Τen Freedom Summers

Social activism has always played a more central role in Wadada Leo Smith's life than his aesthetic explorations within the Western musical tradition. His pivotal role in the Association for the Advancement of Creative Musicians (A.A.C.C.), an organization that has left an indelible stamp on artistic events of all kinds in Chicago, was part and parcel of these activities. Similarly, the 22 compositions that make up his “Ten Freedom Summers”, a work which focuses on 1954-64, the period in which the young trumpeter was growing up, essay a psychological interpretation of events connected with the Civil Rights Movement.

But this is no picturesque or programmatic take on the Black American struggle for rights that should have been self-evident. Uninterested in describing situations and events, the music seeks instead to penetrate and respond to the pulse of those world-defining times: to Martin Luther King's Memphis speech, the March on Washington in 1963 to demand freedom, equality and employment, and the historic “I have a dream” address.

Smith and his 'Golden' quartet join forces with the video artist Jesse Gilbert to deliver a concert-fleuve which transcends his sound to confirm Smith's status as an engaged citizen activist as well as a key figure in the development of creative music, written and improvised alike.

Alongside there will be the Symposium: "Sounding possibilities: Improvisation and community action” and two more exceptional performances by Medea Electronique "Koumaria Residency 2014" and Glue