Angélika Beener is a music lover whose devotion to the arts is expressed through a distinctive synthesis of musicology, DJ performance, award winning editorial and media production.
Angélika is the producer and host of Milestones: Celebrating the Culture, a popular podcast series in partnership with WBGO, where she and special guests thoughtfully examine a curated selection of landmark albums, people and events celebrating milestone anniversaries.
Angélika has contributed her work to TIDAL, The Huffington Post, Downbeat, NPR Music, Jazz at Lincoln Center, and The New York Times. In addition, she has contributed liner notes, essays, and biographies to acclaimed recording projects, including several GRAMMY®-winning and nominated albums. A journalist who writes about music and culture at the intersections of race, gender, and generation, her work in public radio has been recognized by The Corporation for Public Broadcasting and The New York Association of Black Journalists.
Angélika has moderated music centered discussions presented by distinguished institutions, including the Apollo Theater, The Greene Space, Winter JazzFest, and NJPAC. She has participated in several notable event panels, roundtables, and guest speaking engagements, including Marvin Gaye and the Legacy of What’s Going On?: Christian McBride in Conversation which included fellow panelists Janis Gaye, David Ritz, Nelson George, and Steven Reineke; and the WGBH program, Under the Radar with Callie
Crossley. She has also been a featured guest on the NJ PBS television program, Chat Box, hosted by NJ Spotlight News Sr. Political Correspondent, David Cruz. As host, Angelika has emceed the Jazz Journalists Association (JJA) Awards three times and in 2021, she co-hosted Jazz Foundation of America’s “Spotlight Jazz” mini gala at City Winery with legendary actor, producer, and activist Danny Glover. In summer of 2023, Angélika emceed the Mutual Mentorship for Musicians event and awards ceremony at the
National Jazz Museum in Harlem.
Angélika has had the honor of speaking at esteemed institutions like UPENN, The Juilliard School, and The Clive Davis Institute of Recorded Music, sharing her knowledge and experiences with the next generation of artists.
In November 2022, Angélika directed and co-produced Represent! A Night of Hip Hop, Jazz and Spoken Word at New Jersey Performing Arts Center with NJPAC Jazz Advisor and musical director Christian McBride. The historic program brought these artistic mediums together with an illustrious line-up including Black Thought (The Roots), Speech (Arrested Development), and legendary poets and spoken word performers Nikki Giovanni, jessica Care moore, Mayor Ras Baraka, and The Last Poets.
As DJ, Angélika has performed at various notable NYC venues, including Nublu, Le Poisson Rouge (LPR), Time Out New York, and Brooklyn’s Dumbo Drop. She was the featured DJ at Jazz at Lincoln Center’s 2020 Worldwide Concert for Our Culture gala, The National Jazz Museum in Harlem 2022 gala and JALC’s Jazz Congress in 2024. She made her Capital One City Parks Foundation SummerStage debut in August 2024.
Angélika was Consulting Producer for the award-winning 2019 documentary, Digging for Weldon Irvine, an unsung father of jazz fusion.
An advocate for gender and racial equity, particularly in the arts, Angélika served as a dedicated member of the Board of Directors for Willie Mae Rock Camp, a nonprofit organization dedicated to empowering girls and gender-expansive youth through music education and mentorship.
Angélika is a New York City native and super proud mom.
