On Saturday March 20 at 7:00 PM, I hope you will come to celebrate the release of my book, Song & Glass at Brick Bat Books. I’ll be joined by Jason Ajemian & members of the High Life before they head out on tour in support of their new album, Let Me Get That Digital. Jason is primarily an improvisational musician based in NYC. He also happens to be an old friend of mine. He & the High Life will perform a short set early in the evening, then I will do a short reading from Song & Glass, and finally there will be another longer set of music from Jason and Co. It should be a great night!

Here are a few bits about Jason and the High Life:

Jason Ajemian has acquired a high profile in the improvised music scene over the years, performing with Rob Mazurek’s Mandarin Movie, Exploding Star Orchestra, and Chicago Underground Trio, Ken Vandermark’s Crisis Ensemble, and currently with Marc Ribot’s new group Sun Ship. Ajemian’s curiosity has ranged far and wide - he’s just as comfortable in the hushed, folksy setting of Born Heller, his duo with Josephine Foster, as he is in the majestic, breathing-based arrangements of his large ensemble Who Cares How Long You Sink.

“Jason Ajemian and the HighLife is a home where the concepts behind all of this wonderful music can comfortably reside. Formed at the Harold Arts Residency in rural Ohio, Jason Ajemian and the HighLife features a carefully structured approach to improvisation that nevertheless leads to music that sounds immediate and effortless. Ajemian’s poems serve as signposts; the scores, created in the architectural drafting program AutoCAD, guide the musicians through musical hallways to unexpected locales. His blueprints dictate the flow and direction of the set, opening the performers up to visual and descriptive influences, leading them through a unique musical landscape of American folk forms, Native American chants, Canadian sea shanties, jazz expressive motion and balladry. The end result is this album, fearless and thoughtful, with free improvisations that follow a unique dreamlike logic.” - Jacob Kart