In April, saxophonist and MacArthur Foundation-certified genius Ken Vandermark (pictured) will put on a festival in Athens, Ga. featuring lots of his improvising, free jazz buddies, including bunches of artists from overseas. The Athens Creative Media Encounter Festival (ACME, they call it) will be held April 1-4 at various local venues (Vandermark will deliver a keynote address on March 31). Aside from performances by longtime heroes of the improvised music scene like Peter Brotzmann and Joe McPhee, ACME will feature visual art exhibits, lectures, workshops and seminars. All ACME shows cost $20 and a pass to attend all festival events is $50. Below is a schedule of ACME concerts. For more info on the festival, or to purchase tickets, visit www.acmefestival.com.
Wednesday, March 31
at Athens Institute for Contemporary Art
7:30pm Keynote Address: Ken Vandermark, free
Thursday, April 1
at THE FABULOUS 40 WATT
8 p.m. ATOMIC (Magnus Broo, Ingebrigt Håker-Flaten, Fred Ljungkvist, Paal Nilssen-Love, Kjell Nordeson)
9:30pm PETER BROTZMANN/NASHEET WAITS DUO
11 p.m. AD HOC GROUP ORGANIZED BY JOE MORRIS
Friday, April 2
at Nuci’s Space
8 p.m. JOE MORRIS SOLO
9:30 p.m. THE THING & JOE MCPHEE (Mats Gustaffson, Ingebrigt Håker-Flaten, Joe McPhee, Kjell Nordeson)
11 p.m. AD HOC GROUP ORGANIZED BY PETER BROTZMANN
12:30 p.m. ATOMIC/SCHOOL DAYS (Jeb Bishop, Magnus Broo, Ingebrigt Håker-Flaten, Fred Ljungkvist, Paal Nilssen-Love, Kjell Nordeson, Ken Vandermark)
Saturday, April 3
at THE FABULOUS 40 WATT
3 p.m. FREE FALL (Ingebrigt Håker-Flaten, Ken Vandermark, Havard Wiik)
4:30 p.m. TRIAGE (Jason Ajemian, Tim Daisy, Dave Rempis)
6 p.m. JOE MCPHEE SOLO
8 p.m. VANDERMARK 5 (Jeb Bishop, Tim Daisy, Kent Kessler, Dave Rempis, Ken Vandermark)
9:30 p.m. JOE MANERI TRIO (Joe Maneri, Mat Maneri, Randy Peterson)
11 p.m. AD HOC GROUP ORGANIZED BY KENT KESSLER
12:30 p.m. PETER BROTZMANN CHICAGO TENTET (with Jeb Bishop, Peter Brotzmann, Mats Gustafsson, Kent Kessler, Fred Lonberg-Holm, Joe McPhee, Paal Nilssen-Love, Ken Vandermark, Mars Williams, Michael Zerang)
Sunday, April 4
at ATHENS INSTITUTE FOR CONTEMPORARY ART (ATHICA)
3 p.m. SCHOOL DAYS (Jeb Bishop, Ingebrigt Håker-Flaten, Paal Nilssen-Love, Kjell Nordeson, Ken Vandermark)
4:30 p.m. JOE MANERI/MAT MANERI DUO
6 p.m. PETER BROTZMANN CHICAGO TENTET (with Jeb Bishop, Peter Brotzmann, Mats Gustafsson, Kent Kessler, Fred Lonberg-Holm, Joe McPhee, Paal Nilssen-Love, Ken Vandermark, Mars Williams, Michael Zerang)
VISUAL ARTS
ongoing at LYNDON HOUSE ARTS CENTER
Peter Brotzmann: The Inexplicable Flyswatter (Works On Paper: 1959-64), second exhibition in North America, free
WORKSHOPS
April 1-2 at UNIVERSITY OF GEORGIA, schedule TBA, free
