Robin Holcomb, Butch Morris, Jim Staley live in the studios of WKCR-FM, NYC March 18, 1985

This tape starts with a radio promo made by Don Cherry. It gives a sense of the type of radio station WKCR (the radio station of Columbia University) was and is. When I was in my early 20s in the early 80s, I listened to WKCR practically every night. It had so many live performances in the studio by leading NYC-based jazz and improvisational musicians, as well as guest appearances where musicians would bring in tapes of unreleased live and studio recordings. There was a daily morning hour of Charlie Parker, and afternoon show titled "Out To Lunch" with the Dolphy tune as its theme song (still going strong today!), annual 24-hour birthday broadcasts for John Coltrane, Miles Davis, and other, and 24-hour memorial broadcasts whenever a jazz legend dies, during which they would cover in depth the recorded output of the deceased. I occasionally tune in nowadays and it seems the programming has remained as adventurous as it historically was (it was one of the first radio stations in NYC, starting in the late 1930s). This is a trio of skilled improvisors doing their thing live on the air. Butch Morris is a favorite of mine for the interesting work he did on his own, with David Murray, and as part of the Downtown NYC improvisors scene of the 1980s (you can hear a number of things by him on my channel). Robin Holcomb - piano Butch Morris - cornet Jim Staley - trombone 00:00 Don Cherry radio promo 00:45 radio introduction 01:05 Improv. 1 06:25 Improv. 2 19:51 Improv. 3 37:04 Improv. 4 45:11 radio outro Uploaded solely for educational purposes and historical interest. Enjoy.

Added 7 Oct 2026