Live At The Blue Monk by Joel Futterman/Alvin Fielder/Ike Levin Trio

He is considered one of the foremost inventive and adventurous artists shaping the creative, progressive music scene today. His playing shifts effortlessly between enormous ferocity and warm tenderness. His trademark fully independent playing between the hands across the full range of the piano often sounds as if more than two hands are work. He has also mastered the simultaneous playing of his soprano saxophone while interacting and accompanying himself on the piano. Joel has performed across North America and Europe including at such noted music festivals the Vision Festival in New York, The New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival, Berlin Jazz Festival, and the North Sea Festival in Dennmark. He has compiled a discography of over 40 recordings including works with such notable jazz innovators as Jimmy Lyons, Rahsaan Roland Kirk, Joseph Jarman, Richard Davis, Hal Russell, William Parker, and Edward “Kidd” Jordan, as well several solo recordings..

Alvin Fielder, Drums & Percussion

Al is an internationally recognized master percussionist and has been one of the true leaders in improvisational music for over four decades. He is known as one of jazz avant-garde’s most musical and muscular rhythmic pioneers. While Al has performed with many noted be-bop and post-bop jazz artists, his passions have always moved more towards freer forms of jazz music. In 1963 Al and several other Chicago based jazz musicians founded the Association for the Advancement of Creative Music (AACM) in Chicago. After over 40 years of performing professionally, Al still approaches each performance as a challenge and continually stretches himself and those he plays with to explore new territory and elevations. Al has compiled over 25 recordings and has performed with a who’s who of jazz and creative music including Roscoe Mitchell, Muhal Richard Abrams, Ahmed Abdullah, Sun Ra, Dennis Gonzalez, Andrew Lamb, Eddie Gale, William Parker, Clifford Jordan, Wilbur Ware, and Edward “Kidd” Jordan. He has performed at festivals worldwide including Germany, Holland, France, Finland, Hungary, and Italy.

Ike Levin, Tenor Saxophone, Bass Clarinet

Ike is a Chicago reed player now residing in the San Francisco Bay area where he is active in Northern California’s emerging new music scene. He displays an aggressive, brawny approach to improvisation combining expressionistic blowing with more forays of pure lyricism. Levin’s strong, free improvisational talents are rooted in a reverence and appreciation for the blues, bebop, and contemporary chamber music. He studied with the legendary jazz saxophonist Joe Daley and Fred Anderson, co-founder of the Chicago based Association for The Advancement of Creative Music (AACM), as well as studied composition at Roosevelt University Music Conservatory in Chicago. Ike has performed around North America with such noted musicians as Ira Sullivan, Wilbur Campbell, Robert Porter,, Ed Petersen, Yancy Taylor, and Smiley Winters, Kash Killion and Oluyemi Thomas his creative jazz and poetry ensemble Positive Knowledge, as well as leading his own small ensembles.

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Media Coverage:

"An out of orbit trio of free jazz titans--three of the music's hard blowing unsung poets." Willamette Week

"Highly expressive and virtuouso artists comfortable with the genre and vocabulary of free improvisation." All About Jazz

Incredible musicality, expressiveness, and pushing of the boundaries of improvisation…” Cadence

“Highly spirited interplay and rich diversity of moods and colors…” Signal To Noise

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