Improvisations Now, 2 Weekends in a Row

HARTFORD - Real Art Ways presents a monthly music series titled Improvisations Now, involving some of the best "free-jazz" musicians — existing outside of the music establishment — in the country. The series started in November 2021 and runs through May 2022. For February and March, the concerts fall on consecutive Sundays. Real Art Ways is located at 56 Arbor Street, Hartford, CT 06106.

This is music created in real-time. Listeners are invited in, without preconditions, to experience sonic pleasure on their own terms. Curated by Joe Morris, a composer/improviser multi-instrumentalist who plays guitar, double bass, mandolin, banjo, banjouke, electric bass and drums. Joe is a recording artist, educator, record and concert producer, curator and author of "Perpetual Frontier / The Properties of Free Music." He is considered one of the most influential improvising musicians of our time. Downbeat magazine called him “the preeminent free music guitarist of his generation.” The Wire magazine called him “one of the most profound improvisers at work in the U.S.”

Tickets for each concert are $15 for general admission, $12 for Real Art Ways Members and $8 for full-time students. Now on sale!

Sun Feb. 27

Photos: Sharif Hamza, Rob Miller, Peter Gannushkin, John Rogers

Tyshawn Sorey | percussion
2017 MacArthur Fellow, 2018 US Artist Fellow
“Among the most formidable denizens of the in-between zone…An extraordinary talent who can see across the entire musical landscape.”
— The New Yorker
“He plays not only with gale-force physicality, but also a sense of scale and equipoise” — NY Times

Stephen Haynes | cornet, flugelhorn
Founding member of Adam Rudolph's Go: Organic Orchestra, he has worked with composers including Bill Dixon, Cecil Taylor, George Russell, Butch Morris, Rhys Chatham, LaMonte Young and Earle Brown.

Joe Morris | trumpet
“The guitar revolutionary to pay attention to." — The Boston Phoenix
“The future of the instrument.” — Hi Fi News

Patricia Brennan | vibraphone
Debut album "Maquishti" was released in 2021.
“A vibraphonist to watch out for…” — NYC Jazz Record
Performances with Eight Blackbird, Philadelphia Orchestra, Meredith Monk.

Sun Mar. 6

Photos: Michael Bloom, Rob Miller, Seth Tisue

Joe McPhee | saxophone
Multi-instrumentalist, composer, improviser, conceptualist and theoretician. "His magical take on avant-garde sax remains one of the wonders of the scene. He still has one of the most beautiful tones on the planet, even when he's reaching for jazz's outer limits." — Time Out New York

James Brandon Lewis | saxophone
"[This] saxophonist has balanced a deep, gospel-informed spirituality with free-jazz abandon and hard-hitting funk-meets-hip-hop underpinnings." — NY Times

Jerome Deupree | drums
Drummer in Morphine, Either/Orchestra, The Coot's and Jeff Robinson Trio.

Jamie Saft | piano
Piano: Beastie Boys, The B-52's, John Zorn, John Adams, Laurie Anderson, Iggy Pop. Composer: Oscar nominated "Murderball."

Joe Morris | guitar
Curator extraordinaire.

About Real Art Ways:
Real Art Ways is a 45-year old multidisciplinary arts organization with programs in visual art, live arts, cinema, and education. Supporting artists and connecting with community are at the heart of Real Art Ways’ mission.