Results for "Free Jazz"

James Wengrow

Born: October 26, 1989

James Wengrow is a Brooklyn-based guitarist and composer from Meanjin/Brisbane, Australia. Fusing idioms while maintaining a distinguishable sonic personality, James’ output has been described as “A sprightly collage of experimental jazz, heavy prog, math rock, and neoclassical music...The perfect stop-over for curious rock fans looking to branch to jazz and visa versa" (Bandcamp Daily), and “delving deep into territory that is as much Fugazi as it is [Miles] Davis... a blazing intensity to the heavier passages neatly offset by occasional moments of shimmering beauty” (Sonic Abuse).  Drawing similarities to Ornette Coleman and the Avant-garde, All About Jazz states “...[James’] music summons the same tumult, or at least the same clamor felt in the early 1960s... the spirit and energy of those times is unmistakable.”

You, Me, + the Whales

You, Me, + the Whales Sextet is an experimental jazz group that brings together American primitive guitar textures with spiritual jazz, open improvisations, field recordings, microtonal drones, and a lot of bells. YM+TW has performed at REDCAT, 2220 Arts + Archives, Gold-Diggers, Venice Speakeasy, Permanent Records Roadhouse, and an abandoned water tank. 

Co-led by brothers Zac Burgenbauch (guitar) and Devin Burgenbauch (bass), YM+TW Sextet features David Otis (saxophones), Elif Dinçer (harp/electronics), M A Harms (vibraphone/percussion), and Lucas Lenny (drumset). 

Irene Aranda

Born: September 2, 1980

IRENE ARANDA

Pianist, composer.

Born in Jaén ( Andalucía / Spain ) and Berlin-based, started to play piano at age seven. Classical trained and selftaught in jazz and free improvisation, Aranda is defined by the critics as original, astonishing and freed from stereotypes.

Irene Aranda has played with Don Malfon, Brandon López, Ami Yamasaki, Samuel Blasser, Ernesto Rodrigues, Johannes Nästestjö, Floros Floridis, Kriton Beyer, Valentin Schuster, Chris Jonas, Maria Reich, Markus Breuss, Germán Díaz, Agustí Fernández, Joanna Mattrey, Lucía Martínez, Javier Carmona, Núria Andorrà, Marc Egea and so on.

Chris Stover Niels Praestholm Helical

Active since: 2025

About Helical.

The Chris Stover Niels Præstholm Helical is the latest collaboration between US-born, Australian-based trombonist and composer Chris Stover and Danish bassist and composer Niels Præstholm, building on many years of cutting-edge work they have pursued both together and individually.

The quartet—also featuring Erik Kimestad on trumpet and Chris Falkenberg on drums— explores a wide range of improvisational approaches. These are grounded in the rotation of musical material through time and space, evoking the “helix” suggested by the band’s name and giving rise to new musical connections.

Martin Fabricius

Born: December 7, 1972

Martin Fabricius is a Danish vibraphonist and film composer. He graduated from Berklee College of Music with a major in film scoring in 1996. While at Berklee, Martin studied the vibraphone with Ed Saindon and multi grammy award winner Gary Burton.

Building on the legacy of Gary Burton and his pianistic 4-mallet approach, Martin is considered a leading exponent of a new generation of vibraphone players, exploring the use of electronics, new repertoire and inventing new playing techniques in the quest of expanding the expressive possibilities of his instrument. Martin’s music has by many been described as calm, image invoking Nordic jazz. His trio albums has received international critical acclaim – including 5 of 5 star reviews in All About Jazz and JazzThetik and they have become one of the most played jazz bands on Danish National Radio. He has toured Europe, Asia, Africa and the U.S..

Robbie Lynn Hunsinger

Robbie Lynn is a boundary breaking media artist and virtuosic instrumentalist. She was as an obbligato soloist with the Chicago Symphony and played duets with Evan Parker at two of Chicago’s FMP Festivals of Improvised Music. Her list of credits include playing English Horn on the Chicago Symphony’s triple Grammy Winner “The Wooden Prince” with Pierre Boulez, touring as an Oboe d’ Amore soloist with Robert Shaw’s Choral Institute in France, a national tour with the Warner Brother’s Orchestra and presentations and workshops at a number of conferences including her “Oboe and Xbox” presentation at Chamber Music America’s conference in New York. She has performed with Pauline Oliveros, led the Trio project with the late Art Ensemble of Chicago’s Joseph Jarman (which received a 4 Star review in Downbeat,) has played with Ken Vandermark, Michael Zerang, Jaap Blonk, Tatsu Aoki and sat in with Cassadra Wilson’s band at Chicago’s Orchestra Hall on her Miles Davis Tour.   Her finely tuned chamber music esthetic has been polished by decades of extraordinary performance with the world’s top orchestras but she also has a love of fiery expression. She has become a true ambassador for the oboe and its kin, forging distinctive paths in free jazz, rock, bluegrass, and contemporary classical music as well as in her cutting edge multimedia performance and installation.

Van Dam and the Madman

A collaboration between multi-reedists Erik Van Dam and Albano the Madman showcasing the vast palette of sounds and textures at their disposal; using improvisation as a medium to convey complex storytelling and deep seated emotional depth.

Declan Sheehy-Moss

Born: July 19, 2000

Declan Sheehy-Moss is a genre-bending multi-instrumentalist, producer, composer, and mixed-media artist born and raised in New York City. Dipping his fingers (and ears) in everything, Declan blends jazz, pop, funk, electronic, and more to produce a searing fusion of sound.

Declan’s digital production and recording skills along with his instrumental and technical prowess combine to create a digital and acoustic mix, supported by analog synths, EWI, and the other quirky instruments assembled at his home studio in Brooklyn, NY.

Since 2017 Declan has since written, produced, recorded, mixed, and released 8 singles and two EPs, also working as a sideman for numerous other artists’ records and live shows such as Redveil, Henry Threadgill, Cisco Swank, Khal!l, Talia Goddess, Twinbrother, and many more. Declan has also performed at a number of renowned venues in the US, such as BAM, The Jazz Gallery, Newport Jazz Fest, Symphony Space, Monterey Jazz Fest, and more.

Eduardo Elia

Eduardo Elia is a pianist from Córdoba, Argentina. He began his musical studies in Córdoba, continued in Buenos Aires, and later studied at Berklee College of Music in Boston. This formative path has led to a body of work that currently includes ten albums.

On Blue Art Records (Rosario, Argentina), his releases include Callado, El yang y el yang, We See, Figuras de un solo trazo, Solo, Cuando sea necesario, and Lejos del torbellino.

On 577 Records (New York, USA), he has released The Art of Not Falling: Improvisations on Schoenberg’s Op. 19 Piano Pieces—which earned him “Pianist of the Year” in a poll conducted by the jazz website El Intruso—as well as Una pregunta, tres respuestas and Desvíos (2025).

Deconstructing Free Jazz

by Robert J. Lewis
September 3, 2025

In the continuously evolving history of artistic expression, certain movements emerge that challenge the very foundations of our aesthetic sensibilities. In the early and mid-20th century, Expressionism and free jazz were two audacious musics that not only broke all the rules but broke the spirit of many well-intentioned listeners. If the terms are not ...