Dopolarians Garden Party CD

Dopolarians’ Garden Party brings together some of the legends of avant-garde jazz with an adventurous younger generation of improvisers from the southern United States to create beautiful, free, playful, listenable avant-garde jazz. Blending masterful free improvisation with hummable compositions that are guaranteed to get stuck in your head, this record has a decidedly blues-infused southern feeling to it.

The group and the session itself represent a collection of reunions. Alvin and Kidd were old, dear friends and collaborators, going back to when they formed the influential Improvisational Arts Quintet decades before the session. William, perhaps the most influential figure in avant-garde jazz today, had played extensively with Kidd and Alvin over the years. Christopher, Kidd, and Alvin had all collaborated many times previously, including Christopher’s performance on Alvin’s previous session as a leader, A Measure of Vision. Chad, Kelley, and Christopher have been playing together for a quarter century.

Despite the many connections, this was the first time this group of people had come together. Sadly, this session was the last date Alvin Fielder would make. He fell sick in late 2018 and passed away on January 5, 2019. A founding member of the AACM, Alvin was and is an inspiration to multiple generations of jazz musicians.