Iraqi-born, American-based composer and NEA Heritage Fellow Rahim AlHaj plays the oud, the Arab lute. Derek Gripper is a classical guitarist from South Africa who has somehow found a way to play West African music for the 21-string harp, or kora, on the six strings of his instrument. Both musicians have played in a wide variety of styles, and recently, they began playing together as a duo. Hear their duo set from the New York Guitar Festival, recorded at Kaufman Music Center’s Merkin Hall in June of 2025 and in partnership with The World Music Institute.

Set list:

1. Derek Gripper – Fifty-Six
2. Gripper: Lindo
3. Gripper: Tita
4. Rahim AlHaj: Closeness

Derek Gripper is a classical guitarist from South Africa who has somehow found a way to play West African music for the 21-string harp, or kora, on the six strings of his instrument. Iraqi-born, American-based composer and NEA Heritage Fellow Rahim AlHaj plays the oud, the Arab lute. Both musicians have played in a wide variety of styles, and recently, they began playing together as a duo. Hear solo sets by Derek Gripper and a solo piece by Rahim AlHaj. The music comes from the New Sounds Live Concert Series in partnership with the New York Guitar Festival and the World Music Institute, and was recorded at Kaufman Music Center’s Merkin Hall in June of 2025.

Set list:

1. Derek Gripper - Blue Light
2. Derek Gripper - Chiwo
3. Derek Gripper - Moss on the Mountain
4. Rahim AlHaj - Dream

Guitarist Steve Gunn has established himself as a singer/songwriter and as an ace collaborator with artists like Hiss Golden Messenger and Kurt Vile. With over 20 albums to his credit, you might think he’s done it all, but until 2025, Gunn had never done an album of solo instrumentals. In August 2025 he released Music For Writers, a collection of sonic landscapes, and in very short order he was back behind the mic this past November with a new album of songs called Daylight Daylight. Steve Gunn performs, in-studio.

(See him on a US West Coast tour

Set list: 1. Nearly There 2. Morning On K Road 3. Another Fade

Klezmer music may have its roots in the Jewish communities of Eastern Europe, but it found a home here in NY in the 1920s and 30s, and the klezmer revival that began almost a half century ago was also centered in New York. Clarinetist Michael Winograd has been a major figure on the klezmer music scene for a couple of decades now, both as a composer and as a kind of music historian. His current project is a remake of a 1955 album that flopped at the time and is now considered a classic meeting of klezmer and jazz. That album was called Tanz!, Yiddish for dance, and Michael Winograd leads a stellar lineup of musicians to play some of the tunes, in-studio.

1. Tipsy 2. Silkene Pajamas

The British band Public Service Broadcasting describes their work as "Teaching the lessons of the past through the music of the future", (Bandcamp). Their songs are often built on sampled speech, layers of melodies, and propulsive grooves. Public Service Broadcasting plays music from their latest project, The Last Flight, based on the enduring story of Amelia Earhart, (plus an older banger from their album sampling the space race), in-studio.

Set list: 1. Electra 2. Arabian Flight 3. Go!

Rebecca Foon is best known as a cellist – she’s been a pivotal figure on the Montreal scene, playing with bands like Thee Silver Mt Zion and her world music/chamber ensemble Esmerine. But Foon has also been making solo records, often including her vocals as well, and her latest, Black Butterflies, is a collection of songs that blends dream pop, minimalism, and ambient music. Rebecca Foon plays live, in-studio.

Set list: 1. If I Could Only See the Distant Sky 2. in a time of truth 3. Flood of Eternity

Listen to music from South African-born, UK-based cellist and vocalist Abel Selaocoe; Hot Psychedelic Gnawa Blues By French-Moroccan band Bab L’ Bluz; guitarist, producer, bandleader Adrian Quesada of Black Pumas and his dramatic Latin pop 'Boleros Psicodélicos', featuring Grammy-winning Puerto Rican singer-songwriter iLe. Plus, composer and harpist Brandee Younger and her trio; and the Dublin-based brothers Ye Vagabonds with a preview of new songs for 2026.

Set list:

ARTIST: Adrian Quesada, with iLe
WORK: Mentiras con Cariño [2:02]
RECORDING: Live for the Soundcheck Podcast, Aug. 2025
SOURCE: This performance not commercially available.
INFO: The tune appears on Boleros Psicodélicos

ARTIST: Ye Vagabonds
WORK: The Flood [3:05]
RECORDING: Live for the Soundcheck Podcast Nov. 2025
SOURCE: This performance not commercially available.
INFO: The album All Tied Together, comes out Jan. 30, 2026 | https://yevagabonds.bandcamp.com/album/all-tied-together

ARTIST: Bab L' Bluz
WORK: Imazighen [4:13]
RECORDING: Live for the Soundcheck Podcast, April 2025
SOURCE: This performance not commercially available.
INFO: The tune appears on Swaken

ARTIST: Abel Selaocoe
WORK: Ka Bohaleng [3:13]
RECORDING: Live for the Soundcheck Podcast, Feb. 2025
SOURCE: This performance not commercially available.
INFO: The tune appears Hymns of Bantu

ARTIST: Adrian Quesada, with iLe
WORK: Mentiras con Cariño [4:01]
RECORDING: Live for the Soundcheck Podcast, Aug. 2025
SOURCE: This performance not commercially available.
INFO: The tune appears on Boleros Psicodélicos

ARTIST: Brandee Younger Trio
WORK: BBL [5:26]
RECORDING: Live for the Soundcheck Podcast, July 2025
SOURCE: This performance not commercially available.
INFO: The tune appears on Gadabout Season

Hear music by Portuguese fado singer Carminho; Grammy-winning classical quartet Third Coast Percussion performing music written for them by the late Indian tabla master Zakir Hussain; and Ethiopian-born singer and bandleader Meklit’s blend of jazz, pop, and soul. Also, music from Chicago-formed, New York-based American rock band Horsegirl; and the quartet Les Égarés, who are Ballaké Sissoko (kora) and Vincent Segal (cello) and Vincent Peirani (accordion) and Émile Parisien (sax). They combine chamber music, French chanson, West African folk, and jazz in a fluid and “wandering” mix of styles.