The 2008 New Languages Festival

The New Languages Festival will take place June 12th–14th at the Living Theatre on Manhattan’s Lower East Side. Now in its fourth year, the festival is dedicated to the new generation of jazz artists, those who grew up listening to jazz, rock, pop, classical music, and everything in between.

This year’s lineup celebrates some of the most cutting-edge musicians today. Each of their voices is distinct, but they are unified by stylistic freedom. Attending performances by drummer Tyshawn Sorey, saxophonist and clarinetist Chris Speed, and composer and big band leader Darcy James Argue, one will hear elements of punk rock, free jazz, and minimalist classical music. The view that any musical style is a legitimate ground on which to innovate and improvise is one that seems to be shaping the future of jazz.

This weekend’s music will surely challenge listeners, but despite the risks that the performers take, it will be clear that the goal is to communicate and connect with audiences, and not to alienate them.

Photo of Chris Speed © 2008 michael hoefner/www.zwo5.de