You can find the full schedule for April performances below and on our On_Line Salon page. Salons require a donation to watch, find the link on our On_Line Salon page to register to watch through Eventbrite, where you will receive a private viewing link.

Each performance will be followed by Patricia Nicholson's ongoing discussions with the artists.

Thursday April 1, 8pm
Isaiah Collier - saxophones
Lonnie Plaxico - bass
Michael Ode - drums
Kennedy Banks - dance

Tuesday April 6, 8pm
Marty Ehrlich - woodwinds
Michael Formanek - bass
Tomas Fujiwara - drums

Thursday April 8, 8pm
Reggie Nicholson - drums
Joe Fonda - bass
Daniel Carter - woodwinds, trumpet

Tuesday April 13, 8pm
Patrick Holmes - clarinet
Brandon Lopez - bass
Lester St. Louis - cello
Sarah Sandoval - dance

Thursday April 15, 8pm
Aruan Ortiz - piano
Don Byron - clarinets
Lester St. Louis - cello
Gerald Cleaver - drums

Tuesday April 20, 8pm
Melanie Dyer - viola
Shayna Dulberger - bass
Mara Rosenbloom - piano
Julie Ezelle Patton - art

Thursday April 22, 8pm
Juan Pablo Carlotti - drums
Yoni Kretzmer - tenor saxophone
William Parker - bass
Keegan Monaghan - super-8 film

Tuesday April 27, 8pm
James Brandon Lewis - tenor saxophone
Rashaan Carter - bass
Chad Taylor - drums

Arts for Art Presents
 
Amina Claudine Myers
 79th Birthday Celebration Livestream Concert
Sunday, March 21 @ 3:00pm ET
 
Vision Festival 25 Confirms July 2021 In-person Dates
& Announced Lifetime Achievement Honoree,
Amina Claudine Myers

​March is Women’s History Month, so Arts for Art is declaring March Amenia Claudine Myers Month!  On Sunday, March 21, 2021 at 3:00pm ET, Arts for Art will present a live solo piano and vocal performance by 2021 Vision Festival Lifetime Achievement Honoree Amina Claudine Myers, in celebration of her 79th birthday.  Following the performance, Patricia Nicholson will talk with Ms. Myers about her art and career.  
 
The event will livestream from the Scholes Music Studio in New York City.  Tickets for the event are available at Eventbrite, and proceeds will benefit the creation of a biopic on Myers to be presented at Vision 25.
 
Save the date!  Vision Festival 25 will take place over two weekends in New York City:  July 22-23 and July 29-30 at Pioneer Works in Brooklyn, and July 24-25 at The Clemente in the Lower East Side.  The performances will be outdoors, in-person and online.
 
On Friday July 23, at Pioneer Works, Amina Claudine Myers will be honored for her Lifetime of Achievement. 

​Beginning in March, AFA will be charging a minimum donation to watch On_Line Salon live stream performances. You can find the full schedule for March performances below and on our On_Line Salon page. Also on our On_Line Salon page, find the link to register to watch through Eventbrite, where you will receive a private viewing link.

Each performance will be followed by Patricia Nicholson's ongoing discussions with the artists.

Tuesday March 2, 8pm

jaimie branch - trumpet
Luke Stewart - bass
Mike Pride - drums
Theo Darst - video

Thursday March 4, 8pm

Ava Mendoza - guitar
Luke Stewart - bass
Ches Smith - drums
Keegan Monaghan - super-8 films

Tuesday March 9, 8pm

Ken Filiano - bass
Michaël Attias - alto saxophone
Michael TA Thompson - drums
William Mazza - video art

Thursday March 11, 8pm

Darius Jones - alto saxophone
Cooper-Moore - piano
Gerald Cleaver - drums
Shara Lunon - poetry

Tuesday March 16, 8pm

William Parker - bass
Rob Brown - alto saxophone
AnnMarie Sandy - mezzo-soprano
Eri Yamamoto - piano
Miriam Parker - film montage, movement

Thursday March 18, 8pm

Devin Brahja Waldman - alto saxophone
James Brandon Lewis - tenor saxophone
Gerald Cleaver - drums
Ala Dehghan - live painting

Thursday March 25, 8pm

Newman Taylor Baker - washboard
Matthew Shipp - piano
Stomu Takeishi - bass
Trashina Conner - dance

Tuesday March 30, 8pm

Matt Lavelle - trumpet, alto clarinet, bass clarinet
Larry Roland - bass, poetry
Ryan Sawyer - drums

Arts for Art’s On_Line Salon series features live streaming performances and conversations by artists in the Free Jazz community. Events take place twice per week on the Arts for Art website, YouTube, and Facebook. On_Line Salons are free to watch, but donations are encouraged to fund artist fees. ​

​February performances will introduce a visual art element to many of the performances. The full schedule and details for each performance is below.

In May 2020, we introduced the On_Line Salon series to provide performance opportunities for our artists who lost all in-person gigs due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Since then, we've presented over 30 performances featuring 100 artists. Starting in January 2021, we will be presenting two livestream performances per week. See the schedule below, or go to our On_Line Salon webpage to watch and make donations. These streams are free, but donations are encouraged and go towards funding artist fees. 

All January performances will reflect on themes from R&B music.

January 5

James Brandon Lewis - tenor saxophone
Kirk Knuffke - cornet
Gerald Cleaver - drums

January 7
Fay Victor's Chamber Trio
Fay Victor - voice, compositions
Darius Jones - alto sax
Marika Hughes - cello

This special group feels connected to that school of music growing up in a time when R&B was as innovative as ever. We will perform a selection or two from the late-60’s-early seventies, representative of the period I know and love the best in R&B. - Fay Victor

January 12
Tony Malaby's Turnpike Trio
Tony Malaby - tenor, soprano sax
John Hébert - bass
Billy Mintz - drums

January 14
Mara Rosenbloom Affinity Trio
Mara Rosenbloom - piano
special guest LaFrae Sci - drums, electronics
Melanie Dyer - viola

Holy Water: Improvisations on Erykah Badu
also known as The Cypher Keeps Moving
also known as Analogue Meditations on a Digital World

January 19
Cooper-Moore Trio
Cooper-Moore - instruments
Matthew Mottel - keyboard
Francisco Mela

January 21
Dave Sewelson Fat Foot R&B Revue
Dave Sewelson - baritone sax
Dave Hofstra - bass
Mike Neer - lap steel guitar
Bernice "Boom Boom" Brooks - drums

The pure ineffable joy of R&B has lifted my spirit since my youth and that music continues to flow through the world as truth. Our band will share the joy and freedom that have been so freely shared with us in this special concert. - Dave Sewelson

January 26
Gerald Cleaver Quartet Plays the Music of Stevie Wonder and Burt Bacharach
Gerald Cleaver - drums
Darius Jones - alto sax
Brandon Seabrook - guitar
​Brandon Lopez - bass

January 28
The Soul of Freedom
Luke Stewart - bass
Jaimie Branch - trumpet
Devin Brahja Waldman - alto sax

Presenting renditions of sweet soul music in the style of New York R&B. Dedicated to the spirit of Cecil Taylor.

Bringing on the Hallelujah is a biopic film featuring interviews with Kidd Jordan, his family, students, and artists with whom he has collaborated over the years. The film includes live performance footage. On November 22 at 3pm, we will premiere an early cut of this ongoing film project on Edward “Kidd" Jordan, edited and filmed by Michael Lucio Sternbach, with additional archival footage. This video will be available to watch until November 24 at midnight.
​
In conjunction with this special preview, AFA will host a public Zoom chat with Kidd Jordan, William Parker, Hamid Drake, Marshall Allen, and Joel Futterman on Sunday at 3:30pm.

Donations are highly encouraged. Funds raised will benefit the completion of the film.

Press Release Below:
​
“In the dark of these times, art lights the way,” says Patricia Nicholson Parker, co-founder of Arts for Art (AFA).  Nicholson, William Parker and AFA team have reimagined the renowned Vision Festival as a limited-capacity outdoor event with a professionally filmed livestream.  Vision Festival:  Healing Soul will begin Thursday, October 8 at 7:00pm ET with a livestream solo performance by Wadada Leo Smith, followed by in-person / livestream events October 9 through October 12, all taking place outdoors at La Plaza at the Clemente in NYC (the parking lot on Norfolk Street, north of Delancey).  Artists include Oliver Lake, Andrew Cyrille, Amina Claudine Myers, William Parker, with the full schedule below.
 
The outdoor Vision Festival will be limited capacity, socially-distanced and in compliance with all CDC and New York City guidelines.  Daily outdoor tickets are $75, and virtual tickets are $15.  Both are available here.
 
Founded in 1996, AFA and Vision has held the belief that music and the arts can inspire and uplift people.  It has been rooted in a commitment to social justice and equity. This is evident in all of AFA’s festivals and events where the focus is on the work of groundbreaking African American artists. AFA has been organizing conferences and panel discussions that respond or foretell issues around social justice and equity.  In January 2017, AFA initiated the Artists for A Free World project. (https://www.artsforart.org/advocacy)   
 
Vision Festival will return in 2021.
 
VISION FESTIVAL:  HEALING SOUL
 
THURS, OCTOBER 8
VIRTUAL
7:00pm ET  Wadada Leo Smith - solo trumpet, solo piano
 
8:00pm  Panel discussion on protest and jazz with Amirtha Kidambi, JD Allen, Jean Carla Rodea, Arturo O'Farrill, William Parker, Lee Mixashawn Rozie
                       
FRI, OCTOBER 9
LIVE Outdoors in La Plaza at The Clemente, 114 Norfolk St, NYC
5:00pm ET The Healing Force
Patricia Nicholson – text, movement, voice
Voices: Ellen Christi, Jean Carla Rodea, Amirtha Kidambi, Andrea Wolper
Ava Mendoza - guitar / Val Jeanty - electronics, percussion
 
6:00pm Afro-Algonquin Trio 
Lee Mixashawn Rozie – voice, sax, mandolin / Rick Rozie – bass / Royal Hartigan – drums
 
7:00pm  Oliver Lake Organ Quartet
Oliver Lake - alto sax / Jared Gold - organ / Freddie Hendrix – trumpet /Chris Beck- drums
 
SAT, OCTOBER 10
LIVE Outdoors in La Plaza at The Clemente, 114 Norfolk St, NYC
 
1:00pm ET Children’s Music is Mine Workshop (free) CANCELLED

4:00pm Lewis / Lopez / Marcelo / Waits
James Brandon Lewis – sax / Brandon Lopez – bass / 
Alexis Marcelo – keyboards / Nasheet Waits - drums
 
5:00pm Fay Victor's Mutations for Justice
 Fay Victor - voice, composition / Mazz Swift – violin / Chris Williams - trumpet
 Luke Stewart – bass / Jason Nazary - drums
 
6:00pm Amina Claudine Myers Trio
Amina Claudine Myers – Keyboards / Jerome Harris – bass, voice / Reggie Nicholson
                       
SUN, OCTOBER 11
LIVE Outdoors in La Plaza at The Clemente, 114 Norfolk St, NYC
 
1:00pm ET  Children's Music is Mine Workshop (free) CANCELLED
                       
4:00pm Andrew Cyrille Quartet
Bill Frisell -guitar / David Virelles – piano /  Ben Street – bass / Andrew Cyrille - drums
 
5:30pm POET Tyehimba Jess
 
6:00pm Gerald Cleaver's Black Host
Gerald Cleaver - drums / Darius Jones - alto sax / Brandon Seabrook - guitar / Cooper-Moore - piano / Brandon Lopez - bass    
                       
MON, OCTOBER 12
LIVE Outdoors in La Plaza at The Clemente, 114 Norfolk St, NYC
 
4:00pm ET David Murray Trio
David Murray - tenor sax, bass clarinet / Luke Stewart – bass / Ronnie Burrage – drums
 
5:30pm POET Latasha Diggs
 
6:00pm William Parker’s In Order to Survive Quintet
Rob Brown – alto sax / James Brandon Lewis – tenor sax / Matthew Shipp – keyboards /
​Gerald Cleaver - drums

“In the dark of these times, art lights the way,” says Patricia Nicholson Parker, co-founder of Arts for Art.  She and William Parker have expanded AFA to include the activist arm Artists for a Free World (AFFW).  Its purpose is to take a stand for racial and economic justice to create a world where peace is possible. 
 
Artists for a Free World is announcing the September Music and Poetry Protest Performances, an outdoor event series that will take place in downtown New York City at the Clemente, La Plaza (the parking lot on Norfolk Street north of Delancey). The events will be socially-distanced and in compliance with all CDC and New York City guidelines.  Admission is free and donations are appreciated.   Additional information can be found here. 
 

Artists for a Free World Outdoor Protest Concerts
Outdoor at The Clemente La Plaza (Norfolk St. between Delancey and Rivington)
107 Suffolk St, New York, NY 10002 

Mon, September 7
3:00pm: Bisio / Lewis / Knuffke / Holmes
James Brandon Lewis, sax / Michael Bisio, bass / Patrick Holmes, clarinet
/ Kirk Knuffke, trumpet 
4:00pm: Thomas Sayers Ellis / Steve Swell
Thomas Sayers Ellis, poet / Steve Swell, trombone  
4:30pm: William Parker’s Celestial Lighthouse performs Urban Revolution  
William Parker, composition, bass / Rob Brown, alto sax / Darius Jones, alto sax / Isaiah Barr, tenor sax / Steve Swell, trombone / Francisco Mela, drums 
 
Saturday, September 12 
1:00pm: Music is Mine co-produced with The Clemente Outdoors in La Plaza 
Free workshop for young musicians age 5-10 
3:00pm: Dickey / Swell
Whit Dickey, drums / Steve Swell, trombone
4:00pm: Larry Roland Trio
JD Parran - reeds / Larry Roland - bass, poetry / Jackson Krall - drums 
5:00pm: Sam Newsome Trio 
Sam Newsome, soprano sax / Hilliard Greene, bass / Reggie Nicholson, drums
 
Saturday, September 26 
Outdoor Event at St. Mark’s Churchyard (131 E. 10th St.)
Co-produced with the Poetry Project 
1:30pm  Poetry Reading
Sheila Maldonado - poetry
1:45pm Tomato & Peach  
Sana Nagano - violin / Leonor Falcon - violin
2:30pm Poetry Reading
Jesus Papoleto Melendez - poetry
2:45pm  Melanie Dyer Trio
Melanie Dyer - viola / Gwen Laster - violin / Ken Filano - bass
3:30pm Poetry Reading  
Patricia Spears Jones - poetry
3:45pm Jason Kao Hwang's Human Rites Trio
Andrew Drury, drums / Ken Filiano,  bass/ Jason Kao Hwang, composer/violin/viola
4:30pm Jason Hwang / Melanie Dyer / Ken Filiano / Andrew Drury

​This survey is designed to assess the impact of COVID-19 on our Creative Community. Please fill out and share so we can convince the funding community how much this sector needs support. 

​The Sun Ra Arkestra and William Parker’s Inside Songs of Curtis Mayfield
 
March 4, 2020 7pm, at The Town Hall
123 West 43rd Street, NYC
                                                             
TICKETS: ticketmaster.com
                                   
Arts for Art celebrates 25 years of programming with Sounds of Justice, a night of intergenerational FreeJazz/AfroFuturism, on March 4th at NYC’s historic The Town Hall. Both the Sun Ra Arkestra under the direction of Marshall Allen and William Parker’s Inside Songs of Curtis Mayfield are steeped in a commitment to the ideals of music and art as agents of social change, exemplifying the very ethos of Arts for Art. This boundary-breaking blend of FreeJazz, funk, R&B, and soul aesthetics looks both back and into the future, bridging time and space to share warnings, hope, and inspiration. 

Under the leadership of Marshall Allen, the Arkestra carries the Sun Ra experience of sound, dance, song, light, and color into the present. Having joined the Arkestra in the 1950s, Allen is uniquely positioned to move this performance tradition forward, further cementing Sun Ra and the Arkestra’s twinned legacies as both progenitors and practitioners of the genre now called AfroFuturism. The Town Hall performance will include video art and painting by NYC artist William Mazza to create a synesthetic sight/sound experience of Sun Ra and his mind-bending view of the universe.

William Parker’s highly acclaimed, intensely free Inside Songs of Curtis Mayfield builds upon both the text and music of the politically engaged and activist singer-songwriter. This latest version of Parker’s ongoing project includes an expanded band with vocalist Leena Conquest joined by Thomas Sayers Ellis performing Amiri Baraka’s and his own poetry. Filmmaker Moon Lasso’a impressionistic video portrayal of the texts and sounds of Curtis Mayfield and William Parker will complete the experience.
​
Arts for Art, presenter of the internationally renowned Vision Festival, is focused on developing strategies for the future as it enters its 25th year: how to better the world in which we live, and how to inspire, grow, and build a diverse community of uncompromising artists and audiences.