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THE STONE RESIDENCIES
JON MADOF
DEC 2—7

CLOSED FOR SHABBES
Shabbat Shalom

SUNDAY DECEMBER 7—2pm to 5pm
Expanded New England Conservatory presentation of The Music of John Zorn: A 35-Year Retrospective
Curated by Hankus Netsky, Anthony Coleman, Eden MacAdam-Somer and John Zorn
A special 3 hour performance sponsored by NEC’s Contemporary Improvisation Department that features repertoire drawn from a wide variety of Zorn projects spanning 35 years and a wide variety of musical idioms including chamber music, rock, jazz, world music and game pieces all performed by NEC students, faculty and ensembles. This special expanded edition will also feature original compositions by NEC students!

THE STONE RESIDENCIES
FRED FRITH
“The last few years have seen recordings of my duos with Evelyn Glennie, John Zorn, Michel Doneda, Chris Cutler, and Annie Lewandowski. In the next 12 months, duos with Barry Guy, John Butcher, Lotte Anker, and Evan Parker also scheduled for release. More than any other form this seems to be the one that resonates with me the most: intense conversations with old and new friends. For this week at The Stone, after kicking off with the FF Trio, the focus will be entirely on spontaneous and wide-ranging dialogues with some of my favorite musicians.”
DEC 9—14

THE STONE RESIDENCIES
RAY ANDERSON
DEC 16—21

THE STONE RESIDENCIES
WILL CONNELL MEMORIAL WEEK: Celebrating the Life & Music of the Heart & Soul of Downtown
The son of a violin prodigy deprived of the profession by racist politics, Will Connell Jr. became aware of both music and the struggle for justice as a child of the ’40s. Jazz served as a source of art and great pride for the African American community, and its impact on Connell was nothing short of visceral: “I heard Billie Holiday at 17. Tears ran down my face like Niagara Falls.” That same year, 1956, Connell joined the US Air Force, serving some nine years. In between tours he purchased an alto saxophone but didn’t dedicate himself to music until surviving a chemical blast that blinded him for several days. Lying in an Air Force hospital in darkness, Connell vowed that if he regained his eyesight, he’d formally study this art that had driven him so deeply. This and the gnawing outrage about the military’s treatment of Black servicemen led to his decision re-join civilian life. Studies at LA City College (Dolphy’s alma mater) led to years of close work with Horace Tapscott wherein Connell served as reeds player and music librarian and copyist. The Tapscott organization was LA’s paramount arm of the Black Arts Movement and its immersion into African American culture and liberation had a lasting impact on Connell. By 1975 Connell relocated to NYC’s Lower East Side where he remains till today. Through the decades he has performed or recorded with such luminaries as, Cecil Taylor, Anthony Braxton, William Parker, Rahsaan Roland Kirk, Chico Hamilton, Pharoah Sanders, Butch Morris, Roy Campbell, Sam Rivers, Steve Swell, Billy Bang, Henry Threadgill, Oliver Lake, Daniel Carter, and many others. He also engaged in extensive projects as music copyist, most notably Ornette Coleman’s “Skies of America” as well as for David Murray’s Big Band, the World Saxophone Quartet and a bevy of R & B and pop artists ranging from Michael Jackson and Roberta Flack to Stevie Wonder and Simon & Garfunkel. Will Connell was a deeply relevant part of this rather unclassifiable musical genre which prides itself on free improvisation as much as post-modern composition, global sounds and the bite of revolutionary politics. Usually preferring to be a member of a band as opposed to its leader, Connell may have been the last of the modest greats. Having served as guest curator at the Stone in 2012, which brought him some note, and featured earlier this year in the Arts for Art organization’s series, and as a member of the Veterans of Free on the Tribute to “New York Eye & Ear Control” concert in June, this master of the New Jazz is now recalled at his rightful place at front and center.
Will’s sad and tragic recent passing was a shock to all of us in the Downtown music community. He was a kind and gentle soul, a lovely man who was always positive and supportive, and a great creative musician. He so looked forward to his residency, and we will try to present it as he envisioned, along with some touching tributes by his musical friends and colleagues.

CLOSED FOR CHRISTMAS EVE AND CHRISTMAS DAY
MERRY CHRISTMAS!
Twas the night before Christmas, when all through the house
Not a creature was stirring, not even a mouse;
The stockings were hung by the chimney with care,
In hopes that St. Nicholas soon would be there;
The children were nestled all snug in their beds,
While visions of sugar-plums danced in their heads;
Happy Christmas to all, and to all a good-night!

THE STONE RESIDENCIES
JOHN ZORN'S END OF THE YEAR IMPROV WEEK—A STONE BENEFIT
DEC 30—JAN 4
Our annual end of the year benefit week features some of the most exciting improvisers in New York. John Zorn will be appearing every night with a different lineup of creative musicians—so come on down multiple nights and help The Stone stay alive! All proceeds go to help pay our rent and upkeep. TWENTY FIVE DOLLARS