millineum 2010  internet edition......

 the improvisor festival,                 
August  2010

    the improvisor ,  the international magazine journal of free improvisation, was founded in 1980 as a networking and philosophical sharing medium for the Improvisors Network  I.N. (NYC).  Initially begun as a newsletter of I.N.
The Improvisor  documented the earliest free improvisation experiments and practices in America.  The Improvisor published eleven hard copy editions throughout the 1980’s & 1990’s, and for the last fifteen years published the internet edition, promoting the art of free improvisation today.  To recognise the 30 year anniversary of The Improvisor, a festival celebration occured in the month of August 2010  to commemorate its contribution to the growth and development of improvisation as a viable and now nearly mainstream art form.  

     Throughout the month of August 2010,  festival concerts prevailed throughout the Southeast, with satellite concerts across the USA.    The Improvisor's Network (I.N.) founded in 1979 in  New York City, was comprised of artists and musicians interested in the practice and development of free improvisation as a fundamental musical medium, and  sought to network improvisors, who were practicing across the U.S.A., forming alliances and exchanges among the artists, bringing this new music into many communities, forging grassroots & community efforts in the  development of free improvisation as a vital art form, sustained by collective activity,  the personal practice,  and the inquiring ears of its audience. 

     The Improvisor Festival hosted its opening concert in New York City at the Stone , on August 1st, reuniting   pioneer founders of I.N. and veterans of the A.M.I.C.A. Bunker scene in NYC. Simultaneously, the scene in Jackson, Mississippi reunited it's pioneer improv ensemble, Ars Super Nova.   From there the festival commenced in Birmingham, Alabama, the home of  The Improvisor, where the month long festival will be took place,  and other satellite concerts throughout the region took place in Chattanooga, Tennessee, Athens and Atlanta Georgia, and Huntsville and Moundville, Alabama.  A remote concert was held in Seattle, Washington.

The festival in Birmingham  featured concerts & workshops, in performance art, film, dance, spoken word and spontaneous improvisational activities, as well as workshops for children throughout the city, at high profile civic venues such as WORKPLAY,   The Pepper Place venues,  the Farmers Market, & Children's Dance Foundation.

Additional satellite performances were planned, celebrating The Improvisor throughout the Southeastern Regional network and across the country from New York  to Seattle.  

Published from Birmingham, Alabama, the journal served as the forum for sharing ideas and philosophies, for creating a network for practicing musicians to tour, and create an awareness of the art of free improvisation in communities across the United States.   From its beginnings as a 4 page newsletter, it expanded to a published journal with an international audience.  This year marks the 30 year anniversary of  The Improvisor.  We invite you to actively celebrate the spirit of improvisation.

 
LaDonna Smith,  festival director
Lee Shook, associate festival director

Contact us:   improvisorfest@gmail.com

ALSO SEE:        www.theimprovisorfestival.org