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Stephen Haynes is an improviser, arts organizer and recording artist. His practice ranges from small groups to large orchestras with a focus on working directly with composers in the development of new music. His work is featured on Pillars, Tyshawn Sorey’s groundbreaking work for octet released on Firehouse 12 Records. He is also a founding member of Adam Rudolph’s East Coast version of Go: Organic Orchestra.
Haynes records for New Atlantis Records, most recently releasing Pomegranate, a quintet with Joe Morris, Ben Stapp, William Parker and Warren Smith. His new brass band, Knuckleball, will tour and record during the spring of 2023.
Over the past 40 years, Haynes has worked with a range of vanguard composers including Bill Dixon, Cecil Taylor, George Russell, Butch Morris, Rhys Chatham, LaMonte Young and Earle Brown.
Newest Project: Knuckleball
Stephen Haynes, Taylor Ho Bynum & Herb Robertson / cornet, flugelhorn; Sam Newsome / soprano saxophone; Josh Roseman / trombones; Ben Stapp / tuba; Eric Rosenthal / drums and percussion
Knuckleball tours New England - supported by NEFA - during the spring of 2023, with performances at the Shea Theater in Turners Falls MA/Pioneer Valley Jazz Shares; Firehouse 12 and Real Art Ways. The ensemble will be recorded live and in the studio at Firehouse 12 for commercial release in 2024.
Knuckleball – the music – explores the relationship between notation and improvisation, blurring the distinctions between the two for the listener. What is ‘free’ and what is pre-arranged? The instrumentation takes an established ensemble configuration – the brass band (think New Orleans, Balkan Brass Bands) and pours it into the vessel of Free Music practice. Rhythm, harmony and narrative get explored and exploded in this context and the resulting sound – for the listener – will suggest both the familiar and the unexpected.
Knuckleball - the ensemble - is built upon and deeply informed by the relational. Haynes and Ho Bynum have been collaborating for over 25 years. Similarly, long-term collaborative relationships with Herb Robertson, Ben Stapp and Eric Rosenthal ground the ensemble. Haynes has worked with Newsome – one of the most unique voices in the music – for several years, in a range of settings. Josh Roseman has never worked with Haynes before. All of the players are leaders in their own right – as players and composers – and share a deep and abiding commitment to collective ensemble improvisation.
Additional Content:
Cornetist Stephen Haynes has released his first New Atlantis effort, Pomegranate, a quintet w/Joe Morris, Ben Stapp, William Parker and Warren Smith. “Mangui Fii Reek (I am Still Here)” is shared here.
Institution/Business Type:
Artist / Creative (Individual)
Legal Status:
Commercial / For profit - Sole proprietorship
Institution/Business Type:
Artist / Creative (Individual)
Legal Status:
Commercial / For profit - Sole proprietorship
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Music - JazzAdditional Disciplines:
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Arts Center
Date: 01/1995-12/2023
I maintain a long-running collaborative relationship with Real Art Ways - for over a quarter century. Highlights include: 1) Artist-in-Residence (2004-05); 2) 6 years of co-curating the Improvisations series (10 plus events per season); 3) 4 years of working as a teaching artist in support of the Park Arts summer program, 5) NEFA supported presentation – performance and live recording - of Knuckleball (see profile description) in spring 2023.
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Negotiated on a case-by-case basisTeaching Settings:
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ConnecticutMinimum Number of Performers:
2Maximum Number of Performers:
7