Ches Smith & We All Break

Ars Nova Workshop presents composer-percussionist Ches Smith and his Haitian Vodou-inspired ensemble We All Break at Solar Myth on Monday, September 25.

Ches Smith is a drummer, percussionist, and composer who has collaborated with a host of artists on many scenes since theearly 2000s, including Marc Ribot, Tim Berne, John Zorn, John Tchicai, Nels Cline, Mary Halvorson, Trevor Dunn, Terry Riley, Kris Davis, Dave Holland, Secret Chiefs 3, Xiu Xiu, Good for Cows, Theory of Ruin, and Mr. Bungle, among others. We All Break grew out of Smith’s devout study of Haitian Vodou drums, in which he’s performed in religious and folkloric contexts in New York City and Haiti for more than a decade. The band’s 2021 release Path of Seven Colors was named best jazz album of the year by The Guardian and was ranked seventh among the year’s releases in the international 2021 Jazz Critics Poll. The project brings together Haitian folkloric musicians with some of the most adventurous musicians in modern jazz and creative music, including pianist Matt Mitchell, Philadelphia saxophonist Immanuel Wilkins, and bassist Nick Dunston.