Primary Scene: New York Kenny Wollesen (born 1966) is an American drummer and percussionist. Wollesen lives in New York City. He has recorded and toured with many musicians including Tom Waits, Sean Lennon, Ron Sexsmith, Bill Frisell, Norah Jones, John Lurie, Myra Melford, Steven Bernstein and John Zorn. He is a founding member of the New
Primary Scene: New York Only three jazz artists have won a Pulitzer Prize. In spring 2016, Henry Threadgill joined Ornette Coleman and Wynton Marsalis as Pulitzer laureates, when he was honored for In For A Penny, In For A Pound (Pi, 2015), the latest album by Zooid, his unconventional quintet (reeds, acoustic guitar, cello, tuba, drums). “Unconventional” describes not just Henry Threadgill’s music, but
Primary Scene: Philadelphia Described twenty-five years ago as an “undergrounder by design,” Jack Wright is a veteran saxophone improviser based mainly in Philadelphia but living in Easton, PA. In 1979, after an academic career teaching at Temple University (European History) and activist politics, he returned to the instrument of his youth. Almost immediately he discovered free
Primary Scene: Glasgow, Scotland Fritz Welch (b. 1967 Atlanta, USA) lives and works in Glasgow Scotland. Welch is an artist and musician who plays in various bands, noise units and improvising ensembles. He often collaborates with other artists, performers and choreographers. His working methods hover around and examine various interconnected cultural concerns, that presently include life
Primary Scene: Mexico City, Mexico Jacob Wick is an improviser, writer, and artist. His work is dedicated to and informed by queer feelings and queer politics. As an improviser and trumpet player, he has performed in a variety of contexts, including at the Whitney Museum of American Art, the Kennedy Center, and the University Museum of
Primary Scene: Brooklyn/New York Sam Weinberg is a saxophonist, composer, and improviser from Brooklyn, NY. He currently leads the band BLOAR (with Andrew Smiley, Jason Nazary and Henry Fraser), whose 2019 debut, Drolleries (Astral Spirits), was widely praised. He likewise participates in a number of improvised collaborations which have included the likes of Henry Fraser, Ben
Primary Scene: Brooklyn, New York Eli Wallace is a pianist, improviser, composer, and curator who resides in Brooklyn, NY. Since moving from Oakland, CA in 2015 he has established himself in the New York improvised and creative music scene, constantly seeking out improvisers with a similar predilection such as Daniel Carter, Ingrid Laubrock, Billy Mintz, Ches
Primary Scene: New York City The critical buzz aroused by David S. Ware’s work with Andrew Cyrille and Cecil Taylor in the ’70s had, by the late ’90s, turned into a consonant roar. New York’s collective jazz press — always on the lookout for the music’s next messiah — crowned Ware the “King of Free
Primary Scene: New York Jazz pianist and keyboard player Craig Taborn began working professionally in the 1990s in a variety of musical contexts, ranging from more straight-ahead jazz to more outside music, with young jazz musicians, seasoned veterans, and even techno artists. In his hometown of Minneapolis, Taborn studied piano, composition, and music theory with
Primary Scene: Brooklyn/New York Kenny Warren grew up in Denver CO, where he was inspired at a young age by local trumpet greats Ron Miles, Al Hood and Greg Gisbert. In 2002 he moved to New York to study jazz at SUNY Purchase where he met collaborators like Bobby Avey and JP Schlegelmilch. After graduating
