Formed in NYC in 1993, the improvising collective No-Neck Blues Band (NNCK) favors anonymity, autonomy, and obfuscation. Alongside founding member Keith Connolly (2016 AIR), they return to open ISSUE’s Fall season at First Unitarian Congregational Society in Brooklyn.
ISSUE presents the first commission from Eden Girma (2026 AIR). Part dreamscape and part summoning circle, an intimate diasporic familial archive is pieced together through the eyes of a five-year-old child.
In partnership with Franklin Furnace as part of their 50th anniversary commemoration and November release of "Back to the Present: 50 Years of Free Expression with Franklin Furnace" ISSUE presents an evening of performance and conversation.
Incorporating elements of noise, trance and minimalism, Sergei Tcherepnin (2012 AIR) presents new work for Serge Modular synthesizer.
Darmstadt celebrates Pauline Oliveros’ 80th birthday with a program celebrating Oliveros’s diverse body of work and a handful of her valued collaborators, including Swiss pianist Anmari Mëtsa Yabi Wili, Jason Hwang, Alex Waterman, Fast Forward, Jim Alteri, and Miguel Frasconi.
Susan Alcorn (+)1 (-)1 will feature a solo improvised performance by Alcorn followed by (Minus)One, ensemble curated by Janel Leppin, performing Alcorn’s compositions featuring Janel Leppin with Eyvind Kang, Jessika Kenney, Doug Wieselman, Anthony Pirog and Skulí Sverrisson.
The first night of Susan Alcorns residency will include new arrangements of Astor Piazzolla songs performed with Ryan Sawyer, Steve Swell, Darius Jones, Michael Formanek, Maria Chavez and Country Western Improv group with Skulí Sverrison, Ryan Sawyer, C Spencer Yeh, Beverly Keys, and Patrick Holmes.
John Butcher will perform his new work "The Geometry of Sentiment," a set of new pieces for acoustic and amplified saxophone developed for the distinctive acoustic space of ISSUE Project Room's new theater. Joined by Twistycat, the bass woodwinds brainchild of Ed Bear and Lea Bertucci.
"Histories" is a new collaborative evening-length work by Sleeping Giant, a companion piece to L’Histoire du Soldat that examines and contrasts our personal histories with Stravinsky’s seminal 1924 work.
Legendary pianist and poet Cecil Taylor is one of the greatest improvisers in the history of modern jazz. A Brooklynite for thirty years now, Cecil Taylor performs a spellbinding solo evening in his “back yard” at ISSUE Project Room’s unique new historic Downtown Brooklyn theater.
Cecil Taylor: A Celebration of the Maestro
In this evening dedicated to Cecil Taylor’s mastery and influence, virtuoso pianist Thollem McDonas will perform solo and with bass clarinetist Arrington de Dionyso, followed by a set from the thunderous percussionist and powerhouse bandleader William Hooker, joined by Mark Hennen, Larry Roland and Matt Lavelle.
