A collection of Roulette concert excerpts by Black artists whose work has helped redefine conceptions of the avant-garde and highlight the contributions of avant-jazz composition and improvisation to the evolution of experimental music.

Excerpts from the Black Avant-Garde

Saxophonist/composer Matana Roberts’ CoinCoin:Installation 1
with Hill Greene (bass), Jessica Pavone (viola), Daniel Levin (cello) and Mazz Swift (violin), Daniel Givens (laptop and slide projector).

Roulette Concert Archive // roulette.org

Matana Roberts at Roulette 2006 (excerpt)

Composer/performer Joseph Jarman's compositions including Hollow Five – from the non-floating world of sitting in front of the wall, and Charm the Rainbow with Ease and others. Jarman – woodwinds, Myra Melford – piano, Mikele Navazio – guitar plus prerecorded tape.

Joseph Jarman, Myra Melford, Mikele Navazio 7 April 95 (excerpt)

Bassist, composer, author Parker with a huge band including Matthew Shipp, Nate Wooley, Ellen Christi, Lisa Sokolov, Cooper-Moore, J.D. Parran, Daniel Carter, and Bill Cole… on Didgeridoo!

roulette.org

William Parker 13 Jan 17 (excerpt)

The composer/cellist with Fred Hopkins on bass, and poet Tyrone Henderson.

Roulette Concert Archive / roulette.org

Diedre Murray 11 March 1994 (excerpt)

The cellist's Quartet with bassist Jason Roebke, drummer Tomas Fujiwara, and guitarist Mary Halvorson.

Tomeka Reid 6 Jan 16 (excerpt)

The doublebass master with John Purcell on reeds, Miya Masoaka on koto, and Gerry Hemingway on drums and electronics.

Reggie Workman 15 Nov 02 (excerpt)

(Pulitzer Prize for Music 2016) Threadgill’s quintet Zooid performs parts of the award-winning “In for a Penny, In for a Pound” from a series of remarkable miniatures in which the ensemble is continuously reconfigured.

Henry Threadgill 4 Dec 2014 (excerpt)

(Pulitzer Prize in Music 2020) Early bits from his award-winning opera, The Central Park Five, with Davis on piano, Earl Howard synth, bassist Mark Dresser, reeds J.D. Parran.

Anthony Davis 13 Dec 2018 (excerpt)

TRANSFORMATION: new poetry/new music featuring legendary poet/activist Amiri Baraka (1934-2014) with two generations of masters who emerged from Chicago’s Association for the Advancement of Creative Musicians (AACM), Steve McCall (1933-89) on percussion and Fred Houn (1957-2014) on baritone sax.

Amiri Baraka/Steve McCall/Fred Houn 1984

New & Adventurous Music! Founded in 1978 and operating out of lofts and galleries for years, Roulette continues its mission to support new and established innovators in music and cross-media performing arts in a glorious 400 seat theater in Brooklyn. Podcasts and excerpts here; you can hear these full concerts, and hundreds more, at roulette.org/archive. Enjoy!

Excerpts from the Black Avant-Garde

Roulette_Intermedium