Archive

Los Totopos, Tim Berne's new touring band, is a potent blend of new voices and new ideas. Oscar Noriega (woodwinds), Matt Mitchell (keyboards) and Ches Smith (percussion) bring fresh sounds and...

Please join Ars Nova Workshop for the US debut of Norwegian/Japanese quintet Koboku Senju, meaning "selection of dead trees."

Toshimaru Nakamura is one of the most distinguished and...

In their own words: "The set-up and breakdown of grooves and improvisational material is an attempt at melding many of our musical influences, both jazz and non-jazz, all while firmly remaining in...

Please join us for this very special engagement marking the first time in nearly a decade since Peter Brötzman and Hamid Drake have toured. Their unique bond was at the root of some of the 90s and...

Central Chain represents Matt Mitchell's first venture into bandleading after several years of solo, collective, and sideman work. Drawing on his interests in music drawn from both jazz and non-...

Please join Ars Nova Workshop for the record release celebration of Allison Miller's latest recording, BOOM TIC BOOM (Foxhaven Records).

NYC-based drummer Allison Miller defies all...

Formed in 2001, The Respect Sextet is a powerhouse ensemble dedicated to performing a wide variety of improvisational musics.  Relying on their explosive energy, rare telepathy, outstanding...

"If the Miles Davis Quintet with Tony Williams, Wayne Shorter, Ron Carter And Herbie Hancock could have rocked, they would have been the brilliant and ass-kicking Atomic.” -All About Jazz

Close friends since the mid 1960's, Burton Greene (b.1937) and Perry Robinson (b.1938) are two of the most infamous and legendary pioneers of free jazz and the downtown scene. Performing together...

"Trevor Dunn, a bassist with one foot planted in experimental rock, takes a repertory approach with ProofReaders, his quartet with the trumpeter Nate Wooley, the saxophonist Darius Jones and the...

For this special appearance, MacArthur Fellow Ken Vandermark will premiere new arrangements of Don Cherry's "Brown Rice", which, in 1975, wedded Indian, African and Arabic music to the electrified...

Ars Nova Workshop, in partnership with the New York-based Festival of New Trumpet (FONT), is pleased to present the first annual FONT Philadelphia mini-festival showcasing three adventurous...

It's been said that instrumental music is at its root an extension of the sounds we produce with our voices. In the title track of Daniel Levin's "Fuhuffah" (Clean Feed Records) the music began in...

Please join Ars Nova Workshop for part one of our two-night Composer Portrait: Tim Berne series, featuring two compositions for saxophone quartet - "Repulsion" and "Quicksand" (also with...

“This is a true ensemble from top to bottom, a sonic equivalent to a hand-woven tapestry...Impressive.” -DownBeat

Ellery Eskelin (born 1959) was raised in Baltimore and began playing the tenor saxophone at age ten, inspired by his mother "Bobbie Lee" who played Hammond B3 organ professionally in the early...

The most prominent baritone saxophonist of his generation, Hamiet Bluiett (b. 1940) combines a blunt, modestly inflected attack with a fleet, aggressive technique, and a uniform hugeness of sound...

This new co-operative trio brings together three artists who have developed strikingly individual voices on their respective instruments, both in their own music as leaders and as key...

Rashied Ali was a progenitor and leading exponent of multidirectional rhythms/polytonal percussion. A student of Philly Joe Jones and an admirer of Art Blakey, Ali developed the style known as "...

Since the demise of the legendary and critically-acclaimed Trio Clusone - featuring Han Bennink, Michael Moore and Ernst Reijseger - in 1998, the jazz community has been anxiously awaiting a...

Since March 2008, the SciFiPhilly series - held nearly every Sunday at Gojjo in West Philadelphia - has presented many exceptional artists in Philadelphia's emerging (and otherwise) improvised...

Composer, saxophonist, poet and Guggenheim Fellow, Oliver Lake, is one of jazz's most prolific and eclectic artists of the last 40 years. Oliver Lake is known for everything from his solo...

A veteran of the ensembles of esteemed saxophonist and composer Anthony Braxton, guitarist and composer Mary Holvorson returns to Philadelphia with her new quintet. In addition to her acclaimed...

"One of the celebrated players on the Dutch jazz scene, saxophonist Ab Baars is a member of the famed ICP Orchestra. He has also worked with Ig Henneman, George Lewis, and Anthony Braxton. Baars'...

Please join us for the record release celebration of AlasNoAxis' new studio album Houseplant (Winter and Winter).

Please join us for Re-Sounding, a very special two-night event in conjunction with a href="http://www....

Vancouver-born, Brooklyn-based composer-bandleader Darcy James Argue directs Secret Society, a "powerful and well-stocked ensemble" (New York Times) featuring his "ambitious, sprawling,...

"She has become an eloquent, dramatic tone-warping free-jazz artist, right out of Ayler's anti-bebop tradition." -Guardian

Matana Roberts/...

"The pairing of German saxophone titan Peter Brötzmann and American drummer Nasheet Waits isn't an obvious one. They're both adventurous musicians who play deeply in the jazz tradition - but that...

"Free Jazz ecstasy meets Garage Rock intensity. Scandinavian action jazz ensemble The Thing visit Philadelphia for a rare intimate performance following the release of their limited edition box...

"This is effervescent small-group jazz executed with wit and soul."-The New York Times

"Broken Arm Trio, a band and album that's at least as beholden to Alan Lomax as to Charlie...

Joined by Whit Dickey on drums and Joe Morris on bass, Shipp's latest acoustic trio rings with fresh material that highlights his expansive musical vocabulary. In his distinct style, pianist...

Please join Ars Nova Workshop for part two of our celebration of Julius Hemphill's unique body of work: music for big band and saxophone sextet.

Please join Ars Nova Workshop for the 35th anniversary celebration of Chicago's Ethnic Heritage Ensemble.

25 years after his last ECM recording, the highly-influential Power Spot (recorded in 1983/84), Jon Hassell returns to the label with a new album - issued to coincide with the trumpeter's...

Please join Ars Nova Workshop for this very special transatlantic collaboration between three top improvisers from the New York and Scandinavian scenes. The trio will celebrate the release of...

Please join Ars Nova Workshop for a special one-day exhibition of Han Bennink's works on paper and the first ever meeting of two of today's most influential improvisers, Marshall Allen and Han...

Tony Malaby's Cello Trio project features three great improvisers working with Malaby's fascinating melodies and structures to create highly integrated, multi-faceted avant-jazz. Malaby's...

"The best jazz album of 2003 was recorded in 1969 - then shelved, lost, forgotten, rediscovered and finally released 34 years later," - The New York Times.

The reference is to...

The Flatlands Collective brings together the remarkable Dutch alto saxophonist and composer Jorrit Dijkstra with some of Chicago's most interesting improvisers. In Chicago, one of the most...

Please join Ars Nova Workshop for the book release celebration of The New York Times critic Ben Ratliff's new book The Jazz Ear (Times Books/Henry Holt & Company). For this...

"In the final reckoning, the pianist Paul Bley's influence over the last 50 years of jazz - and it continues - will be enormous...Mr. Bley's music runs on a mixture of deep historical knowledge...

Ars Nova Workshop is honored to present two major compositions for brass ensembles conducted by Anthony Braxton, one of the most innovative and acclaimed living composers.

New York-based Paradox Trio creates original music inspired by Balkan traditions and driven by an improvisational Downtown New York edge. For over 12 years, the ensemble has been notorious for...

Weasel Walter founded the The Flying Luttenbachers in Chicago in 1991 with late jazz cult figure Hal Russell. Over the years, the band has included noted Chicago musicians such as Ken Vandermark,...

Critics and fans alike hail pianist and composer Satoko Fujii as one of the most original voices in jazz today. She's "a virtuoso piano improviser, an original composer and a band-leader who gets...

Altoist Sonny Simmons made a number of striking albums in the 1960's. Born in 1933, he was already a well-traveled Parkerian and a signaled innovator on the West Coast when he first came to...

Weasel Walter founded the band The Flying Luttenbachers in Chicago in 1991 with late jazz cult figure Hal Russell. Over the years, the band has included noted Chicago musicians such as Ken...

Please join Ars Nova Workshop for the record release celebration of Ships With Tattooed Sails, the new recording (featuring guitar icon Bill Frisell) from the all-star trio Jewels and...

Please join Ars Nova Workshop for record release celebration of Tamarindo, Tony Malaby's all-star project on Clean Feed Records.

With over 15 years of performing together in various ensembles the powerful acoustic NYC based jazz ensemble features the music of bassist Joe Fonda and pianist Michael Jefry Stevens performing...

Please join Ars Nova Workshop for a rare performance from Phantom Orchard, the remarkable improvisational duo of Zeena Parkins and Ikue Mori, at historic Bartram's Garden, America's oldest...

This special performance is presented with Crossroads Music and Kol Tzedek.

 Ayelet Rose Gottleib is a Swiss/Israeli singer based in New York. Born in Jerusalem, she studied at the New...

Please join us for this matinee performance featuring two very different projects from composer John Zorn. Essential Cinema features the members of Electric Masada performing live scores to...

The musical influences of the Klucevsek/Bern Duo range from Europe to the New World, from Eastern European folk songs to jazz, from ancient music all the way to contemporary music, from...

Saxophonist John Tchicai is best known for his time in New York during the height of the 1960s free jazz explosion, but he actually spent the majority of his career advancing the cause of avant-...

Please join Ars Nova Workshop for the return of Tim Berne's Bloodcount, making one of their first appearances in nearly 10 years. Alto saxophonist Tim Berne moved to New York in 1974, sought...

Trio M is the collectively led ensemble of Mark Dresser (bass), Matt Wilson (drums), and Myra Melford (piano). After several years of working together in different contexts and talking about...

New Orleans, Chicago, Philadelphia, and New York are bona fide jazz capitals. You can add Minneapolis to that illustrious list, thanks to groups like Madhouse, The Bad Plus, and Happy Apple - that...

Little Women has a very genuine raucousness, though there's a gorgeous sense of structure. The band - two saxophones, guitar and drums - works a lot with these sorts of fanfare type themes, often...

Ars Nova Workshop is pleased to announce the CD release celebration of On Meaning (Pi Recordings), the highly anticipated new recording from Steve Lehman's critically acclaimed quintet....

Pianist/Composer Angelica Sanchez was born in Phoenix, Arizona. Sanchez moved to New York in 1995 and has since played with Susie Ibarra, Tim Berne, Mario Pavone, Trevor Dunn, Mark Dresser, Ed...

The Engines, one of Chicago's strongest improvising bands, visits Philadelphia for the first time to coincide with the release of their self-titled debut on the Okkadisk imprint. This...

Schemes of Omission is a series of partially notated suites for varying ensembles that explore rhetorical devices, specifically those that omit sounds as opposed to including them. Essentially a...

Pianist and composer Fred Hersch has earned his place among the foremost jazz artists and creative musicians in the world today. He is widely recognized for his ability to steadfastly create a...

Ticket buyers may join us for a pre-concert reception beginning at 6:30pm at Fleisher Art Memorial.

John Wiese is a solo artist and serial collaborator from Los Angeles, California. His ongoing projects include LHD and Sissy Spacek, with plenty of freelance work with many artists as diverse as...

Edward 'Kidd' Jordan is probably the single most under-documented jazz musician of his generation, a fact that is even more remarkable when you consider that he is also one of the busiest...

Marilyn Crispell is a graduate of the New England Conservatory of Music where she studied classical piano and composition, and has been a resident of Woodstock, New York since 1977 when she came...

Please join us for the premeire of Bobby Zankel's four-part suite commemorating the 40th memorial of John Coltrane's death (7/17/67). This unique performance which celebrates Coltrane's remarkable...

Parisian cellist Vincent Courtois and New York saxophonist Ellery Eskelin met in Europe in 2000 while performing in a large ensemble project led by Lebanese oud player Rabih Abou-Khalil. ...

Please join us in celebration of Piano Vortex (Thirsty Ear Records' Blue Series), the new recording from Matthew Shipp's latest acoustic trio.

Fred Lonberg-Holm is a top cellist in creative music, active in a variety of projects in avant garde music, experimental rock, and modern composition. He studied cello with Ardyth Alton and...

Lotte Anker was born 1958 in Copenhagen. She has studied with Joe Henderson, David Liebman, John Tchicai, David Murray, and Bob Brookmeyer. She has been a member of various Danish/Scandinavian...

Zanussi Five consists of five strong players from the new, fresh generation of Norwegian Jazz: three of the hottest sax players in Norway with one of the most exciting and interesting rhythm...

Please join Ars Nova Workshop as we present one of the first state-side performances of Z'EV in over 20 years. The return of Z'EV to the United States is highly anticipated in the wake of his...

The duo of violist Tanya Kalmanovitch and pianist Myra Melford came together literally by accident. Both were performing separately at the 2003 Guelph Jazz Festival, but when circumstances...

Pianist Ethan Iverson's classically informed writing and playing claims influences as disparate as Stravinsky and Ornette Coleman. Best known as a member The Bad Plus, the Wisconsin-raised Iverson...

SoundExchange, presented by the American Composers Forum <http://www.composersforum.org/>, Philadelphia Chapter, and Ars Nova Workshop is an annual event designed to bring leading composers...

"Tapping into rock's most primal forces with the fire and fury that's something to behold" -Mojo

The ICP (Instant Composers Pool) Orchestra recorded relatively little, but achieved international acclaim for its sophisticated improvisations, ingenious interpretations of landmark composers such...

The words loud and aggressive only begin to scratch the surface of this proto-punk free jazz band.  Borbetomagus sets forth a sonic squall that obliterates and shocks the listener who comes...

"Veteran pianist Dave Burrell personifies the best of neoclassicism, uncompromising individuality and in-the-moment gusto." -The New Yorker

Join us for an evening of amazing music as we...

Rova was founded in October 1977 by Jon Raskin, Larry Ochs, Andrew Voigt, and Bruce Ackley. Its first concert was held at Mills College in Oakland in February of the next year. From the beginning...

"Veteran pianist Dave Burrell personifies the best of neoclassicism, uncompromising individuality and in-the-moment gusto." -The New Yorker

Trio Tarana, formed in 2003, is led by percussionist/composer Ravish Momin, born in India and currently residing in New York City.  The trio primarily uses Indian and East-Asian rhythms (...

Ars Nova Workshop and Kelly Writers House welcomes John Szwed and pianist Dave Burrell in a public discussion that hopes to shed more light on the significance of pianist/composer Jelly Roll...