 2 of 3
"Eddie (Harris) was an enigma. He was also a soulful intellectual. He was an innovator who had hit records. He was a success, but he didn't appear all that popular. I think he must have had 3 audiences in one. Each person seeing something different in his music, and that's problematic to navigate in. But he was who he was. He was a creative force with many talents and interests." Saxophonist/ban
2025.05.12 Eric Person on Eddie Harris - 1 of 3
"Eddie (Harris) was an enigma. He was also a soulful intellectual. He was an innovator who had hit records. He was a success, but he didn't appear all that popular. I think he must have had 3 audiences in one. Each person seeing something different in his music, and that's problematic to navigate in. But he was who he was. He was a creative force with many talents and interests." Saxophonist/ban
2008.06.09 Graham Haynes on Ed Blackwell - 2 of 2
Here it is: the very first episode of Deep Focus ever, and it's a killer! Graham Haynes is the guest and Ed Blackwell is the subject.
First-hand stories about Blackwell? Yes!
Don Cherry? Yes!
Lester Bowie? Yes!
Carlos Ward? Yes!
Roy Haynes? Yes!
Fantastic music that we've never heard? What do you think? Tune in to find out.
Photo credit: fair use.
Find out more about Deep Focus at http
2008.06.09 Graham Haynes on Ed Blackwell - 1 of 2
Here it is: the very first episode of Deep Focus ever, and it's a killer! Graham Haynes is the guest and Ed Blackwell is the subject.
First-hand stories about Blackwell? Yes!
Don Cherry? Yes!
Lester Bowie? Yes!
Carlos Ward? Yes!
Roy Haynes? Yes!
Fantastic music that we've never heard? What do you think? Tune in to find out.
Photo credit: fair use.
Find out more about Deep Focus at http
2025.03.24 Vijay Iyer on Randy Weston - 3 of 3
It's impossible to distinguish between Randy Weston's musical innovations and his conception of the world he was born into. To say that the roots of jazz are in West Africa is hardly a groundbreaking statement nowadays, but it was a mostly unfamiliar notion when he started to say it in the 1950's. It's easy to hear it now, especially when you listen to Weston's 6+ decade discography. It's in hi
2025.03.24 Vijay Iyer on Randy Weston - 2 of 3
It's impossible to distinguish between Randy Weston's musical innovations and his conception of the world he was born into. To say that the roots of jazz are in West Africa is hardly a groundbreaking statement nowadays, but it was a mostly unfamiliar notion when he started to say it in the 1950's. It's easy to hear it now, especially when you listen to Weston's 6+ decade discography. It's in hi
2025.03.24 Vijay Iyer on Randy Weston - 1 of 3
It's impossible to distinguish between Randy Weston's musical innovations and his conception of the world he was born into. To say that the roots of jazz are in West Africa is hardly a groundbreaking statement nowadays, but it was a mostly unfamiliar notion when he started to say it in the 1950's. It's easy to hear it now, especially when you listen to Weston's 6+ decade discography. It's in hi
2013.11.18 Jack DeSalvo on Ronald Shannon Jackson - 1 of 3
Ronald Shannon Jackson's music was open source. It was not possible to play it correctly without bringing your own voice to it: your background, your proclivities, your vocabulary. And if you didn't have it to bring, the music wasn't going to make it off the stage. Jack DeSalvo brought a musical lexicon to the Decoding Society that was unmatched. When Shannon expressed a mood-- on drums or flu
2025.02.17 Steven Bernstein on The Don Cherry Tapes part 2 - 3 of 3
This Monday's (2/17) Deep Focus is on trumpeter Don Cherry, a wonderful and deeply missed friend of WKCR. Back in the Eighties, Don was a frequent guest on Mitch Goldman's show. Don would guest DJ, talk to the audience, bring guests... It was an ongoing Eighties NYC Don Cherry party. And if there was a blank cassette handy, Mitch would make a recording. The tapes got tossed in a box and ended
2025.02.17 Steven Bernstein on The Don Cherry Tapes part 2 - 2 of 3
This Monday's (2/17) Deep Focus is on trumpeter Don Cherry, a wonderful and deeply missed friend of WKCR. Back in the Eighties, Don was a frequent guest on Mitch Goldman's show. Don would guest DJ, talk to the audience, bring guests... It was an ongoing Eighties NYC Don Cherry party. And if there was a blank cassette handy, Mitch would make a recording. The tapes got tossed in a box and ended
2025.02.17 Steven Bernstein on The Don Cherry Tapes part 2 - 1 of 3
This Monday's (2/17) Deep Focus is on trumpeter Don Cherry, a wonderful and deeply missed friend of WKCR. Back in the Eighties, Don was a frequent guest on Mitch Goldman's show. Don would guest DJ, talk to the audience, bring guests... It was an ongoing Eighties NYC Don Cherry party. And if there was a blank cassette handy, Mitch would make a recording. The tapes got tossed in a box and ended
2025.02.01 Eric Person on Arthur Blythe - 3 of 3
On our previous Deep Focus, host Mitch Goldman and his guest, saxophonist Eric Person explored the work of the David Murray Octet of the 1980s. Here was an ensemble that punched far above its weight, with swinging horn parts like a Thirties big band as well eyeball-to-eyeball improvisation like a small ensemble. They had the storytelling of a traditional group with the expansive harmonies and ex
2025.02.01 Eric Person on Arthur Blythe - 2 of 3
On our previous Deep Focus, host Mitch Goldman and his guest, saxophonist Eric Person explored the work of the David Murray Octet of the 1980s. Here was an ensemble that punched far above its weight, with swinging horn parts like a Thirties big band as well eyeball-to-eyeball improvisation like a small ensemble. They had the storytelling of a traditional group with the expansive harmonies and ex
2025.02.03 Eric Person on Arthur Blythe - 1 of 3
On our previous Deep Focus, host Mitch Goldman and his guest, saxophonist Eric Person explored the work of the David Murray Octet of the 1980s. Here was an ensemble that punched far above its weight, with swinging horn parts like a Thirties big band, as well eyeball-to-eyeball improvisation like a small ensemble. They had the storytelling of a traditional group with the expansive harmonies and e
2008.11.03 Eric Person on Herbie Hancock, Beaver Harris - 1 of 1
Here is another episode from the Deep Focus "Prodigal Children" series.
Mitch Goldman first went on the air at WKCR in 1985 and started Deep Focus in 2008. Since his primary focus during the broadcast is hosting and engineering the show, making these recordings has often had to take a back seat. Add in the fact that WKCR is, in Phil Schaap's words, "The home of technical difficulties," and you
2025.01.06 Eric Person on David Murray - 3 of 3
In the early 1980s, when saxophonist Eric Person was coming up, one big question that was being addressed was how to combine the free-swinging improv of the Loft scene with the beauty and power of a large ensemble. Many fascinating strategies would arrive (Henry Threadgill, Butch Morris, we're looking at you!). One of the first and most thrilling came from saxophonist David Murray. Murray was t
2025.01.06 Eric Person on David Murray - 2 of 3
In the early 1980s, when saxophonist Eric Person was coming up, one big question that was being addressed was how to combine the free-swinging improv of the Loft scene with the beauty and power of a large ensemble. Many fascinating strategies would arrive (Henry Threadgill, Butch Morris, we're looking at you!). One of the first and most thrilling came from saxophonist David Murray. Murray was t
2025.01.06 Eric Person on David Murray - 1 of 3
In the early 1980s, when saxophonist Eric Person was coming up, one big question that was being addressed was how to combine the free-swinging improv of the Loft scene with the beauty and power of a large ensemble. Many fascinating strategies would arrive (Henry Threadgill, Butch Morris, we're looking at you!). One of the first and most thrilling came from saxophonist David Murray. Murray was t
2024.12.23 Arturo O'Farrill on Carla Bley - 3 of 3
Arturo O'Farrill: "Without Carla (Bley)’s influence, I wouldn’t be where I am today; there would be no Afro-Latin Jazz Orchestra, no Belongó, no Arturo O'Farrill. She is in everything that I do..." Don't you want to hear what happens when WKCR's Mitch Goldman welcomes Arturo into the WKCR archives for a Deep Focus on Carla Bley? We know we do!
Game on this Monday (12/23) from 6p to 9p NYC t
2024.12.23 Arturo O'Farrill on Carla Bley - 2 of 3
Arturo O'Farrill: "Without Carla (Bley)’s influence, I wouldn’t be where I am today; there would be no Afro-Latin Jazz Orchestra, no Belongó, no Arturo O'Farrill. She is in everything that I do..." Don't you want to hear what happens when WKCR's Mitch Goldman welcomes Arturo into the WKCR archives for a Deep Focus on Carla Bley? We know we do!
Game on this Monday (12/23) from 6p to 9p NYC t
2024.12.23 Arturo O'Farrill on Carla Bley - 1 of 3
Arturo O'Farrill: "Without Carla (Bley)’s influence, I wouldn’t be where I am today; there would be no Afro-Latin Jazz Orchestra, no Belongó, no Arturo O'Farrill. She is in everything that I do..." Don't you want to hear what happens when WKCR's Mitch Goldman welcomes Arturo into the WKCR archives for a Deep Focus on Carla Bley? We know we do!
Game on this Monday (12/23) from 6p to 9p NYC t
2024.11.25 Leon Gruenbaum on Burnt Sugar - 3 of 3
Burnt Sugar The Arkestra Chamber is renowned for "never playing anything the same way once." Drawing inspiration from Duke Ellington, Sun Ra, Parliament Funkadelic, and The Art Ensemble of Chicago, in the words of founder Greg Tate, "Our player-ranks include known Irish fiddlers, AACM refugees, Afro-punk rejects, unrepentant beboppers, feminist rappers, jitterbugging doowoppers, frankly loud funk
2024.11.25 Leon Gruenbaum on Burnt Sugar- 2 of 3
Burnt Sugar The Arkestra Chamber is renowned for "never playing anything the same way once." Drawing inspiration from Duke Ellington, Sun Ra, Parliament Funkadelic, and The Art Ensemble of Chicago, in the words of founder Greg Tate, "Our player-ranks include known Irish fiddlers, AACM refugees, Afro-punk rejects, unrepentant beboppers, feminist rappers, jitterbugging doowoppers, frankly loud funk
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