Soundcheck

In 2010, we first fell under the spell of an extraordinary duo: Ballaké Sissoko, master of the West African harp or kora, and Vincent Segal, the French cellist. After a couple of albums together they added another duo, accordion virtuoso Vincent Peirani and sax player Emile Parisien, and that quartet has released an album called Les Egarés – those who stray – an apt name for a band that refuses to color within the lines. There is a unity and fluidity in the way the players listen without competing, return musical answers to questioning phrases, and maintain fluidity and a sense of play. The quartet, “a poetic asylum for the two duos” (Bandcamp) – where chamber music, French chanson, West African folk, and jazz all mix freely - is performing here in the U.S. on tour for the fist time, and they play in-studio. Set list: 1. Esperanza 2. Orient Express 3. Banja

Harpist, soloist, collaborator (Harlem Chamber Players), educator, and arranger Ashley Jackson’s brand new album is called Take Me To The Water. In the American spiritual tradition, water is a powerful metaphor for freedom and for moving from this life to the next. Jackson’s record takes listeners on a watery journey through works by Debussy, the jazz harpist Alice Coltrane, blues, and some classic spirituals. As Jackson declares in a statement about the record, ”Water is something that we all need. It sustains us, it gives us life. Take Me to the Water reminds us we have a choice: we can let water be the thing that divides us, or, it can allow us to come together through our shared humanity.” She plays some of her arrangements of spirituals on a sculpted maple harp, in-studio. Set list: 1. River Jordan 2. Deep River II 3. Take Me to the Water I

New York composer and guitarist Rafiq Bhatia is part of the art rock band Son Lux, the experimental trio best-known for scoring the film Everything Everywhere All At Once. His new EP – his first new solo project in 5 years - features pianist and improviser Chris Pattishall and is called Each Dream, A Melting Door. In their electro-acoustic songs, Rafiq alters the audio output from his guitar in real time with effects software, while Chris responds at the keyboard - although sometimes Chris will lead the exploration. ("It’s basically a set of works for a piano that sounds like a piano and a guitar that sounds like anything and everything else", -John Schaefer.) The longtime friends and collaborators play some of their filmic, sculpted, and evolving soundscapes, in-studio. Set list: 1. Occlusion 2. Ijen 3. Supplicant

Jan Blomqvist is part of the legendary electronic music scene in Berlin – but he’s also a singer and producer, so his take on techno and house music is more song-oriented than many of his fellow DJs. One thing that sets Blomqvist apart is that he makes music in the studio with an eye towards live performance, earning him a description of “concert techno”. His latest album, MUTE, is about a generation that has grown up with apparently unlimited connectivity but still feels disconnected (which is also the name of his record label.) Sometimes the songs grow from and explore silence, (not just the space before the beat drops), while others create hope in dark and uncertain times. There’s even a song that tells the love story between a human and an AI, like in the film HER, or the recent novel Annie Bot. Jan Blomqvist lays down pulsing energy and haunting vocals, in-studio. Set list: 1. Destination Lost 2. Underwater 3. Algorithm

German producer & multi-instrumentalist Aukai, aka Markus Sieber, grew up in the former East Germany, but his travels have taken him through Latin America, and he is now based in Colorado. "Aukai" is a Hawaiian term for a seafaring traveler, and on 2018 record, Branches of Sun, he has captured a certain nomadic wanderlust which might connect a listener to a certain peace of being in nature, high in the mountains. With an ensemble that centers on the South American ronroco, a kind of mandolin-like lute, (“the bigger brother of the charango”), harp, violin, percussion and electronics, Aukai and Ensemble perform some of his electro-acoustic creations, in the studio. (From the Archives, 2018.) Watch the complete live session:

With her clever guitar playing and powerful stories, Oklahoma-based Cherokee singer and songwriter Ken Pomeroy draws on brutal honesty and the songwriting skills she has honed since she was 11 years old. She’s already found herself on the big screen and small when her song “Wall of Death” made its way onto the Twisters soundtrack, while Hulu’s Reservation Dogs featured her soul-mining gem, “Cicadas.” Pomeroy touches on her Native American heritage (mentioning coyotes – a troubling omen) and somewhat painful, personal past, as she plays songs from her album Cruel Joke (due in May 2025), in-studio. Set list: 1. Stranger 2. Days Getting Darker 3. Flannel Cowboy

Syrian clarinetist and composer Kinan Azmeh has been based here in New York for many years. His music is an organic mix of East and West, of classical composition, jazzy improvisation, and Near Eastern music traditions. He’s played with the Silk Road Ensemble and lots of other groups large and small, but the one we see him with most often is his Arab-Jazz Quartet known as CityBand – all one word. It’s a band where Azmeh’s stirring and expressive clarinet meets Kyle Sanna’s rustic guitar, soaring at times over the dynamic and volatile backdrop of John Hadfield’s percussion and Josh Myers’ bass. Along with some talk about his homeland of Syria, apricot trees, and (of course), soccer, Kinan Azmeh and CityBand play some of the music from their latest album, called Live In Berlin, in-studio. Set List: 1. Daraa 2. Jisreen 3. Wedding

The War And Treaty is built around the husband and wife team of Michael and Tanya Trotter, who’ve spent the past decade honing their own, often jubilant blend of country and soul. Their new album is called Plus One, and features touches of jazz, bluegrass, blues, even a nod or two to hip hop. There are some songs involving whiskey, a few nods to Ray Charles, and a powerful Muscle Shoals sound. The War And Treaty play some of their new music, in-studio. Set list: 1. Carried Away 2. Mr. Fun 3. Leads Me Home

Third Coast Percussion is a Grammy-winning classical quartet based in Chicago. They’re all composers themselves, but they’ve also worked with a wide variety of other composers, including Philip Glass and the late great tabla player Zakir Hussain. Their new EP, Murmurs In Time, features Zakir’s work of that name, and he was supposed to join Third Coast Percussion here today, but as you may know, he passed away in December. This Soundcheck studio premiere of the work features a disciple of Hussain’s, Salar Nader. We’ll also hear an excerpt from another work written for Third Coast Percussion, by Tigran Hamasyan, the Armenian jazz pianist and composer. Oh – and it’s in 23/8, for anyone counting along. (-John Schaefer) Set list: 1. Tigran Hamasyan – Sonata for Percussion, 3rd Mvmt. – “23 for TCP” 2. Zakir Hussain: Murmurs In Time – second mvmt.

The singer Sachal Vasandani has become known for his distinctive takes on jazz standards, and for his wide ranging covers, from Bob Dylan to Billie Eilish. But Sachal is also a songwriter himself, and his new album, Best Life Now, is largely a collection of original songs musing on stories of sensuality, heartbreak, and other love struggles. Sachal Vasandani and his band play some of those songs, imbued with warmth and soulful groove, in-studio. Set list: 1. Best Life Now 2. Don't Give up On Me 3. Call Me Best Life Now by Sachal Vasandani

Spanish singer and songwriter Victoria Canal mixes pop styles, from bangers to weighty tunes with thoughtful, often probing, occasionally flirty lyrics, which revolve around her own complicated identity. She won two of Britain’s prestigious Ivor Novello Awards, famously sang with Coldplay at last year’s Glastonbury Festival, and had released a pair of EPs that marked her as a distinctive songwriter.Her latest LP, Slowly It Dawns, sparkles with wisdom hard-learned, and allows space for heavy feelings, all with a sense of light-hearted play. Victoria Canal plays some of these songs, in-studio. Set list: 1. Vauxhall 2. Black Swan 3. 15%

The rapper and songwriter Brother Ali has been releasing his distinctive brand of hip hop since the turn of the century – music that combines pointed social commentary, nerdy music references, and the veteran producer Ant’s maximalist, often playful beats. Brother Ali’s brand new LP is called Satisfied Soul, and on it, there is wisdom, self-reflection and unflinching critique, rooted in hope and defiance. Brother Ali and Ant perform live, in-studio. Set list: 1. D.R.U.M. 2. Name Of the One 3. Handwriting Satisified Soul by Brother Ali

The band Horsegirl is three best friends from Chicago who began playing together while still in high school. But their 2022 debut album, Versions of Modern Performance, showed a band that already had a distinctive sound that showed that DIY didn’t necessarily mean simple. With two of the three musicians now attending NYU, the band has moved here to New York. Taking a break from Antigone and Oedipus, they're here to play some songs from their new album, called Phonetics On And On. Horsegirl plays in-studio. Set list: 1. Where'd You Go 2. Switch Over 3. 2468 Phonetics On and On by Horsegirl

Sam Amidon is a folk fiddler, multi-instrumentalist, and singer from New England who now lives in Old England. He's become known for his inventive and often surprising arrangements of folk songs from both sides of the Atlantic. But he’s also someone who refuses to stay in his lane. So you could call his new album, Salt River, a collection of folk songs - if your definition of folk song is broad enough. Sam Amidon and multi-instrumentalist Chris Vatalaro expand folk tunes – shape note anthems, murder ballads, traditional songs - and play in-studio. Set list: 1. Three Five 2. Golden Willow Tree 3. I'm On My Journey Home

Amayo is the Nigerian-born, Atlanta-based singer and songwriter who was the longtime front-person for the band Antibalas. Now out on his own, Amayo continues to create his own distinctive take on the Afrobeat sound pioneered in the 1970s by the legendary Fela Kuti. But Amayo’s songwriting and his live performances are also deeply affected by his longtime Kung Fu practice - he is a senior master (Sifu) of the Jow Ga Kung Fu School of martial arts. AMAYO’s new solo album is called Lion Awakes, and he and his big band play some of the high-energy tunes, in-studio. Set list: 1. Lion Awakes 2. Black Magic Sister

The South African-born, UK-based cellist Abel Selaocoe doesn’t really cross musical boundaries – he ignores them entirely. He’ll play Bach cello suites, but he also writes music that draws on the throat singing and instinctive vocalizations of his South African heritage, as well as works with electronics, cello preparations, and site-specific sound installations. And sometimes, he’ll create a performance that seems to be all of them at once. He has a new album coming called Hymns of Bantu, due on February 21. Abel Selaocoe plays some of those pieces, solo, in-studio. Abel Selaocoe appears courtesy of Warner Classics Set list: 1.Ka Bohaleng 2. Les Voix Humaines/Tsohle Tsohle 3. Dinaka

The English band Wunderhorse now have two albums under that name, although the first of them, 2022’s Cub, was essentially a solo album by vocalist and songwriter Jacob Slater. Their latest, called Midas, came out this past fall to rave reviews and is very much a portrait of a band who can capture a visceral feeling in their recorded music that is "very imperfect, very live, very raw; no frills". Slater and the band take you where “Something is coming but you don’t know what it is and you can’t stop it,” (Black Arts PR). Wunderhorse plays in-studio. Set list: 1. Midas 2. Rain 3. Teal

Richard Reed Parry is perhaps best known as the really tall, really redheaded guy playing half a dozen instruments in the Grammy-winning band Arcade Fire. But he’s also a founder of the instrumental group Bell Orchestre, and a composer of contemporary classical music. In 2018, he visited the studio with a new project called Quiet River of Dust, and it was at least partly inspired by the psychedelic folk/rock scene in Britain in the late 1960's. He and Quiet River of Dust perform some of the musical meditations, in-studio. (From the Archives.) Set list: 1. Finally Home 2. Song of Wood 3. I Was in the World (Was the World In Me?)

South African guitar virtuoso Derek Gripper plays music originally meant for the 21 stringed lute-harp, the kora, on his 6-string Segovia-styled guitar and does it so well that the world’s leading guitarists and kora players keep wondering how one even does that. His original music is informed by kora masters Toumani Diabaté, Salif Keita, Estonian minimalist composer Arvo Part, Brazilian guitarist Egberto Gismonti and German Baroque innovator, J.S. Bach. Watch out, because he’s about to collaborate with the Iraqi-American oud player and composer Rahim Alhaj. (Ed. note: just wait until the 11 or 13-strings of the oud and those maqams make it to the 6-string guitar in Gripper's hands!) For now, Gripper plays another unbelievable arrangement of a Malian kora song, as well as an original song informed by the cascading style of kora music, plus some of the second cello suite by J.S. Bach, in-studio. - Caryn Havlik Supplemental Reading: The Beauty of Everyday Things, In Search of Lost Time Set list: 1. Alla L'a Ke 2. Moss on the Mountain 3. J.S. Bach: Prelude BWV 1008 (Second Cello Suite) BALLAKÉ SISSOKO AND DEREK GRIPPER by Ballaké Sissoko and Derek Gripper Everyday Things: Bach's Second Cello Suite BWV 1008 by Derek Gripper

Hip hop and classical music come together in the hybrid chamber music of W4RP Trio. The new record, featuring the spoken word artist DJ LiKWUiD, is called Sermon of the MatriarK and it is a celebration of powerful female characters in the African diaspora. But it’s also a celebration of the ways in which artists can move freely across genre lines – and possibly, upending even your most basic assumptions about what a band is. The W4RP Trio actually has four members, who play their new songs, along with the rapper and award-winning artivist LiKWUiD, in-studio. Set list: 1. Up 2. Here's One 3. Gimme Dat, excerpt