Flotation Device pays homage to Abdul Wadud (1947–2022) and Salman Rushdie in this special podcast. We honor jazz history's prototypical jazz cellist with a selection of tracks featuring Wadud alone and with the likes of Julius Hemphill, Arthur Blythe and James Blood Ulmer. And the world's most prominent symbol of freedom of speech is honored with settings of his words by Bono and Charles Wuorinen.
Our “50 years ago in the avant-garde” feature looks back at Miles Davis’s densest, most exploratory period, examining its impact on contemporary avant-fusion as exemplified by The Vex Collection and the Brandon Seabrook Trio. Derek Bermel offers a more folk-inflected kind of fusion in his new album, while Vesal Javaheri represents the Iranian musical underground. A pair of postminimalist-informed stylings by Misha Penton and Mary Finsterer, plus a Stockhausen anniversary cameo, round out the playlist. Creative and improvised music that you won’t find on any Supreme Leader's playlist.
