Friday, July 2, 2021

OM Announces “Festival of Improvised Music”

poster design for Other Minds Festival 25

Last month Other Minds (OM) announced plans for its 25th Festival. This event will take place over the “extended weekend” of four days, beginning on Thursday, October 14, and running through Sunday, October 17, with a single concert held on each day. The venue will be the Dianne and Tad Taube Atrium Theater on the top floor of the Veterans Building at 401 Van Ness Avenue, on the southwest corner of McAllister Street.

Ticket prices have not yet been set, so tickets are not available for sale. The full title of the event is Moment’s Notice: A Festival of Improvised Music, and most of the four programs will be devoted to a variety of different approaches to improvisation. Program specifics are as follows:

Thursday, October 14, 8 p.m: There will be two improvised sets. In the first Oguri will dance to music provided by Myra Melford on piano and Mark Dresser on bass. This will be followed by a trio improvisation with Ikue Mori providing electronics to accompany harpist Zeena Parkins and percussionist William Winant. The program will conclude with “Nine Doors,” based on compositions by Jen Shyu who will also provide vocals, dance, and sound design while also performing on piano and a diverse assortment of Asian instruments.

Friday, October 15, 8 p.m.: Percussionist Tyshawn Sorey will improvise with electronics provided by King Britt. Vocalist Amirtha Kidambi will be accompanied by Darius Jones on alto saxophone. [updated 9/16, 7:55 a.m.: The opening set The program will begin with “Angels and Demons,” which draws upon the poetry of Sun Ra.” will be replaced as follows: The program will begin with “Porch Concert Material,” which will be performed by the trio of Ben Goldberg on clarinet, Liberty Ellman on guitar, and Gerald Cleaver on drums.] This duo will be followed by “The Sky is Trembling.” Patricia Nicholson will dance and vocalize to the duo of William Parker on bass flutes and brass and Hamid Drake on percussion with additional vocal work.

Saturday, October 16, 8 p.m.: [updated 9/16, 8 a.m.: This opening set The opening selection will present Lauren Newton improvising to bass work by Joëlle Léandre.” will be replaced as follows: The program will begin with a solo improvisation set by saxophonist Darius Jones.] The program will conclude with a quartet improvisation performed by Roscoe Mitchell on woodwinds and percussion, Ambrose Akinmusire on trumpet, Junius Paul on bass, and Vincent Davis on drums. [updated 9/23, 9:25 a.m.: The middle set  Between these two sets, trumpeter Wadada Leo Smith will play “Reflections and Meditation on Monk” with a video created by Jesse Gilbert.” will be replaced as follows: Between these two sets will be a duo improvisation by saxophonist Larry Ochs and drummer Donal Robinson.]

Sunday, October 17, 4 p.m.: The Festival will conclude with three improvised sets at their most intimate. Elliott Sharp will perform solo on an eight-string guitar. His set will be flanked on either side by duo improvisations. The program will open with Mary Halvorson on guitar and Sylvie Courvoisier on piano. The final set will bring together saxophonists Anthony Braxton and James Fei.

This will definitely be an opportunity to save these dates while waiting for further information about ticketing to emerge.

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