In conjunction with The Living Temple, the ongoing exhibition celebrating the life and work of Swedish visual artist and designer Moki Cherry, Ars Nova Workshop presents the Chad Taylor Quartet performing The Avant-Garde, the 1966 album that brought together Don Cherry and John Coltrane, at Solar Myth on Friday, February 27.

A composer, scholar and educator as well as a capaciously inventive percussionist now living in Philadelphia, Chad Taylor is best known as co–founder of the Chicago Underground Duo (and the numerous Underground iterations that have spun off of that original partnership) with trumpeter Rob Mazurek, and as drummer for the late jaimie branch’s Fly Or Die. A professional on the Chicago scene from the age of 16, he became a rhythmic muse for many of the most celebrated artists in improvised music, including Fred Anderson, Pharoah Sanders, Nicole Mitchell, Matana Roberts, Ken Vandermark, Darius Jones, James Brandon Lewis, Derek Bailey, Marc Ribot, and Peter Brötzmann.

Released in 1966 on Atlantic Records, The Avant-Garde was a sign of profound respect from one jazz pioneer to another. On the landmark session, John Coltrane plays the music of Ornette Coleman, accompanied by the members of Coleman’s groundbreaking quartet: bassist Charlie Haden, drummer Ed Blackwell, and Don Cherry, who received co-billing and whose composition “Cherryco” opens the album. Chad Taylor will explore the music of that classic album with his quartet featuring trumpeter Jonathan Finlayson of Steve Coleman’s Five Elements along with Philadelphians Bryan Rogers (tenor saxophone) and Matt Engle (bass).

Please join us at 6:30 pm for a free, pre-concert discussion featuring Chad Taylor and writer John Morrison.

John Morrison is a DJ, radio host, and music journalist from Philadelphia. For over 25 years, he has worked as a writer covering local and global music scenes. Morrison got his start in the late 90s as a teenager writing for independent hip-hop and punk zines. Since then, his work has appeared in The New York Times, Complex, NPR Music, Spin Magazine, and more. Morrison is also the author of Boyz II Men 40th Anniversary Celebration, published in Spring 2025 by Quarto Books/Epic Ink.