Experimental improvised music continues to play on the fringes of musical society, but the number of festivals celebrating it is growing. While Europe is known as a hotspot of creativity for the improvised music scene, so too are Japan, Australia, and increasingly, the United States.
This weekend sees two young festivals continue to flourish on both sides of the Atlantic. The unlikely US city of Baltimore surprised critics in 1999 with the success of ‘High Zero’, and is now hosting its fourth annual festival of experimental improvised music this weekend.
