Art Heist

Ars Nova Workshop presents Art Heist, a wide-ranging free jazz quartet, at Solar Myth on April 13.

Formed in 2022, Art Heist aims to synthesize historical tropes from throughout the history of free jazz:  the ebullient joy of Ornette Coleman’s harmolodics, the singular juxtaposition of Cecil Taylor’s Unit Structures, and the speed and intensity of early European free jazz. Their influences look far afield of music to artistic, cultural and social movements from surrealism to the political vanguard to grindhouse films and beyond. Members Kelly Bray (trumpet), Caleb Duval (bass/electronics), James McKain (saxophone) and James Paul Nadien (percussion) formed the band to give life to these musical forms — operating simultaneously as a well oiled machine and a vessel for their own unique musical voices. Art Heist’s members have collaborated with such musicians as Joe Morris, Anthony Coleman, William Hooker, Tony Malaby, Stephen Gauci, Brandon Seabrook, Mike Pride, Darius Jones, and many more.