Soundcheck from WNYC

The Cameroonian guitarist, Blick Bassy, now resides in rural France and wields a convincing banjo as well. The tunes on Bassy’s magic record, Akö, were intended to be an homage to the Mississippi bluesman Skip James, yet manage to parade between folk and jazz, perhaps stopping to dance with Malian music (think Ali Farka Toure) and Brazilian Tropicalia (Caetano Veloso), along the way. Revel in Bassy’s falsetto vocal lines sung in the Cameroonian language of Basaa over elegant and minimal cello and trombone accompaniment. Bassy & his co-conspirators play music from Akö, live in the studio. 

See Blick Bassy, in trio, tonight, 7:30PM, at the David Rubinstein Atrium at Lincoln Center. The FREE event tonight is part of France Rocks!

Back in the early 1980s, Alison Moyet first topped the charts as half of the English band Yaz – or Yazoo as they were known on their side of the Atlantic. There were lots of new wave/electronic bands on the radio and on the brand new MTV, but Moyet’s richly textured contralto rang out above the fray. Since going solo in 1984, Moyet has had more hits, as well as a long period of time away from music. But that distinctive voice was built for the long haul, and Alison Moyet is back with a new album called Other, and a world tour.  

Jen Goma, of A Sunny Day In Glasgow unleashes hopeful exuberance in her solo project, Showtime Goma, on a record of alternately dancey & dreamy sugar boosts. Jen’s singular inspiring voice lifts and envelops a listener on her debut album Smiley Face. With collaborators like Deerhoof drummer/composer Greg Saunier, plus appearances by composer Shahzad Ismaily, along with personnel from ASDiG, the music is clearly carefully crafted with love and an irreverent sense of humor. Jen Goma and her conspirators in Showtime Goma join us in the studio to play some of these tunes live. 

Hear music from the Montreal-based one-woman band, Saltland, aka cellist Rebecca Foon, from her latest, “A Common Truth. ” She layers multiple loops of her cello, atop a rich set of drones, live in the studio. 

Portland, Oregon-based Pink Martini whisks listeners away on globetrotting musical journeys, singing in Armenian, Portuguese, Arabic, French & Xhosa, among many other languages - and that's just their latest record, Je Dis Oui!. Their founder, pianist Thomas Lauderdale, recently described the group this way: "If the United Nations had a house band in 1962, we aspire to be that band." The 'little orchestra'- some 12-members strong, takes over our studio. 

Web Extra: Pink Martini plays their version of the Miriam Makeba classic "Pata Pata."

Galway-raised troubadour Adrian Crowley pens dark and beautiful, immersive and overwhelming songs, which are just the thing for a quiet evening of solitude by candlelight. Haunting and full of promise, Crowley’s eloquent song-stories are delivered in a rich baritone, weighted with pent-up longing; the accompanying textures range in size from the Crash Ensemble, a smaller string section, to solo piano or guitar, or mellotron & electronic treatments. Crowley plays an intimate set of songs live in the Soundcheck studio.

RIYL: The Magnetic Fields, The National, Nick Cave, Nick Drake

Full of buzzing energy and ready to burst, guitarist Benjamin Booker is a punk & grit-infused songwriter whose ecstatic and soulful sounds channel vintage soul-rock, gospel and blues. The Tampa-born musician recently took up residence in Mexico for inspiration, then had a crisis of conscience while observing from abroad the news of police shootings and Black Lives Matter protests. His second record, Witness (ATO Records) is an outlet for his examination of self and society, with collaborators ranging from producer Sam Cohen (Resistance Radio: The Man In The High Castle Album, Yellowbirds, Pavo Pavo, Apollo Sunshine), engineer Shawn Everett (Alabama Shakes), and the great Mavis Staples. The fiery Benjamin Booker joins us live in the studio. 

Pianist Randy Weston has been exploring the African roots of American music – especially jazz – since the 1950s. Last night, NEA Jazz Master Randy Weston received a Legends of Jazz Award at the Smithsonian Affiliated National Jazz Museum in Harlem. 

As a web extra, hear a melting pot of jazz, blues, Chinese, Cuban, West African, and North African music from his visit in the studio this past May with Selieu Suso (kora) Min Xiao-Fen (pipa) & TK Blue (flute).

Led by singer songwriter and man-about-town Adam Schatz, the Brooklyn-based five piece Landlady brings their art/pop sound to our studio along with a string quartet. Drop into the wonderful, ever-experimenting wall-of-sound world of their latest record, The World Is A Loud Place, and watch via Facebook Live. (Note: Adam's last visit to our studios was as the recap duo Previously on Lost.)

RIYL: Man Man, Vampire Weekend, Darcy James Argue's Secret Society, Randy Newman, music-that-is-good. 

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With a mix of funky horns, the swoon of pedal-steel guitar, and a helping of the blues, the New Orleans-based 7-piece outfit, The Revivalists, dig into all kinds of roots for their soulful rockenroll “with jam band tendencies” (Michael Bialas, HuffPost.) Fresh from their appearance at the New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival, they’ll play their hearts out for us in the Soundcheck studio.