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Daniel Carter, Matt Lavelle, Julius Masri & Pete Dennis:Daniel Carter is an American experimental saxophone, flute, clarinet, and trumpet player active mainly in New York City since the early 1970s. One of the legendary masters of creative music. Born in Wilkinsburg, Pennsylvania in 1945.
Carter is a prolific performer and has recorded or performed with William Parker, Federico Ughi, DJ Logic, Thurston Moore, Yo La Tengo, Sun Ra, Cecil Taylor, scientist/musician Matthew Putman, Patrick Holmes, Sabir Mateen, Cooper-Moore, Sam Rivers, David S. Ware, Yoko Ono, Medesky Martin and Wood and Jaco Pastorius among others. He is a member of the cooperative free jazz groups TEST and Other Dimensions In Music.
Matt Lavelle is a trumpet, flugelhorn, bass and alto clarinet player and composer. He began his music career with Hildred Humphries, a swing era veteran who played with Count Basie and Billie Holiday. In 2002 he began performing in ensembles led by Sabir Mateen. In 2005, Lavelle began study with Ornette Coleman. Lavelle was a member of the Bern Nix quartet from 2010-2017. In 2011 Lavelle created the 12 Houses Orchestra. Lavelle has played and collaborated with Ornette Coleman, William Parker, Warren Smith, Henry Grimes, Eric Mingus, Sabir Mateen, Roy Campbell, Daniel Carter, Jemeel Moondoc, Mat Maneri, Ras Moshe, Hilliard Greene, Steve Swell, Matana Roberts, Bern Nix, Jack DeSalvo, Charles Downs, Tom Cabrera, Francois Grillot, Giuseppi Logan, William Hooker and many others. Lavelle published his first book, New York City Subway Drama and Beyond, in 2011. In 2013 he published a second book called The Jazz Musician’s Tarot Deck. Lavelle is also the author of the blog No Sound Left Behind.
Julius Masri is a Philadelphia based multi instrumentalist, and performer/composer for the city's dance community at large. His music focuses on improvisatory methods and syncretic / linguistic exchanges within various musical languages including Jazz, Metal, AfroCuban, Experimental Noise, and Arabic music. Born in Tripoli, Lebanon, he moved to the States in 1990 and picked up drumming a year later. He studied with Philadelphia instructors Carl Mottola, Elaine Hoffman-Watts, and as an undergraduate at Bard College, with AACM's Thurman Barker, Richard Teitelbaum, and Joan Tower. Julius plays drums, circuit modified Casio keyboards, Oud, Kamancheh (aka Rabab, Spike Fiddle), and various other instruments. He currently performs in groups such as grind/crust metal band Night Raids, free jazz groups Sirius Juju and Dromedaries, trombone and synth duo Superlith, and more. He has performed with Henry Grimes, Jamaaladeen Tacuma, Thurman Barker and members of the Sun Ra Arkestra. Julius is a recipient of a 2022 Yaddo Fellowship for composition, the 2022 university of the arts creative research and innovation grant, and project funding via pew center for arts & heritage, as well as Swarthmore college and the Andrew W. Mellon foundation.
Pete Dennis (he/they) is a bassist, composer, improviser, visual artist and teacher. After growing up in Richmond, Virginia, he moved to Philadelphia where he has been inspired by the creative music and art of his vibrant community. Other inspirations include his teacher William Parker, his partner Abigail Swoboda, and the fine vibrations of the sacred sound. In 2019, Dennis released his first two recordings, Killing a Dixie Hummingbird and Look at My Roses, under his main project name Search for the Infinite Light. Since then has continued to release music under this moniker, and with the ensembles Spectral Forces & 99 Futures. Dennis considers himself fortunate to create with many close friends and collaborators in bands such as Mitamu and Deliriant. He believes that sound is the foundation of healing and wants to acknowledge all master improvisors of the past and present, we stand on the shoulders of giants.
Jason Stein, Damon Smith & Adam Shead:
A Chicago-rooted improvising trio uniting bass clarinetist Jason Stein, double bassist Damon Smith, and percussionist Adam Shead. Since forming in late 2021, the group has toured extensively across the Midwest and beyond, becoming a fixture in the creative music circuit and collaborating with influential figures such as Roscoe Mitchell. Their recorded work documents a remarkably productive period, encompassing four releases: Volumes & Surfaces (2022), Hum (2023), spi-raling horn with Marilyn Crispell (2024), and Live at the Hungry Brain with Marilyn Crispell (2025). Together, these albums trace the group’s evolution from kinetic, small-ensemble interplay toward expansive collaborations that bridge generations of avant-jazz practice.
Critics have consistently praised the trio’s fearless energy and deep listening. All About Jazz described Volumes & Surfaces as “undiluted free jazz with energy as its calling card and attention as its driver,” while The Free Jazz Collective called their collaboration with Marilyn Crispell “stunning” and “full of muscular interplay.” Known for their balance of precision and volatility, Stein/Smith/Shead channel the improvisational lineage of Chicago’s creative music scene into a sound that is at once restless, focused, and alive to the moment. Their forthcoming 2025 tour marks the trio’s first since 2022, signaling a new chapter for one of the most dynamic ensembles in contemporary improvised music.
accessibility: street level entrance to venue but two steps to restroom.
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Event Venue
The Perch Music & Arts Community, 2321 Emerald St, Philadelphia, PA 19125-1503, United States
Tickets
Concerts, fests, parties, meetups - all the happenings, one place.
