Avant Music News

Print magazine Signal to Noise has a set of online archives available with articles focusing on William Parker, Cecil Taylor, Sonny Murray, DJ Spooky and Matthew Shipp, and more.

Ken Vandermark’s Vandermark 5 is currently on tour on the West Coast, USA.

Jazz flautist Nicole Mitchell has traveled the world and played with many people, but is based in Chicago, home of the AACM and is currently leading her own group as well as performing with others.
Blurb: “Nicole Mitchell has performed with great musicians and composers including Ed Wilkerson, Leroy Jenkins, James Newton, Harrison Bankhead, Vincent Davis, […]

On Agren’s site there are tour dates, an interview with Christian Vander, and stories about working with Frank Zappa.

From Bob’s site:
“I’m mixing the new Science Group album. The violinist, Pedja Milosavljevic, had to cancel his session because he’s perpetually too busy for the forseeable future…c’est la vie. So I played a few of the parts originally intended for violin on guitar and Stevan will play some on synth or organ something. I’ll be […]

A look back at this year’s FIMAV festival is available. Reviews in both English and French.

Samla Mammas Manna finally makes it to the states playing only a few dates. Those confirmed are Chicago on August 27th and the Progday Festival in Chapel Hill North Carolina on August 30th. Possible dates in New York and Philadelphia are also in the works.

Birdsongs of the Mesozoic will stage a free concert Saturday September 6th at the Kennedy Center in Washington DC.

The Ruins are touring the US in July, with the following dates announced:
RUINS US TOUR - July
12th NY/Tonic
13th Baltimore/Ottobar
14th Atlanta
15th Memphis
16th Chicago/Schubas
17th Seattle (tba)
18th SF (tba)
Ruins drummer Tatsuya Yoshida is also appearing on tour with Zorn’s Painkiller and Samla Mammas Manna this summer.

The Muffins will be putting on their only live show of the year this Saturday in Philadelphia.
Blurb: “This Saturday, June 21, legendary 70s jazz rock legends The Muffins will perform at the Sedgwick Cultural Center in Mt. Airy, Philadelphia. Local avant noisemakers The Red Masque will open.
The Muffin’s roots are as an experimentally forward […]

Parker’s latest, entitled “Scrapbook” will be release on June 17th, on Thirsty Ear.

This long-running series will have an all day show on Sunday June 15th in New York. Highlights include Amy X Neuburg, Carla Kihlstedt and Two Foot Yard, and DJ Spooky, as well as other artists playing music by John Zorn and Louis Andreisson, Aphex Twin, and more.

Oliver Lake has a new release entitiled Cloth that has just come out under the ‘Oliver Lake Big Band’ name.
Blurb: “Expect tossing, blaring, and enthusiastic arrangements, poised between song and pure energy. The band includes: Trumpets Duane Eubanks, Winston Byrd + flugelhorn, Baikida Carroll, Peck Allmand;Alto sax, Oliver Lake and Bruce Williams; Tenor […]

Robert Rich’s summer tour is underway, including a number of major cities in the US.
Sez Robert: “I’ll be heading out for my 2003 Summer tour in about a day, and I’m finishing up some small updates to the website, rehearsing, packing the van, doing laundry and all that. I plan to play some […]

Quirky German 70’s band Exmagma has received the CD treatment with their self-titled first album and second album “Goldball” being released on one CD. Supposedly their unreleased third album will appear as well.
No relation to Magma of course.