Michael Schell
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Michael Schell
@schellsburg.com
87 followers 140 following 150 posts
Composer/intermedia artist, host of Flotation Device on 91.3 KBCS, contributor to Sequenza 21, cribbage player. Views expressed are mine and no one else's. https://linktr.ee/MichaelSchell
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This week's expanded podcast celebrates Rzewski's The People United Will Never Be Defeated! on its 50th birthday, previews Seattle Symphony's traversal of Qigang Chen's cross-cultural Iris Unveiled, and samples Old-meets-New themed works by Weeks, Seo & Martinaitytė.
www.mixcloud.com/FlotationDev...
Flotation Device 2026-02-08 - The People Unveiled
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February 10, 2026 at 9:30 PM
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Tonight we celebrate The People United Will Never Be Defeated! at 50 w/six different pianists including composer Frederic Rzewski. Plus Iris Unveiled at Seattle Symphony, and Old Meets New w/@jamesweeks.bsky.social, Juri Seo and Žibuoklė Martinaitytė.
Sunday 10pm PST 91.3fm kbcs.fm @kbcs.bsky.social
Photo credits: Meng Meng via Seattle Symphony, Frederic Rzewski by Michael Wilson, Qigang Chen and Olivier Messiaen via Qigang Chen, Žibuoklė Martinaitytė by Tomas Terekas, James Weeks via the artist, Juri Seo via the artist, Latitude 49 via New Amsterdam Records, score excerpt from The People United Will Never Be Defeated!. Flotation Device features creative and improvised music from the Northwest and around the world with host Michael Schell, Sunday nights 10pm–Midnight Pacific Time on 91.3 KBCS-FM Bellevue/Seattle/Tacoma. Visit us online at https://www.mixcloud.com/FlotationDevice
February 9, 2026 at 1:43 AM
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Podcast Monday is back! This week we salute the Iranian avant-garde (as it shows us how free musical thought can persist in a hostile environment) and Anthony Braxton's freethinking album Creative Orchestra Music 1976 on its 50th birthday.
www.mixcloud.com/FlotationDev... @kbcs.bsky.social
Flotation Device 2026-02-01 - Free Music From Iran & Chicago
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February 2, 2026 at 5:49 PM
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Tonight Flotation Device begins its 50-year celebration to Anthony Braxton's Creative Orchestra Music 1976. Plus a salute to the Iranian avant-garde (w/Sote, IFCA & Laibach), and new albums by Kalevi Aho and Marc-André Hamelin.
Sun 10pm PST 91.3fm kbcs.fm
@kbcs.bsky.social @newfocuslabel.bsky.social
Photo credits: Alireza Amirhajebi by AmirAli Piroozbakhsh, Laibach (Janez Gabrič, Luka Jamnik, Milan Fras, Donna Marina Mårtensson, Jani Novak) via the artists, Alireza Mashayekhi via Toos Foundation, Kalevi Aho by Kuva Rajattu, Marc-André Hamelin by Benjamin Ealovega, Anthony Braxton via Mosaic Records, Creative Orchestra Music 1976 artwork by Frederick J. Brown, Anahita Abbasi by Michael Schell, Nasim Khorassani via the artist, Wet Ink Ensemble (Antonio, Lesser, Pluta, Mincek, Soper, Wubbels, Modney) via the artists, Ata Ebtekar AKA Sote via the artist, Iranian Female Composers Association by Deniz Khateri, Hiyoli Togawa by Anne Hornemann. Flotation Device features creative and improvised music from the Northwest and around the world with host Michael Schell, Sunday nights 10pm–Midnight Pacific Time on 91.3 KBCS-FM Bellevue/Seattle/Tacoma. Visit us online at https://www.mixcloud.com/FlotationDevice
February 2, 2026 at 3:55 AM
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Now in podcast format (with HQ audio and a fast-forward button): Ralph Towner (1940–2026), Horse Lords, Xenakis, David Lang, Chaya Czernowin, the Rosa Ensemble, Novoa/Gress/Gray trio and more.
www.mixcloud.com/FlotationDev... @kbcs.bsky.social @chaya-czernowin.bsky.social @devingraymusic.bsky.social
Flotation Device 2026-01-25 - Ralph Towner
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January 27, 2026 at 1:09 PM
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I saw The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier & Clay at my local cineplex via The Metropolitan Opera's Live in HD series, and wrote about why a movie theater is exactly the right place to see it. It streams again this week at selected cinemas.
www.sequenza21.com/2026/01/maso... @mason-bates.bsky.social
Opera as Hollywood: The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier & Clay
Michael Schell reviews Mason Bates' new opera, and explains why it works better in movie theaters than at the opera house.
www.sequenza21.com
January 26, 2026 at 9:01 PM
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Tonight we bid farewell to Ralph Towner with a look at his career as guitarist & bandleader. Plus Horse Lords, Novoa/Gress/Gray, Gavin Higgins, David Lang & Chaya Czernowin.
Sun 10pm PST 91.3fm kbcs.fm
@kbcs.bsky.social @chaya-czernowin.bsky.social @gavhiggins.bsky.social @devingraymusic.bsky.social
Photo credits: Nicolaus Richter de Vroe by Astrid Ackermann, Frederic Rzewski by Roberto Cifarelli, Ralph Towner in 1975, Eva Novoa via the artist, David Lang by Dacia Clay, Oregon in 2010 (Ralph Towner, Paul McCandless, Mark Walker, Glen Moore) by Efrem Lukatsky, Gavin Higgins via the artist, Chaya Czernowin by Ittai Bar-Joseph, Horse Lords+ (Owen Gardner, Arnold Dreyblatt, Andrea Belfi, Andrew Bernstein, Max Eilbacher) by Camille Blake, Iannis Xenakis in Xenakis Revolution, Farabi Toshiyuki Suzuki via the artist, Daniel Goode via the artist. Flotation Device features creative and improvised music from the Northwest and around the world with host Michael Schell, Sunday nights 10pm–Midnight Pacific Time on 91.3 KBCS-FM Bellevue/Seattle/Tacoma. Visit us online at https://www.mixcloud.com/FlotationDevice
January 26, 2026 at 4:21 AM
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Another mid-week podcast brings both new voices and old friends. Mitchell/Gentile, Crispell, Łukowiec, Tabakova, Halvorson and Kris Davis play Zorn, BMOP plays Shuying Li and Bernstein plays Ives!
www.mixcloud.com/FlotationDev... @kbcs.bsky.social @maryhalvorson.bsky.social @shuyingli.bsky.social
Flotation Device 2026-01-04 - Out Came The New Year
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January 23, 2026 at 3:01 AM
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Happy Podcast Monday! David Tudor at 100. Yarn/Wire in Seattle. Plus Cage, Reich, Tyondai Braxton, Ensemble Intercontemporain, Yikii, Charles Rumback, Stephan Crump and more.
www.mixcloud.com/FlotationDev... @yarnwire.bsky.social @stevereich.bsky.social @nonesuch.com @ensembleinter.bsky.social
Flotation Device 2026-01-18 - David Tudor At 100
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January 19, 2026 at 6:14 PM
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Tonight on Flotation Device:
-David Tudor at 100
-Yarn/Wire comes to Seattle
-New things by Yikii, Otherlands Trio, Rosa Ensemble, For Living Lovers & Charles Rumback
Sun 10pm PST 91.3fm kbcs.fm
@kbcs.bsky.social @yarnwire.bsky.social @stevereich.bsky.social @nonesuch.com @tyondaibraxton.bsky.social
Photo credits: Yikii via the artist, Tyondai Braxton by Dustin Condren, Yarn/Wire (Julia Den Boer, Sae Hashimoto, Russell Greenberg, Laura Barger) via the artists, David Tudor and Rainforest at the Andy Warhol Museum in 1994, Enno Poppe via Ricordi, Otherlands Trio (Stephan Crump, Eric McPherson, Darius Jones) via the artists, David Tudor by Betsy Epstein Williams, Lingyuan Yang via the artist, Steve Reich by Jeff Herman, Morton Feldman and Karen Phillips by Steven Sloman, Bekah Simms by Riley Stewart, Lila Meretzky via the artist. Flotation Device features creative and improvised music from the Northwest and around the world with host Michael Schell, Sunday nights 10pm–Midnight Pacific Time on 91.3 KBCS-FM Bellevue/Seattle/Tacoma. Visit us online at https://www.mixcloud.com/FlotationDevice
January 19, 2026 at 2:48 AM
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A rare Friday podcast features the rest of the best of 2025, w/Pärt, Silvestrov & Gubaidulina premieres, plus Zorn, Jarrett, Andres, Halvorson, Laubrock, Fujikura & more.
tinyurl.com/FD236 @nonesuch.com @kbcs.bsky.social @ingridlaubrock.bsky.social @maryhalvorson.bsky.social @daifujikura.bsky.social
Flotation Device 2025-12-28 - The Best of 2025, Part 2
Flotation Device presents the rest of the best of 2025, led by premiere recordings of music by Sofia Gubaidulina, Valentin Silvestrov, Arvo Pärt (channeling the Eiffel Tower's tri-level architecture),...
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January 17, 2026 at 12:08 AM
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Now in expanded podcast format: our 100th birthday tribute to Morton Feldman, with Cage, Zappa, Joan La Barbara, Michael Tilson Thomas, Tyshawn Sorey, Louis Andriessen and more.
www.mixcloud.com/FlotationDev... @kbcs.bsky.social @philipthomas.bsky.social @alarmwillsound.bsky.social @nonesuch.com
Flotation Device 2026-01-11 - Feldman at 100
Flotation Device celebrates the 100th birthday of Morton Feldman with a retrospective of his famously slow, quiet and gripping music. Our sampling draws on his shortest and longest, earliest and lates...
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January 12, 2026 at 11:39 PM
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Tonight we celebrates Morton Feldman at 100 with Joan La Barbara, John Cage, Michael Tilson Thomas, and composers like Sorey, Sciarrino and Andriessen that were influenced by Feldman.
Sunday 10pm PST 91.3fm kbcs.fm
@kbcs.bsky.social @philipthomas.bsky.social @alarmwillsound.bsky.social @nonesuch.com
Photo credits: Cergio Prudencio via Kairos Records, Morton Feldman by Philip Guston, Morton Feldman by Steven Slomana, Bryn Harrison via University of Huddersfield, Kris Davis by Peter Gannushkin, The King of Denmark by Morton Feldman, Morton Feldman and John Cage via Non Profit, Louis Andriessen by Francesca Patella, Mark Rothko by Denisova Olesya Alexandrovna, Joan La Barbara by Roberto Massoti, Tyshawn Sorey via the artist. Flotation Device features creative and improvised music from the Northwest and around the world with host Michael Schell, Sunday nights 10pm–Midnight Pacific Time on 91.3 KBCS-FM Bellevue/Seattle/Tacoma. Visit us online at https://www.mixcloud.com/FlotationDevice
January 12, 2026 at 1:26 AM
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Happy Podcast Monday. Today brings our Wozzeck at 100 celebration, with a look at history's most radical opera, a contemporary counterpart from Mary Kouyoumdjian (with FCC censorship), plus Jacob Garchik, Zorn, Monk & more.
www.mixcloud.com/FlotationDev... @jacobgarchik.bsky.social @kbcs.bsky.social
Flotation Device 2025-12-14 - Wozzeck and its progeny
Flotation Device salutes Alban Berg’s game-changing opera Wozzeck on its 100th anniversary, sampling it in English and German versions, and marveling at dramatically it expanded the harmonic and drama...
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January 6, 2026 at 1:20 AM
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Tonite Flotation Device begins 2026 w/old friends and new voices. Halvorson, Marsella, Kris Davis & Medeski play Zorn. +Mitchell/Gentile, Crispell, BMOP, Kendall, Steph Richards and even Bernstein & Ives!
Sun 10pm PST 91.3fm kbcs.fm
@kbcs.bsky.social @maryhalvorson.bsky.social @shuyingli.bsky.social
Photo credits: Out Came the Sun by Tanner Porter (for Shuying Li), Mark Feldman by Michael Jackson, Dobrinka Tabakova by Benjamin Ealovega, John Zorn by David Garland, Denis Dufour via the artist, Steph Richards by Chris Weiss, Marilyn Crispell by Bobby Glazer, circuit by John Bischoff, Charles Ives via the Charles Ives Society, Les mercenaires de l'amour fou (Christian Bucher, Matthias Reinhard-DeRoo, Martin Medimorec) via the artists, Paweł Łukowiec by Joanna Klich, Matt Mitchell and Kate Gentile via the artists, Hannah Kendall by Emily Denny. Flotation Device features creative and improvised music from the Northwest and around the world with host Michael Schell, Sunday nights 10pm–Midnight Pacific Time on 91.3 KBCS-FM Bellevue/Seattle/Tacoma. Visit us online at https://www.mixcloud.com/FlotationDevice
January 4, 2026 at 11:46 PM
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Now at Sequenza21.com: my favorite new albums of 2025. Compelling, exploratory music that bucks the trends of destruction and vulgarity. Reich, Gubaidulina, Sun Ra, Monk, Zorn, Pärt, Hosokawa, Laibach, Fujikura and many others
www.sequenza21.com/2025/12/sche... @daifujikura.bsky.social @nonesuch.com
Music of interesting times: Schell’s picks for 2025
Michael Schell's favorite new albums of exploratory music from 2025. Compelling works that resist the twin threats of destructiveness and vulgarization, while carrying forward a musical tradition that...
www.sequenza21.com
December 31, 2025 at 8:28 PM
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Cross-cultural music takes the spotlight in our latest podcast which celebrates Bright Sheng at 70 and David Shea at 60 with music for Chinese and Western instruments. Plus Meredith Monk, Jarrett, Amina Claudine Myers and more.
mixcloud.com/FlotationDev... @orenambarchi.bsky.social @kbcs.bsky.social
Flotation Device 2025-12-07 - Bright Sheng at 70
Cross-cultural music takes the spotlight as we celebrate the 70th birthday of Chinese-born American composer Bright Sheng with a sampling of his works for Western and Chinese instruments. We also cele...
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December 31, 2025 at 12:46 AM
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Tonight Flotation Device continues its review of the best new albums of 2025 with Pärt, Jarrett, Gubaidulina, Zorn, Laubrock, Halvorson, Monk, Andres and more
Sunday 10pm PST 91.3fm kbcs.fm
@kbcs.bsky.social @nonesuch.com @timoandres.bsky.social @ingridlaubrock.bsky.social @maryhalvorson.bsky.social
Photo credits: Sofia Gubaidulina via Sikorski, Timo Andres by Jason Marck, Koan 3 by Ingrid Laubrock, John Zorn in MindFlux 2010, Keith Jarrett by Rose Anne Colavito, Beckmesser harp by Horngacher, Daphne Oram via Electronic Sound, Gabriel Prokofiev by Nathan Gallagher, Meredith Monk by Julieta Cervantes, Sylvie Courvoisier and Mary Halvorson by Caroline Mardok, Ornette Coleman by Michael Hoefner, Cosa Brava (Zeena Parkins, Norman Teale, Fred Frith, Carla Kihlstedt, Matthias Bossi) by Heike Liss, Eiffel Tower by Leslie Fehling, Cantica Profana (John Surman, Lucian Ban, Mat Maneri) by Mircea Albutiu. Flotation Device features creative and improvised music from the Northwest and around the world with host Michael Schell, Sunday nights 10pm–Midnight Pacific Time on 91.3 KBCS-FM Bellevue/Seattle/Tacoma. Visit us online at https://www.mixcloud.com/FlotationDevice
December 29, 2025 at 12:45 AM
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Podcast Monday brings an expedited expanded edition of last night's "best of 2025" program, with Reich, Berne, Paxton, Rzewski, Alberga, Ross and more. Plus Wayne Horvitz's Pigpen reunites at The Royal Room.
www.mixcloud.com/FlotationDev... @stevereich.bsky.social @nonesuch.com @kbcs.bsky.social
Flotation Device 2025-12-21 - The Best Of 2025, Part 1
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December 23, 2025 at 12:34 AM
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Tonight Flotation Device begins its annual review of the year's top new releases of exploratory music. Reich, Rzewski, Paxton, Mitchell, Serpa, Gentile, Alberga and Wayne Horvitz's Pigpen are among the headliners
Sunday 10pm PST 91.3fm kbcs.fm
@kbcs.bsky.social @stevereich.bsky.social @nonesuch.com
Photo credits: Eleanor Alberga by Ben Ealovega, Tim Berne Trio (Gregg Belisle-Chi, Tom Rainey, Tim Berne) by Sarah Berne, Ig Henneman by Francesca Patella, Steve Reich by Jesse Yang, Peter Eötvös by Jean-Francois Leclercq, self portrait by Alex Paxton, Pigpen (Briggan Krauss, Fred Chalenor, Mike Stone, Wayne Horvitz) via Wayne Horvitz, Trio Mediæval (Linn Andrea Fuglseth, Anna Maria Friman, Jorunn Lovise Husan) by Åsa Maria Mikkelsen, Nastasia Khrushcheva via Melodiya, Sifters (Jeremy Viner, Marc Ducret, Kate Gentile) via the artists, Frederic Rzewski via Nonesuch Records, Stomu Takeishi by Daniel Sheehan, Putu Septa via Other Minds. Flotation Device features creative and improvised music from the Northwest and around the world with host Michael Schell, Sunday nights 10pm–Midnight Pacific Time on 91.3 KBCS-FM Bellevue/Seattle/Tacoma. Visit us online at https://www.mixcloud.com/FlotationDevice
December 22, 2025 at 3:24 AM
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Happy Podcast Monday! Sample GF Haas' microtonal 2nd Violin Concerto in its premiere rec. Plus Younghi Pagh-Paan at 80, Zorn, Rzewski, Scelsi, Dave Lombardo, Raven Chacon, John Dieterich, Brandon Ross & more.
www.mixcloud.com/FlotationDev...
@urlicht.music @kbcs.bsky.social @davelombardo.bsky.social
Flotation Device 2025-11-30 - Haas, Sonami, Pagh-Paan
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December 15, 2025 at 9:02 PM
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Happy 100th BD to Wozzeck, the most iconic modern opera. We'll celebrate in English & German and hear its influence in Mary Kouyoumdjian's Adoration. Plus Jacob Garchik, Zorn, Rzewski, Monk & more.
Sunday 10pm PST 91.3fm kbcs.fm
@jacobgarchik.bsky.social @maryhalvorson.bsky.social @kbcs.bsky.social
Photo credits: Frederic Rzewski by Lynn Garon, Ye Olde plus Simulacrus (Miles Okazaki, Josh Dion, Mary Halvorson, Ava Mendoza, Sean Moran, Jacob Garchik, Vinnie Sperrazza, Brandon Seabrook, Jonathan Goldberger) by Ernest Stuart, Elisabeth Steiner and Toni Blankenheim in Wozzeck (Staatsoper Hamburg 1970), Cenk Ergün via the artist, Adoration (Marc Kudisch, Naomi Louisa O'Connell, Omar Najmi) by Maria Baranova, Matt Choboter by Krestine Havemann, Chaos Magick (Brian Marsella, Matt Hollenberg, John Medeski, Kenny Grohowski) via Roulette Intermedium, Mako Sica (Przemyslaw Krzysztof Drazek, Hamid Drake, Tatsu Aoki, Brent Fuscaldo, Thymme Jones) by Taylor Hales, Meredith Monk by Julieta Cervantes. Flotation Device features creative and improvised music from the Northwest and around the world with host Michael Schell, Sunday nights 10pm–Midnight Pacific Time on 91.3 KBCS-FM Bellevue/Seattle/Tacoma. Visit us online at https://www.mixcloud.com/FlotationDevice
December 15, 2025 at 3:34 AM
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This week's podcast celebrates the 100th birthday of Gunther Schuller, the 90th of Helmut Lachenmann, the 60th of Björk and the 50th anniversary of Feldman's Piano & Orchestra. Plus new things by Alec Hall and the Dwarfs of East Agouza.
www.mixcloud.com/FlotationDev... @universaledition.bsky.social
Flotation Device 2025-11-23 - Lachenmann, Schuller, Björk
Flotation Device celebrates the 100th birthday of Gunther Schuller, who helped bridge the worlds of jazz and classical music. We're helped by Ornette Coleman, Eric Dolphy and Nat Hentoff among others,...
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December 10, 2025 at 12:41 AM
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Meredith Monk has a new documentary film (Monk in Pieces) and a new album on ECM (Cellular Songs, which we sampled on Flotation Device last night). I wrote about both—and her probable legacy—for Sequenza21.com.
www.sequenza21.com/2025/12/mere... @philipglass.bsky.social @kbcs.bsky.social
Meredith Monk in review
The acclaimed singer, minimalist and intermedia artist gets a new documentary and a new record.
www.sequenza21.com
December 9, 2025 at 3:57 AM
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Now in podcast format, our tribute to Jack DeJohnette. Plus Meredith Monk's new album, Prudencio at 70, Alex Paxton, Zappa's unusual Fall '75 band, Clone Row, Aquaserge and more.
www.mixcloud.com/FlotationDev... @kbcs.bsky.social @maryhalvorson.bsky.social‬ @nonesuch.com @newamrecords.bsky.social
Flotation Device 2025-11-02 - DeJohnette, Zappa, Prudencio
Flotation Device salutes the fecundity, positivity and multidimensionality of Jack DeJohnette (1942–2025), possibly the most versatile drummer in jazz history, proficient at fusion, bebop and free jaz...
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December 1, 2025 at 10:11 PM