October 12
The festival presents a double bill of the critically acclaimed saxophonist, Noah Preminger and the Myra Melford Tiger Trio. Named as Downbeat Magazine’s Rising Star Best Tenor Saxophonist, Preminger’s critically acclaimed albums include Dark Was The Night, Cold Was The Ground and Meditations On Freedom, which as released on Inauguration Day in 2017 as a musical protest. Classically trained Myra Melford is a composer with a singular voice in piano improvisation. She has released over 40 recordings, and was awarded a Guggenheim Fellowship, a Doris Duke Performing Artist Award, and an Alpert Award in the Arts.
October 14
Composer, trumpeter and multi-instrumentalist Wadada Leo Smith is joined by dancer/choreographer Oguri, video artist Jesse Gilbert, experimental vocalist Carmina Escobar, and a stellar ensemble of musicians, for his epic Rosa Parks Oratorio. Smith confronts issues of freedom, liberty and justice in this philosophical and spiritual narrative about Rosa Parks and the Civil Rights Movement. Featuring Karen Parks and Min Xiao-Fen (vocals); Kris Tiner, Graham Haynes and Luois Lopes (trumpets); Salini Vijayan, Mona Tian, Andrew McIntosh, and Ashley Walters (strings); Pheeroan Aklaff (drums); and Hardedge (electronics).