“The decade that followed 9/11/2001 has been marked by jazz and new music makers’ determination not to be deterred from what the Taliban and Tea Party alike may consider marginal activities, if not outright affronts to God’s dominion,” I write in my latest CityArts column. “Whether the city suffers attacks from abroad, natural disasters or economic collapses caused by the financial services sector that thrives in our midst, the minds of composers and the bands of improvisers play on.”
An excerpt from the article regarding Amina Figarova’s September Suite (written in advance of her performance on 9/11 at the Metropolitan Room) has already been published here — I attended that show by Figarova and her sextet, and found the music beautifully played, very affecting. But read the column for mention of a couple enduring jazz/new music campaigns taking their next steps this autumn: the biggest news being Roulette‘s rich season of concerts by uncompromisingly exploratory in a brand new space,  and the celebration by resolute Arturo O’Farrill (pictured above) with three special programs at Symphony Space of the tenth year of his Afro-Latin Jazz Orchestra.