Articles by Free Improv / Avant-Garde

Jazz Raconteurs

Julius Hemphill: Marty Ehrlich and Tim Berne Remember a Musical Visionary

by Dave Kaufman
September 20, 2026

Julius Hemphill, a brilliant alto saxophonist and extraordinary composer, was a towering figure in avant-garde jazz and creative music. Yet his body of work remains surprisingly little known, even among aficionados of this sort of adventurous music. Hemphill's music demonstrated a deep feeling for the blues and other African American traditions. His creative vision extended well beyond jazz performance, incorporating chamber music, theater, dance, and other forms of artistic expression. Hemphill came of age during a period when Black experimental ...

Live Review

Summer Bummer 2026

by John Sharpe
September 10, 2026

Summer Bummer 2026 Trix, Antwerp Belgium August 28-29, 2026 Intro The 11th edition of the Summer Bummer festival more than lived up to the promise of the mouth-watering bill, presenting a wide variety of experimental music without fealty to any particular genre. While Summer Bummer inevitably tips its hat to the local Belgian improvised music scene, it is notable for bringing in projects not routinely heard elsewhere, including one world premiere. Trix--more often a rock ...

Live Review

Terre Sonore 2026

by Libero Farnè
September 3, 2026

Terre Sonore 2026 Vari luoghi Provincia d Pesaro e Urbino 1--31 agosto 2026 “Un'esperienza collettiva, un festival in movimento che attraversa la provincia di Pesaro e Urbino come un filo invisibile capace di cucire insieme paesaggi, suoni e storie, ...in cui il territorio diventa il vero protagonista: un palcoscenico diffuso, vivo, che accoglie artisti, spettatori e abitanti in un abbraccio autentico e generoso." Con parole di questo tenore la presentazione in ...

Radio & Podcasts

Ben Goldberg, Dave Holland & Lily Finnegan

by Maurice Hogue
August 24, 2026

Two big projects are on the bill in this episode. Clarinetist Ben Goldberg's fascination with the number 8 (his birthday is August 8th and there are eight letters in his names) drives his new 8 X 8 Collection, eight albums created with different ensembles. You'll hear music from three of those new recordings. You'll also hear music from bassist Dave Holland's first box set, Freedom Call; it's out on Edition Records and features unreleased material from performances by his quartet, ...

Radio & Podcasts

Shawn Lovato, Vijay Iyer, and Charles Chen

by Jerome Wilson
August 19, 2026

This program features recent music by Shawn Lovato, Jun Iida and Charles Chen along with older work by Lee Konitz, Vijay Iyer and Lena Seikaly.Playlist Henry Threadgill Sextett “I Can't Wait Till I Get Home" from The Complete Novus & Columbia Recordings of Henry Threadgill & Air (Mosaic) 00:00 Simon Belelty “Lady Luck" from Pee Wee (Jojo) 1:00 Charles Chen “You Send Me" from The Long Way Home (Cellar Music) 7:59 Host Speaks 12:16 Sam Barsh/Keyon Harrold/Mark Guiliana ...

Radio & Podcasts

Marshall Allen at 102! Black Musics: From the Crunchy Edge to the Chewy Center...

by Hobart Taylor
August 12, 2026

New releases from Saul Williams, Danielle Ponder, Zaccai Curtis and Faye Carol Playlist Host Speaks 00:00 Danielle Ponder “Power" from Everything Has Changed (Dead Oceans) 00:09 Marshall Allen “Slingshot Effect" from101: An Audio Odyssey(Ropeadope) 02:25 Host Speaks 10:14 Faye Carol “Black Night" from Faye Sings The Blues (Getdown) 11:21 Bruce Williams “Ora Dee" from Solid Perspective (WJ3) 19:38 Vanisha Gould “Strollin' (Nostalgia In Times Square)" from What An Interesting Girl (Cellar) 23:49 Host Speaks 31:01 Saul Williams “Mazahua ...

In Pictures

Dust Bunny at The 19th Summer Jazz Academy

by Marek J. Śmietański
August 9, 2026

A collection of photos from the Dust Bunny concert at Wytwórnia in Lodz on July 21, 2026 featuring Marta Warelis and Nasim López-Palacios Navarro. Other photo reports from the same festival: QuartSky at The 19th Summer Jazz Academy, The Young Mothers at the 19th Summer Jazz Academy, Robinson Khoury Quatuor Demi-Lune at the 19th Summer Jazz Academy, Äether at the 19th Summer Jazz Academy. Look for the rest soon... ...

Radio & Podcasts

Camila Nebbia, St. Silva, Danalogue, M. Geddes Gengras, Curio Curio, Myth Math, And More

by Lawrence Peryer
July 30, 2026

Episode 16 spends its first half in transatlantic synthesis: a Buenos Aires-Berlin improv duo, a Vermont ambient composer's tape collages, and a member of The Comet Is Coming reworking the studio synthesizer as a lead instrument on his own. The back half : Curió Curió's diaspora-pop debut, Matthew S reviving his influential Illegal Art label as the song-driven Myth Math, and Lee “Scratch" Perry's final recorded statement with Mouse On Mars, made in Berlin two years before his death and ...

Multiple Reviews

Patricia Brennan And Sylvie Courvoisier, Ambrose Akinmusire And Mary Halvorson, Mick Goodrick And Fred Hersch: Playing Doubles

by Doug Collette
July 25, 2026

Watching a musician perform solo vividly illustrates how difficult it is to play music well. And observing a pair of instrumentalists in action together graphically depicts how hard it is for musicians to play well together. In the case of these three teams of doubles, no one individual leads, except occasionally in transitions. Rather, the two individuals move parallel in ascent and descent, to the right or left and forward/backward. The respective dynamics reveal uncanny symbioses, of which the participants ...

Radio & Podcasts

A Few of My Favorite 2026 Jazz Things (so far) - Part 5

by Ludovico Granvassu
July 11, 2026

As we continue this mid-year retrospective, we keep focusing on the tunes that somehow refused to stay confined to the week they were released.Happy listening!Playlist Ben Allison “Mondo Jazz Theme (feat. Ted Nash & Pyeng Threadgill)" 0:00 Chris Potter “Osawatomie Brown" Alive With Ghosts Today (Edition) 0:16 Host talks 7:43 Jasper Høiby “Alight with Fire" 3Elements: Conversations of Hope (Edition) 8:28 Host talks 12:05 The Breaks “Goldilocks" The Breaks (Color Red) 12:48 Dida Pelled “Rosa Mae" ...