Results for "Improvised Music"

Improvised music

How Now Brown Cow

Featuring the dynamic rhythm section of long time bandmates as well as founding member Dave Kurtiak on bass and Donovan Pfeifer on drums with the ear-catching Kerry O'Connor on fender rhodes and keyboards and frequest collaborator Brad Schrandt on Sax and flute. Playing their signature funk and jazz fueled all improvised original instrumental music, How Now Brown Cow bring a mix of creativity, talent and musicality that has made them known throughout the Seattle music community. Their spontaneous compositions are kin to the sounds and stylings of vintage groups like The Brand New Heavies, Herbie Hancock & The Headhunters, Average White Band, Tower of Power and The Meters as well as more modern groups such as Scary Pockets, Vulfpeck, Galactic and Medeski, Martin and Wood.

Noah Stoneman

VIENNA IMPROVISERS ORCHESTRA

Active since: 2004

With its praxis of Instant Composition Conducting, the Vienna Improvisers Orchestra (VIO) engages in a special discourse of experimental composition and complex improvised music for large ensembles. Based on a vocabulary of hand-signs, momentary compositions arise from the oscillation between ad hoc conducting that provides structure and ensemble improvisation. Instant Composition Conducting, which is based on Butch Morris' method of hand-sign-conducting called Conduction, has been developed by ad-hoc-conductor/art. dir. Michael Fischer since 2004 into a coherent praxis that follows certain principles:
1. absolute ad hoc creation - on the part of both the ensemble and the conductor; there are no prepared or agreed-upon modules/designs, 2. no rehearsals, only a short try-out of the hand-signs before the concert begins, 3. the musicians are grouped according to instruments, 4. few hand-signs (approx. 20) are used, which 5. are used as sparingly as possible, 6. the instant compositions have long, narrative sequences of 35-50 minutes, 7. each concert features a curated, ever-changing ensemble constellation and usually includes at least one new musician.

Simon Côté-Lapointe

Born: 1980

Simon Côté-Lapointe is a pianist, keyboardist, composer, improviser, videographer, and Ph.D. in information science with a specialization in archival science.

His professional career as a keyboardist and composer began with the contemporary music group Rouge Ciel around 1998. Between 2000 and 2003, during his studies in mixed composition at the Université de Montréal, he played and composed for several other projects such as Malarafe, the Virâj ensemble, and the Mouvement de Musique Présente, while also exploring electroacoustic music.

Between 2003 and 2009, Simon collaborated with a plethora of musicians, either as a composer, arranger, or performer. Notable collaborations include L’agence du swing by Claude Vendette, drummer Namori Cissé, and the rock band Madcaps. Between 2005 and 2010, he composed and produced four albums: “Conjuration” (electronic music), “Suite extatique” (contemporary music), “Artsuohtaraz” (for jazz quintet), and an eponymous double album (contemporary jazz and mixed music). From 2019 onwards, Simon has played and composed for several projects: Trio Lapointe-Hébert-Gagné (jazz), Taxon Lazare (organ trio), Chanteuse (jazz-post-funk), and Horizons (sax/piano duo, with Erik Hove). In 2020, he released three solo piano albums. A fourth improvisation album was released in 2023. In 2024, he completed Topochronies, a fresco of progressive music exploring Quebec’s collective subconscious through sound archives, created in collaboration with drummer Magella Cormier. In May 2025, during a four-week creative residency at the Centre d’expérimentation musicale (CEM) in Chicoutimi, he composed and realized Préhensions des strates de sédimentation historique saguenéennes, a mixed music performance for eight musicians and sequences with archives exploring Chicoutimi’s history through oral and historical archives. In January 2026, he launched an ambitious six-album solo piano cycle: three double albums titled Hapax (volumes 1 and 2), Ataraxie (volumes 1 and 2), and Animus/Anima (volumes 1 and 2), totaling nearly six hours of music ranging from medieval music to jazz, including baroque, classical, contemporary, and current repertoires.

Duarte Ventura

Born: July 21, 2000

Duarte Ventura, born in 2000, began his musical studies at the age of ten at the Associação Filarmónica Arganilense, attending percussion and music theory classes. At the age of twelve, he started studying at the Conservatório de Música de Coimbra, continuing his classical percussion education. In 2015, he decided to change direction, focusing solely on the vibraphone and the jazz genre, joining the Professional Course of Jazz Instrumentalist at the Conservatório de Música de Coimbra. After three years of the course, he was admitted to the Escola Superior de Música de Lisboa, an institution that allowed him to have classes with renowned national and international musicians, such as Jeffery Davis, André Fernandes, João Moreira, Afonso Pais, among others.

Sara Filipova

Sara Filipova’s music is deeply rooted in her diverse background in R&B, pop, jazz, and classical music, yet it is inspired by the spirit of groundbreaking singer-songwriters like Joni Mitchell and Paul Simon. In this fluid space between genres, Sara finds her voice—joining a new generation of artists who explore, expand, and redefine musical boundaries.

She has performed on stages across Europe and the U.S., including Chicago’s Wilson Abbey Theatre, and released her debut EP Black and White Café on Bulgarian national TV in 2019. A live radio session for Ö1’s Kunstonntag followed in 2020, along with radio play for her single Alone Together on FM4 and Ö1.

James McClure

South African trumpet player and composer James McClure presents his deeply personal Debut Album on Molk Records (27 February 2026). He is a powerful emerging voice within Amsterdam’s experimental music community, known for his mesmerising sound, patience and sensibility. This is a bold and introspective work that invites deep listening. It is rooted in emotion, free improvisation and progressive thought with traces of heritage, while the album is held together by a recurring lullaby written in response to violence and global unrest. It is a call for change, reflection and healing that feels ever more relevant and increasingly urgent. 

Sophie Hassfurther

A compelling and adventurous voice in contemporary European jazz and improvised music, Austrian saxophonist Sophie Hassfurther blends deep compositional insight with fearless improvisation. Born near Salzburg in, Hassfurther studied saxophone and flute at the University of Music and Performing Arts Vienna and the Conservatorium van Amsterdam. She further expanded her artistic horizons through her involvement in New York’s vibrant music scene. 

Hassfurther’s work is characterised by its wide stylistic reach, bridging jazz, contemporary classical sensibilities, and free improvisation. As a bandleader and composer, she has developed a rich body of original music, from her early ensemble projects to recent large-scale works that situate improvised interplay alongside structured compositional frameworks. Her music has been featured at major festivals and venues across Europe and beyond, including the North Sea Jazz Festival, Jazzfestival Saalfelden, Wien Modern, and Moers Festival. 

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).