The 3rd Annual What You Will Improvisation Festival will take place this weekend, June 14th and 15th just outside of Columbus in Sunbury Ohio. WhatYouWill is a outdoor festival dedicated to the art of improvisation. The festival offers the chance for improvising musicians and listeners to share in the inspiration and relaxation of a serene rural environment. The hospitality of hosts Dale and Wendy Johnson gives the festival a true “family” feeling, and the presence of Dale’s many sculptures throughout the land lend their own creative inspiration to the proceedings. The program features both local and visiting artists, as well as some interstate Midwest collaborations.
* photo by Dan Focht
This schedule this year includes a wealth of talent from the Midwest including players from Cleveland, Detroit, and of course Columbus. Here is the Friday night and Saturday schedule:
Friday June 14th
4-7 pm. Arrivals, welcoming potluck buffet, set up camp…
7 pm – KENN THOMAS- piano, with JAIME RODRIGUEZ- guitar, from Detroit MI
8 pm – SETH DAILY- drums, with ANDREW SAIS- guitar, and DAVID WOLBERT- bass
9 pm ADAM SMITH- synths/percussion with CRISSIE TRIGGER- saw/violin (Springfield IL), KATHERINE PEPE- percussion, and BRANDON SMITH- drums
1030 pm – Afterhours jam w/hosts KENN THOMAS, ADAM SMITH, ANTHONY JACOBS, and CRISSIE TRIGGER.
Saturday June 15th
HS = house stage, W = woods
10am – 1pm – COLLABORATIVE SESSIONS — We’ll have two different open sessions during this time. 1st session is a free/outside jazz session hosted by Gerard Cox and the second will be an electronic session hosted by Steve Simula. We don’t mean to make fences but feel like it will be better to give each one a general focus so that people don’t end up fighting for space. PARTICIPATION is tag-team based. 10 people jamming at once isn’t good for anybody. Cap is on 5 musicians at a time. Please help us increase participation by making way for new people to join on stage.
W 1 pm HANS UTTER, sitar
W 2 pm THE VILLAGERS: Anthony Jacobs- flute/trombone, Brooke Smith and Michael Cundiff percussion, Hasan Abdur-Razzaq: balafon, Steve Simula- hang steel drums. In the woods by the big oak tree.
HS 3 pm BEATS TO THE OUTSIDE SESSION. Led by NAPOLEON MADDOX- vox, ERIC BROWN -drums/sampler, EVAN OBERLA- trombone, and KENN THOMAS- keyboards. A new kind of set at WhatYouWill, that explores the intersection of outside jazz and hip-hop. They’ll play some and then open the stage to a few different guests.
FIELD 4 pm TONY ZILINCIK- solo tuba
HS 430 pm TIM FLOOD- electronics, with source material also used on his stellar Mag Mell EP.
HS 5 pm HASAN ABDUR-RAZZAQ- saxophones, with ED RICART- guitar, Washington D.C./Yellow Springs), TIM FLOOD- bass, Ann Arbor and KURT PRISBE- drums, Detroit. Special guests DON VOLENIK- trumpet, Akron and DAN WENNINGER- saxophone, Cleveland
HS 6 pm DINNER BREAK / OPEN SESSION
HS 7 pm L.A. JENKINS, solo, and with DAN WENNINGER- soprano saxophone, DAVID MANSBACH- bass, and CHRIS WELDON- amplified cello.
HS 8 pm “MIDWEST NEW THING PART II”. Midwestern style free jazz with DON VOLENIK- trumpet, DAN WENNINGER- saxophone, AARON PUTNAM- piano, KENN THOMAS- keys, DAVID MANSBACH- bass, and KURT PRISBE- drums
HOUSE 8:45 WINCHESTER HOWSE BAND, with DALE JOHNSON- words/piano, and GERARD COX- drums.
HS 930 pm I not 1: collective improvisation ensemble spanning a wide variety of influences. With BRYAN STEWART- bass, DJ mixer, STEVE SIMULA- keys/IPAD, MICHAEL CUNDIFF- percussion/homemade instruments, ANTHONY JACOBS- trombone/flute/mandolin, and CHRIS WELDON- amplified cello, cymbals.
HS 1030 pm OPEN SESSIONS TIL CLOSE
Saturday late-night feature: After-Midnight sculpture tour w/Dale Johnson
What You Will Improvisation Festival
June 14th-15th, 2013
4820 Beard Road
Sunbury, OH 43074