Flotation Device 2026-02-01 - Free music from Iran & Chicago

Flotation Device celebrates Anthony Braxton's Creative Orchestra Music 1976 on its 50th anniversary with an in-depth look at two of its six iconic compositions, both in their original studio versions and in live renditions by Wet Ink Ensemble, Ferry Good Company and Braxton himself. We also pay tribute to the Iranian avant-garde with a sampling of new and recent recordings that show the persistence of free musical thought in that beleaguered nation. Alireza Mashayekhi (the father of Iranian experimental music), Reza Vali, Nasim Khorassani, Arash Yazdani, Anahita Abbasi, Sote and Alireza Amirhajebi are among the featured artists, as are Nima A. Rowshan and Idin Samimi Mofakham who collaborated with Laibach on their epic Alamut project that now seems prophetic. New albums by Kalevi Aho and Marc-André Hamelin round out the proceedings. Creative and improvised music from the Northwest and around the world with host Michael Schell.