Avant Music News

From St. Louis Jazz Notes:

On Wednesday, January 21, The Way Out Club will host a unique musical event featuring the Stone-Zelenka-Ota Free Improv Orchestra. The one-time performance of this 15-man big band presents some of St. Louis’ premier improvising musicians in a concert of St. Louis’ own home grown Free Jazz.

This show honors the visit of noted Japanese bass clarinet & alto sax player, composer and electronic musician Takanori Ota. A former St. Louisan, Takanori now resides in his native Japan.

Participating musicians will include Jeremy Brantlinger (drum set), Bob Galloway (trumpet), Eric Hall (electronics), Andrew Heffner (upright bass), Sadeeq Holmes (digital piano), Derick Leu (electric guitar), Jeremy Melsha (trombone), Takanori Ota (bass clarinet), Chris Smetowski (electric guitar), Dave Stone (saxophones), Aaron Smith (synthesizer), Scott Tallent (drum set), Josh Weinstein (upright bass), Rick Wilson (electric guitar) and Jay Zelenka (alto sax).

The Way Out Club is located at 2525 S. Jefferson (at Gravois). Doors open at 9:00 p.m., and admission to Stone-Zelenka-Ota Free Improv Orchestra show is $5.

From NPR Music:

It didn’t take long for jazz to migrate to Europe, but uniquely European improvisational music is a much later development. In the 1960s, European musicians began to reinvent the occasionally strident sounds of American avant-garde jazz to suit their own ideas. The eventual result was a blooming of scenes and styles sharing only common ancestry with their U.S. counterparts.