October Revolution
in Jazz
60th Anniversary Celebration ‘24
Los Angeles, CA
October 1-4 @ CalArts
October
5, @2220
"As we became involved in that October Revolution in Jazz something beautiful began to happen. First, those of us in the movement began to realize that as musicians we were not isolated. And then the recognition came that as people we need not be alienated from each other”
—Cecil Taylor
Presented by Black Editions and Zero Productions, in partnership with CalArts Schools of Art, Music, Dance and Critical Studies.
Tuesday, October 1
CalArts
24700 McBean Pkwy
Valencia, CA 91355
Listening | 7:00 pm | Room G201
Listen to deep cuts from the improvised music archive moderated by music historian and record producer Ben Young and guests
Screening | 8:00 pm | Room G201
William Roper’s Sidelining the Sidemen and Women and deep cuts from the improvised music video archive moderated by Stanley J. Zappa and guests
Wednesday, October 2
CalArts
24700 McBean Pkwy
Valencia, CA 91355
Performance | 8:00 pm | Roy O. Disney Concert Hall
Part I: Intangible | Tim Feeney (percussion), gamin (piri), Robert Reigle (tenor saxophone), Jeff Schwartz (bass)
Part II: High Desert Sounding’s T.J. Borden (cello) + UMN professor Kyle Motl (bass) with the powerful reeds duo Vinny Golia + Catherine Sikora
Thursday, October 3
CalArts
24700 McBean Pkwy
Valencia, CA 91355
Panel Discussion | 4:30 pm | F200
Paul Branch Lecture Series | Panel discussion moderated by Michael Ned Holte (Art) with fellow CalArts faculty members Eyvind Kang (Music), Ariel Osterweis (Dance), and Def Sound (Music)
Open Rehearsal | 8:00 pm | Location TBA
Open rehearsal with You, Me + the Whales Arkestra
Friday, October 4
CalArts
24700 McBean Pkwy
Valencia, CA 91355
Presentation | 1:00 pm | Langley Hall
ORJ 60 music director and Critical Studies MA2 Stanley J. Zappa presents a slideshow and talk titled Free Jazz Social Network Analysis
Lecture | 4:00 pm | Cafe B
Music historian Ben Young presents Bill Dixon and the October Revolution in Jazz
Talk | 6:30 pm | Langley Hall
Open discussion on Black Music aesthetics
Performance | 8:00 pm | Langley Hall
Catherine Sikora Trio open rehearsal with
Nick Skrowaczewski (percussion, bells) and Stanley J. Zappa (reeds) with special guests
Saturday, October 5
2220 Arts + Archives
2220 Beverly Blvd
Los Angeles, CA 90057
TICKETS
Screening | 3:30-4:00
Film Premiere | BILL DIXON: A Personal Portrait, (1979, 23.5 mn) by Bill Dixon and his student Steve Albahari. Features a Dixon quartet with Lawrence Cook (drums), John Voight (bass), Mario Pavone (bass).
Spinning | 4:00- 5:00 | Triple Point Records | Rare Cuts from the Dixon Archive with Ben Young
Conversation | 5:00-6:00
Revolution in Context with Bobby Bradford, Hamza Walker + Ben Young
Performance | 6:30-10:30
Catherine Sikora (tenor saxophone) Trio with Nick Skrowaczewski (percussion) and Stanley J. Zappa (reeds)
Grace Dashnaw (cello), Elif Dinçer (harp), M A Harms (percusion) Trio
Bobby Bradford (trumpet) + Vinny Golia (reeds) Duo
T. J. Borden (cello), Kyle Motl (bass), Vinny Golia (reeds), Catherine Sikora (tenor saxophone) Quartet
You, Me + the Whales Arkestra with Special Guests
Devin Burgenbauch (double bass, bells)
Zac Burgenbauch (conduction, electric guitar, lap steel guitar, bells)
Levy Barlevy (trombone, bells)
Ivan Cunningham (alto saxophone, bells)
Grace Dashnaw (cello, bells)
Elif Dinçer (harp, bells)
Vinny Golia (tenor saxophone, bass clarinet, soprano saxophone, bells)
Alex Grant (double bass, bells)
M A Harms (vibraphone, percussion, bells)
Lucas Lenny (drumset, bells)
Mason Moy (tuba, bells)
David Otis (alto saxophone, bells)
Marc Perez (trombone, bells)
Brody Scott (baritone saxophone, bells)
Drew Sensue-Weinstein (field recordings, oscillators, bells)
Nick Skrowaczewski (percussion, bells)
Brandon "Grump" Smith (flute, bells)
Simone Summers (trumpet, bells)
Shane Vincent (trumpet, bells)
ORJ 60 | ABOUT
The October Revolution in Jazz 60th Anniversary (ORJ 60) is a celebration of the life and legacy of visionary musician-composer, artist, and educator Bill Dixon (1925–2010). It is also a reflection upon the cultural impact of the original October Revolution in Jazz, which Dixon organized at NYC’s Cellar Cafe in 1964.
The original was blessed with unforeseen successes: four days of packed performances by the second wave of a contemporary musical avant-garde emerging out of the jazz continuum; heated debates about the exploitative commodification of musicians’ labor; and implicit protest of the limiting aesthetic constraints of traditional jazz. The October Revolution in Jazz had an energizing impact on the social and political aims of artists of all kinds, and led to a whirlwind of artist-driven initiatives, including the Jazz Composer’s Guild and the NYC loft scene.
Like the original, ORJ 60 is simultaneously a summit, a call to action, and an imagining of new futures. ORJ 60 will explore the profound impact of improvisation on culture from the 1960s onward, as well as its influence on various artistic modes beyond music, including pedagogy, collectivity, artist-driven organizing, and creative ways of being.
Through a multivalent program of workshops, symposia, and performances, ORJ 60 aims to foster a deeper understanding of improvisation as a critical and creative practice, and to contemplate a vivid way forward. It also aims to reinvigorate awareness of Bill Dixon’s enormous contributions to improvised music, and the cultural impact of his pedagogies.