Vision Festival XV in June 2010 celebrated a lifetime of achievement by Muhal Richard Abrams on an evening with an emotional Muhal solo performance dedicated to Fred Anderson, who was scheduled to appear that night, but had passed away that morning in a Chicago hospital. Muhal also played a dynamic trio set with Ari Brown and Harrison Bankhead. Other festival highlights that I heard were the Charles Gayle Bass Choir's tribute for Norris "Sirone" Jones; The Blues Escaped band with Roy Campbell, jr., Kidd Jordan, Jason Kao Hwang, William Parker, and Hamid Drake; Billy Bang's Spirit of Sir One; the David S. Ware Trio; and the Sabir Mateen Ensemble.
My photographs were exhibited June 2009 at Vision Festival 14 in New York City.
The festival honored a lifetime of achievement by Marshall Allen, who was the subject of my exhibit.
Photos of Marshall and Sun Ra go back
to 1974 and others are from more recent sessions with Kidd Jordan, Alan Silva, William Parker, and others.
The Arts For Art produced VISION FESTIVAL XIII was June 10th to 15th, 2008 at NYC's Solo Velez Center.
The 2008 festival honored Edward "Kidd" Jordan with a full night of performances on Wednesday, June 11th dedicated to the lifetime achievements of this New Orleans jazz legend.
The evening included a digital projection of 82 of my photos of Kidd.
Vision Festival XII took place June 19 through June 24, 2007.
It featured a Lifetime Recognition of Bill Dixon and a Tribute to Leroy Jenkins.
An exhibit of my photographs, A Photo Tribute to the Creative Improvised Music Masters, was included among the festival's visual art presentations. The Vision Festival has been the most significant American supporter of "avant-jazz" and a number of the photos were taken at previous festivals.
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The 2006 festival honored Sam Rivers.
Sam Rivers
Studi Rivbea, 1973 and Washington, DC, 1990
In 2005, I exhibited a photo retrospective of the festival at that year's anniversary event. I have photographed all but the first festival in 1996.
The 2004 9th Vision Festival included an exhibit of my photos dedicated to jazz bassists. The festival tribute was dedicated to Peter Kowald and Wilber Morris, two bassists who had passed on in 2003.
Michael at 2004 photo exhibit
The 2003 8th Vision Festival also took place at the Center. It featured approximately 150 artists in 30 different performing groups over the six days of the Festival. The annual Memorial Day tribute concert was dedicated to the music of Jeanne Lee.
The 2002 Vision Festival was longer and ran from May 23 to June 8. The Memorial Day concert was a celebration of the music of Don Cherry Tribute, including Dewey Redman, Pyramid Trio (Roy Campbell, William Parker, and Hamid Drake), Jayne Cortez, and Frank Lowe.
Other artists on the very impressive 2002 schedule included Joseph Jarman, Milford
Graves, Kidd Jordan, Fred Anderson, Billy Bang, Joe Morris, Jemeel Moondoc,
Kalaparusha Maurice McIntyre, Ellen Christi, Matthew Shipp, Little Huey
Creative Music Orchestra, Other Dimensions in Music, Oliver Lake, David
S. Ware, Patricia Nichoson, Wadada Leo Smith, Karen Borca, Rob Brown,
Christine Coppola, Doglas Ewart, Joelle Leandre, Peter Kowald, Daniel
Carter, Marty Ehrlich, Sunny Murray, Sonny Simmons, Sabir Mateen, and
many many more. Plus dancers, poets, and visual atists; all united in
a "A Vision Against Violence".
The festival is presented
by Arts for Art, an artist initiated, artist run organization dedicated
to building awareness and understanding of avant-garde jazz and related
expressive movements, the aesthetic of which is based on a disciplined
disregard for traditional boundaries. Principal activities are the presentation
of cutting edge music and multi-discipline performances, the exhibition
of visual arts installations, and the organization of outreach programs.
All presentations bring the arts together, not only for the health and
creativity of the artforms themselves, but for the audiences as well.
The 2000 festival included a photo exhibit on "Avantjazz"- including my work.
It was great participating!
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