News

Thurs. 6/16 at noon: Mark Weber interviews jazz cornetist Bobby Bradford about his distinguished musical career and all things jazz-trumpet.

Today we talk with Bobby Bradford about jazz and trumpets and the artists who play jazz trumpet. Bobby Bradford plays the near-relative of the trumpet known as the cornet. We'll cover everybody from Dizzy to Buddy Bolden to Don Cherry, Shorty Rogers, Chet, Bix, Bubber Miley, Cootie Williams, Art Farmer, Fats Navarro, and King Oliver.

Thurs. 6/16: For 70 years, Chamber Music Albuquerque has been hosting the world's great string quartets at their June Music Festival. In 2010 it was the Shanghai Quartet. You'll hear a bit from that performance. Then we travel north to Santa Fe and Taos, to continue our series of music from the Land of Enchantment.

Music featured in this program:

Shanghai Quartet, from Chamber Music Albuquerque:

Penderecki - String Quartet No. 3

Schubert - Death and the Maiden

By Laurel Morales

Flagstaff, Arizona – Water is a precious resource for the Navajo Nation. Many people have to haul their water from towns on the edge of the reservation. For decades the tribe was shut out of water negotiations in the southwest. That's why it balked when the city of Flagstaff tried to pump water from an aquifer they share.

From Flagstaff for the Fronteras Changing America Desk, Laurel Morales reports.

By Candice Miller-Murphey

Albuquerque, NM – George and Monna Patton. Their conversation took place in June of last year at a StoryCorps mobile booth in Albuquerque. Editing by Candace Murphy.

The StoryCorps Historias Albuquerque project was made possible with support from the New Mexico Humanities Council and the National Hispanic Cultural Center. You can go to kunm.org to listen to recordings from the project and subscribe to the podcast.

By Jim Hilgen

Washington, D.C. – New Mexico's Senior Senator, Jeff Bingaman, has proposed a nuclear energy bill that focuses on a new type of nuclear reactors. KUNM Capitol Reporter Jim Hilgen has details from Washington D.C.
 

By Ruxandra Guidi

Tijuana, Mexico – From the Fronteras Desk, changing America Ruxandra Guidi has the story.

By Janet Eigner

Albuquerque, NM – The 24th Annual Flamenco Festival Internacional de Albuquerque kicks off Wednesday night in Albuquerque and reviewer Janet Eigner says a diverse group of Flamenco dancers and musicians will descend on the city to teach and perform.

Eigner is a poet, dance critic, and psychologist. She writes about outstanding dance happening in Northern New Mexico, the U.S., and internationally.

Flamenco Festival Internacional de Albuquerque.

Fri. 6/10 at 10pm: Time to crank it up for what is shaping up to be a fantastic summer season of touring Afropop artists! You'll hear Baloji from Congo/Belgium, Freshly Ground from South Africa, Novalima from Peru, Choc Quib Town from Colombia, Yemen Blues from Israel, Tiken Jah Fakoly, Aurelio Martinez from Honduras, Sierra Maestra from Cuba, Seun Kuti from Nigeria, Hakim from Egypt and many others.

By Sarah Gustavus

Albuquerque, NM – Many New Mexicans were alarmed last night by heavy smoke in the Rio Grande Valley. It seemed like a wildfire must be nearby, but it was actually from the Wallow fire in southern Arizona.

Fri. 6/10 at 230pm: MC, musician, actor and painter, Chali 2na, and the House of Vibe band will drop by the KUNM studios to chat with Afternoon Freeform guest host Neal Copperman.

Chali, a founding member of Jurassic 5 and Ozomatli, and the crew will be performing at the Hip Hop BBQ (along with Gift of Gab from Blackilicious) that evening on the Santa Fe Sol Patio (formerly the Santa Fe Brewing Company). The event is presented by Heath Concerts.

Concert Info

By Mary Kay Mallonee

Washington, D.C. – Democrats and Republicans on Capitol Hill this week met separately with President Obama to talk about the tug of war over the debt ceiling.

As of now New Mexico lawmakers remain split on what it will take to reach a compromise, raise the debt ceiling and avert what some are calling an economic meltdown.

KUNM Capitol Reporter Mary Kay Mallonee reports from Washington.
 

By Devin Browne

Phoenix, AZ – Arizona's chamber of commerce wants E-Verify to go national. After last week's U.S. Supreme Court ruling upheld Arizona's Employer Sanctions Law, the business lobby says all companies should have to check the immigration status of their employees.

Some federal lawmakers agree. Devin Browne reports from the Fronteras Changing American Desk in Phoenix.

By Monica Ortiz Uribe

El Paso, TX – A report by the Global Commission on Drug Policy calls the global war on drugs a failure and among other things calls for legalization of certain drugs.

From the Fronteras Changing America Desk Monica Ortiz Uribe reports.

Thurs. 6/9 at noon: Tune in this Thursday afternoon for a live interview with jazz guitar legend Johnny Smith, and hear some of his tunes.

I am pleased to announce that on tomorrow's KUNM Thursday June 9, 2o11 jazz radio show I'll be playing the music of Johnny Smith as well as talking with him on the telephone -- This guy is one of the great legends of jazz music and jazz guitar. That's at Noon-O-Six at 89.9 FM and streaming on the web at KUNM.org.

--Host Mark Weber

Thurs. 6/9 at 9am: This week on America's Music Festivals, hear the Santa Fe Desert Chorale perform works by Benjamin Britten, Guiseppe Sarti, Ralph Vaughan Williams, and more.

By KUNM Call In Show

Albuquerque, NM – This week on the KUNM Call In Show, join us for a conversation about deportations of undocumented immigrants under the Secure Communities program. Should local law enforcement assist Immigration and Customs Enforcement?

The KUNM Call In Show airs Thursday morning at 8am. Call in live 277-5866 or email your questions anytime callinshow@kunm.org.
 

By Candace Miller-Murphy

Albuquerque, NM – Father and son, Philip and David Reyes. Their conversation was recorded last June at a StoryCorps mobile booth in Albuquerque. Editing by Candace Miller-Murphy.

The StoryCorps Historias Albuquerque project was made possible with support from the New Mexico Humanities Council and the National Hispanic Cultural Center. Go to kunm.org to listen to recordings from the project an subscribe to the podcast.

Mon. 6/6 at 930pm: Where do you go to dance tango? New Mexico tango leaders, Leslie Jones (Albuquerque Tango Club) and Nancy Roberts (Santa Fe Tango Club) will be our guests on Coraz?n Tanguero.

Host: Cristina Baccin

Slideshow photo: Tango por la tarde (Gazebo, Old Town, Albuquerque, NM) by William Gruner

By Ruxandra Guidi

May 27, 2011 – The Obama administration insists that the border is "more secure than ever," but budgets for border-related crime are getting cut. From our Fronteras Desk, Ruxandra Guidi has our story.

By Sarah Gustavus

May 27, 2011 – In today's Business Report, we talk about entrepreneurs who created a new, high-tech way to combat drunk driving and a coalition that aims to improve health care results in Albuquerque.

By Jim Terr

May 27, 2011 – Composer Gerald Fried may have retired from his heralded career in Hollywood, but he continues to write and produce thoughtful, ambitious musical productions, the latest being SPARK SHMARK?.

Fri. 6/3 at 3pm: In the studio this week are bouzouki masters Roger Landes, Luke Plumb of Shooglenifty, and Alec Finn of DeDannan. They will be joined by Irish fiddler Randal Bayes. All four artists are in town for ZoukFest, a week-long world music camp running from June 5-11 in the UNM Student Union Building.

By Hernan Ruxemberg & Ruxandra Guidi

South Texas & San Diego, CA – With every new report of an outbreak of drug war-related violence in Northern Mexico, comes the fear that the shootouts, the assassinations and kidnappings will spread into the U.S. But when does a crime along the border become an example of spillover violence? And when is it just... a crime?

By Monica Ortiz Uribe

El Paso, TX – Living the lavish life of a drug trafficker, or "narco," is not exclusively the fantasy of some poor barrio kids in Mexico. It's also a compelling lifestyle to certain youth in the United States.

While some Mexican states ban narco-related music, clubs in major U.S. cities are booking concerts with those same artists. From the Fronteras Changing America Desk, Monica Ortiz Uribe reports on narco culture as we continue our series, The Drug War at Home.

Thurs. 6/2 at 9am: Taos, is a land of ancient spirits, modern ski lifts, and stunning music. This is the first in a series of live performances recorded in our fair state. You'll hear music from Brahms, Bach, Handl, Mendelssohn and many others.

Music featured in this program:

Taos School of Music and Festival

Bach: Passacaglia and Fugue (Borromeo Quartet)

Brahms: Piano Quartet in A Major Op. 26 (students)

Wed. 6/1 at 830am: What would have happened if the American West were defined by its watersheds rather than the abstract geopolitical boundaries we know today? In this episode of Watersheds As Commons, we hear from Stewart Udall, Floyd Dominy, Norris Hundley, David Brower, Lilian Hill, Charles Wilkinson, Sarah Natani, Edward Abbey and William deBuys.

Today on "Watersheds As Commons," we'll visit the watershed of the Colorado River, a 244,000 square mile expanse of landscape that encompasses much of the arid Southwestern United States.

By Monica Ortiz Uribe

El Paso, TX – When it comes to transporting their drugs within the United States, Mexican cartels want a black market distributor with American street smarts. So, naturally they turn to gangs.

It's a convenient alliance. In exchange for drug money the gangs also do the cartels' dirty work. They intimidate, kidnap, steal and murder. The cartel pockets the bulk profit of the drug trade while gang members take most of the heat from law enforcement.

By Deborah Begel

Albuquerque, NM – One of them is a Navajo man from Shiprock. KUNM's Deborah Begel has more.

By Candace Miller-Murphy

Albuquerque, NM – Francisco Chavez and Maria Nunez. This conversation was recorded last June at a StoryCorps mobile booth in Albuquerque. Editing by Candace Miller-Murphy.

The StoryCorps Historias Albuquerque project was made possible with support from the New Mexico Humanities Council and the National Hispanic Cultural Center

By Hernan Rozemberg

Sullivan City, TX – The southernmost tip of Texas is the 120-mile-wide Rio Grande Valley. This region is home to a string of small towns perched on the edge of Mexican states like Tamaulipas, where drug cartels have taken over entire cities. These cartels are expanding their reach north of the border, trapping many U.S. public officials in a web of corruption.