Note to a friend

I recall one time you asked me to let you know about these left-of-center shows in Philly.  Most folks we invite to go  just listen to a snippet and politely say "No, that's okay."  Several friends (and my wife) who I have dragged to these types of shows do have fun telling stories at parties about what they saw that nite and where they saw it.

I'd say 90% of shows are improvisation with most being by jazz-trained players and 70% of shows are avante-garde jazz with acoustic instruments.  That said, some of the best, most outrageous and energy-filled shows incorporate electronics and electric instruments.  New season just started up with Ars Nova Workshop coming up this Spring 2012.  

Most shows on the outer fringe  of avante garde jazz/rock/funk and can be dissonant but are almost always put on by exceptional musicians who just choose to play that way.  The series always includes lots of European improvisors, mostly trained in jazz (but not always) whose style is typically less restricted by the jazz "tradition" than jazz-trained players from the US.  Often incorporate lots of rock/funk/noise.

Price is right, typically <$15 or free, so a good way to take a chance on exploring different music.   Events are in very small venues (sometimes as small as your living room or literally in a 2-car garage).