2026.08.17 Steven Bernstein and Peter Apfelbaum on the Don Cherry tapes 3 - 3 of 3

2026.08.17 Steven Bernstein and Peter Apfelbaum on the Don Cherry tapes 3 - 3 of 3

Author: Small Media Large September 22, 2026 Duration: 1:05:46
This Monday's (8/17) Deep Focus is on pocket trumpeter and global troubadour Don Cherry, a dear, 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 up deep in storage.   In January of 2024 and again in February of 2025, Mitch and his guest, the bandleader, trumpeter, cultural historian, and raconteur Steven Bernstein, blew the dust off a few of the tapes and took their audience on a time-travel journey beyond the imagination of PKD or William Gibson.  Cherry as a radio host was knowing, passionate, deeply curious, and remarkably generous. He was generous to his guests with his attention and generous to his audience (which is to say, us) by considering them to be part of the conversation.  It's very much the way he played music.     This Monday (8/17) from 6p to 9p NYC time on WKCR 89.9FM, WKCR-HD or wkcr.org, Mitch and Steven pull out a few more of these never-before-listened-to magnetic treasures just for you.     Or join us when it goes up on the Deep Focus podcast on your favorite podcasting app or at https://mitchgoldman.podbean.com/.  Subscribe right now to get notifications when new episodes are posted.  It's ad-free, all free, totally non-commercial.  We won't even ask for your contact info.   Find out more about Deep Focus at https://mitchgoldman.com/about-deep-focus/ or join us on Instagram @deep_focus_podcast.     Photo credit: by Mitch Goldman 2026.  All rights reserved.   #WKCR #DeepFocus #StevenBernstein #DonCherry #JazzRadio #JazzPodcast #JazzInterview #MitchGoldman

Mitch Goldman, from Small Media Large, sits down with a different working musician each week for Deep Focus. The premise is beautifully simple yet endlessly revealing: together, they dive into rare archival recordings-bootlegs, demo tapes, lost studio sessions-of an artist the guest deeply admires. This isn't a standard interview format. Instead, you're listening in on a shared, intimate listening session between two knowledgeable fans. The conversation flows from technical dissection of a guitar tone to personal stories about how a particular live bootleg soundtracked a pivotal life moment. You'll hear the crackle of a vintage tape as Mitch and his guest pause, rewind, and marvel at a forgotten vocal take or an experimental arrangement that never made the official album. This podcast lives in the spaces between the famous tracks, uncovering the raw, unpolished moments that often reveal an artist's true process and passion. It’s for anyone who believes the magic isn't just in the finished product, but in the journey of how it got there. Each episode of Deep Focus feels like being invited into a private club where the sole entry fee is a genuine love for music's hidden corners.
Author: Language: English Episodes: 50

Deep Focus
Podcast Episodes
2026.06.08 Vijay Iyer on Alice Coltrane - 2 of 3 [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 1:04:54
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…
2026.06.08 Vijay Iyer on Alice Coltrane Turiyasangitananda- 1 of 3 [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 1:02:17
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…
2026.05.25 Michael Veal on Miles Davis - 3 of 3 [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 1:00:42
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 s…
2026.05.25 Michael Veal on Miles Davis - 2 of 3 [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 1:03:27
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 s…
2026.05.25 Michael Veal on Miles Davis - 1 of 3 [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 1:02:52
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 s…
2026.04.27 Melvin Gibbs on Fela Kuti - 3 of 3 [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 1:04:19
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…
2026.04.27 Melvin Gibbs on Fela Kuti - 2 of 3 [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 1:05:04
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…
2026.04.27 Melvin Gibbs on Fela Kuti - 1 of 3 [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 1:01:42
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…