Photo by Ines Kaiser

On Friday, March 9th, Darcy James Argue and his acclaimed big band Secret Society will return to Brooklyn’s Galapagos Art Space, where they celebrated the release of their GRAMMY® nominated 2009 debut, Infernal Machines (New Amsterdam Records), for a special double-bill with the new music collective Anti-Social Music.

The music will begin at 7:00 p.m. with Anti-Social Music (ASM) performing archival music from 11tet, a now-defunct jazz composers workshop from the late 1990′s, as well as new works written for ASM by Kamala Sankaram, Dan Lasaga and Pat Muchmore. The group’s members include Franz Nicolay (Hold Steady), Peter Hess (Balkan Beat Box), Jean Cook (Jon Langford, Ida), Ed RosenBerg (jerseyband) and John Wriggle (Ex Caminos).

Secret Society will follow with a set featuring Vijay Iyer’s “Three Fragments” and David T. Little’s “Conspiracy Theory”, two pieces commissioned by the band and premiered at the Ecstatic Music Festival in February 2011, as well as a suite of original music from the score of Brooklyn Babylon and other selections from the ensemble’s growing catalog.

Doors open at 6:00 p.m. Advance tickets are available online for $20.

Learn more about Anti-Social Music and Darcy James Argue’s Secret Society at http://antisocialmusic.org and http://www.secretsocietymusic.org

After a quick detour to New York for APAP|NYC and Winter Jazzfest last week, we’re now officially up and running with our newly expanded client roster for 2012. It is our great pleasure to be serving as the exclusive media contact for these nine musicians and two labels throughout our 10th anniversary year.

Please click on the following links to visit each client’s page on our site for additional information.

AUM Fidelity
Darcy James Argue
Eric Hofbauer
Fay Victor
James Falzone
Jason Stein
Jon Irabagon
Josh Sinton
Mary Halvorson
Myra Melford
Playscape Recordings

For those not familiar with our roster system, this is the third consecutive year we’ll be working with a small group of clients to help them promote all of their performing and recording activities on a per-year basis. This is intended to be a more organic alternative to the traditional one-off system in which individual events or recordings are promoted outside the larger context of one’s overall career. In cases where a venue or label already has a publicity infrastructure in place, we will augment that promotion as appropriate by collaborating with those existing contacts. In short, if at any point you have any questions or requests related to the 11 clients listed above, please direct them to us and we’ll be happy to help.

In the meantime, thank you for your continued support of independent creative improvised music and we look forward to being in touch with you about all the exciting projects our clients are a part of in 2012.

Congratulations to our clients on being recognized by the following 2011 polls and year-end lists!

Darcy James Argue

DownBeat Critics’ Poll: Rising Star Composer (#1)

DownBeat Critics’ Poll: Rising Star Big Band (#2)

DownBeat Readers’ Poll: Big Band (#2)

JazzTimes Readers’ Poll: Best Big Band (#3)

100 Composers Under 40
—NPR in conjunction with WQXR 

Top 10 concerts/gigs in Ottawa
—Peter Hum, Ottawa Citizen 

Top 10 Concerts Of The Year (Brooklyn Babylon)
—David R. Adler, New York City Jazz Record

Noteworthy Live Shows This Year (Brooklyn Babylon)
—Ralph A. Miriello, Jazz Journalists Association

AUM Fidelity

Darius Jones

Musicians Of The Year
—The New York City Jazz Record

Darius Jones & Matthew Shipp, Cosmic Lieder (AUM066)

Top 10 New Releases of 2011
—Francis Davis, Rhapsody Jazz Critics’ Poll 

Top 10 New Releases of 2011
—Steve Dollar, Rhapsody Jazz Critics’ Poll 

Top 10 New Releases of 2011
—Ed Hazell, Rhapsody Jazz Critics’ Poll 

Top 10 New Releases of 2011
—Tim Niland, Rhapsody Jazz Critics’ Poll 

Top Albums For 2011
—S. Victor Aaron, Something Else!

Top 10 New Releases For 2011
—Tim Niland, Music and More 

Top 10 of 2011
—Stanley Zappa, Free Jazz 

Top 30 of 2011
—Andrew Forbes, THIS IS OUR MUSIC.

2011’s Ten Best New Releases
—Alain Drouot, Jazz Journalists Association

Albums of the Year: Honorable Mentions
—The New York City Jazz Record 

Top 10 Concerts of the Year
—Andrey Henkin, The New York City Jazz Record

Farmers By Nature, Out Of This World’s Distortions (AUM067)

Top 5 Albums of 2011
—Kevin Le Gendre, BBC 

Top 10 New Releases of 2011
—David Fricke, Rhapsody Jazz Critics’ Poll 

Top 10 New Releases of 2011
—John Sharpe, Rhapsody Jazz Critics’ Poll 

Top Ten New Releases of 2011
—Kevin Le Gendre, Jazzwise 

Top Ten New Releases of 2011
—Daniel Spicer, Jazzwise 

Best New Jazz/Improvised Music Albums of 2011
—Steve Holtje, Culture Catch

Albums of the Year: Honorable Mentions
—The New York City Jazz Record 

Best Releases of 2011
—John Sharpe, AllAboutJazz.com 

David S. Ware/Cooper-Moore/WilliamParker/Muhammad Ali, Planetary Unknown (AUM068)

Jazz & Improv A-Z
—The Wire 

Record Of The Year (#34)
—Rhapsody Jazz Critics’ Poll

Top 10 New Releases of 2011
—Clifford Allen, Rhapsody Jazz Critics’ Poll 

Top 10 New Releases of 2011
—Larry Birnbaum, Rhapsody Jazz Critics’ Poll 

Top 10 New Releases of 2011
—Troy Collins, Rhapsody Jazz Critics’ Poll 

Top 10 New Releases of 2011
—Steve Dollar, Rhapsody Jazz Critics’ Poll 

Top 10 New Releases of 2011
—David Fricke, Rhapsody Jazz Critics’ Poll 

Top 10 New Releases of 2011
—Aiden Levy, Rhapsody Jazz Critics’ Poll 

Top 10 New Releases of 2011
—Chris Monsen, Rhapsody Jazz Critics’ Poll 

Top 10 New Releases of 2011
—Bret Saunders, Rhapsody Jazz Critics’ Poll 

Top Ten New Releases of 2011
— Daniel Spicer, Jazzwise 

Top 10 Satisfying CDs of 2011
—Bret Saunders, Denver Post

Top 10 Albums of 2011
—Lawrence Joseph, Montreal Mirror

Best New Jazz/Improvised Music Albums of 2011
—Steve Holtje, Culture Catch

Top 10 of 2011
—Stanley Zappa, Free Jazz 

Best New Releases of 2011
—Troy Collins, AllAboutJazz.com 

Best New Releases of 2011
—Clifford Allen, Ni Kantu 

Top 10 New Releases For 2011
—Tim Niland, Music and More 

Best of 2011
—Antonio Terzo, Jazz Journalists Association 

Favorite 20 + 3 for 2011
—John Braithwaite, CKUT 90.3 FM

Albums of the Year: Honorable Mentions
—The New York City Jazz Record 

Darius Jones Trio, Big Gurl (AUM069)

Albums of the Year
—The New York City Jazz Record 

Record Of The Year (#19)
—Rhapsody Jazz Critics’ Poll

Top 10 New Releases of 2011
—Larry Birnbaum, Rhapsody Jazz Critics’ Poll 

Top 10 New Releases of 2011
—Troy Collins, Rhapsody Jazz Critics’ Poll 

Top 10 New Releases of 2011
—Steve Dollar, Rhapsody Jazz Critics’ Poll 

Top 10 New Releases of 2011
—Laurence Donohue-Greene, Rhapsody Jazz Critics’ Poll 

Top 10 New Releases of 2011
—Alain Drouot, Rhapsody Jazz Critics’ Poll 

Top 10 New Releases of 2011
—Tad Hendrickson, Rhapsody Jazz Critics’ Poll 

Top 10 New Releases of 2011
—Lyn Horton, Rhapsody Jazz Critics’ Poll 

Top 10 New Releases of 2011
—Chris Monsen, Rhapsody Jazz Critics’ Poll 

Top 10 New Releases of 2011
—John Sharpe, Rhapsody Jazz Critics’ Poll 

Top 10 New Releases of 2011
—Jeff Stockton, Rhapsody Jazz Critics’ Poll 

Top Jazz Albums of 2011
—Shaun Brady, Philadelphia City Paper 

Best New Releases of 2011
—Troy Collins, AllAboutJazz.com 

Best Releases of 2011
—John Sharpe, AllAboutJazz.com 

Top 10 of 2011
—Guy Peters, Free Jazz 

Top 10 of 2011
—Tony Verstraete, Free Jazz 

Top 10 of 2011
—Lyn Horton, The Paradigm For Beauty

Top 10 New Releases
—Laurence Donohue-Greene, Jazz Journalists Association

Top 10 New Releases
—Shaun Brady, Jazz Journalists Association

Top 10 for 2011
—Tad Hendrickson, Jazz Journalists Association

Best of 2011: New Releases
—Luke Stewart, Jazz Journalists Association

Favorite 20 + 3 for 2011
—John Braithwaite, CKUT 90.3 FM

David S. Ware, Organica (AUM070)

Top 10 New Releases of 2011
—Larry Birnbaum, Rhapsody Jazz Critics’ Poll 

Top Jazz Albums of 2011
—Shaun Brady, Philadelphia City Paper 

Best of 2011: Jazz
—Bill Meyer, Dusted 

Best New Jazz/Improvised Music Albums of 2011
—Steve Holtje, Culture Catch

Top 30 of 2011
—Andrew Forbes, THIS IS OUR MUSIC.

Top 10 New Releases
—Shaun Brady, Jazz Journalists Association

James Falzone

DownBeat Critics’ Poll: Rising Star Clarinet (#4)

Great Arts Events I Was At 2011
—Janis Hashe, Chattanooga Pulse

KLANG, Other Doors (Allos Documents)

The year’s best jazz CDs
—Neil Tesser, Examiner.com 

Top 10 New Releases of 2011
—Lyn Horton, Rhapsody Jazz Critics’ Poll 

Top 10 New Releases of 2011
—Derek Taylor, Rhapsody Jazz Critics’ Poll 

Favorite 20 + 3 for 2011
—John Braithwaite, CKUT 90.3 FM

Albums of the Year: Honorable Mentions
—The New York City Jazz Record

Best of 2011
—Antonio Terzo, Jazz Journalists Association

Top 13 of 2011
—Neil Tesser, Jazz Journalists Association

Mary Halvorson

DownBeat Critics’ Poll: Rising Star Guitar (#1)

Best Guitarist 2011
—Village Voice, Best of New York

100 Composers Under 40
—NPR in conjunction with WQXR 

Mary Halvorson & Jessica Pavone, Departure Of Reason (Thirsty Ear)

My favorite albums of 2011
—Peter Margasak, Chicago Reader 

Top 10 New Releases of 2011
—Lyn Horton, Rhapsody Jazz Critics’ Poll 

Top Albums for 2011
—Mark Saleski, Something Else!

Top 10 of 2011
—Lyn Horton, The Paradigm For Beauty

Weasel Walter/Mary Halvorson/Peter Evans, Electric Fruit (Thirsty Ear)

Top 10 New Releases of 2011
—Alain Drouot, Rhapsody Jazz Critics’ Poll 

2011’s Ten Best New Releases
—Alain Drouot, Jazz Journalists Association

Fay Victor

Other Dimensions In Music featuring Fay Victor, Kaiso Stories (Silkheart)

Vocal Releases of the Year
—The New York City Jazz Record 

Best Vocal Album (#6)
—Rhapsody Jazz Critics’ Poll 

Record Of The Year (#40)
—Rhapsody Jazz Critics’ Poll 

Vocal Release of the Year
—John Szwed, Rhapsody Jazz Critics’ Poll 

Vocal Release of the Year + Top 10 New Releases of 2011
—Laurence Donohue-Greene, Rhapsody Jazz Critics’ Poll 

Vocal Release of the Year + Top 10 New Releases of 2011
—Ed Hazell, Rhapsody Jazz Critics’ Poll 

Vocal Release of the Year + Top 10 New Releases of 2011
—Robert Iannapollo, Rhapsody Jazz Critics’ Poll 

Vocal Release of the Year + Top 10 New Releases of 2011
—Chris Monsen, Rhapsody Jazz Critics’ Poll 

Vocal Release of the Year + Top 10 New Releases of 2011
—Derek Taylor, Rhapsody Jazz Critics’ Poll 

Albums of the Year
—Laurence Donohue-Greene, The New York City Jazz Record

Best of 2011
—Derek Taylor, Dusted

Vocal releases of 2011
—John Szwed, Jazz Journalists Association 

Top 10 New Releases + Vocal releases of 2011
—Laurence Donohue-Greene, Jazz Journalists Association 

Top 10 of 2011
—Guy Peters, Free Jazz

Top 10 of 2011
—Stanley Zappa, Free Jazz

Favourites for 2011
—CKUT 90.3 FM 

Favorite 20 + 3 for 2011
—John Braithwaite, CKUT 90.3 FM 

Photo: James Daniel

On Friday, January 6th and Saturday, January 7th, Darcy James Argue and his 18-piece big band Secret Society will perform at Jazz Gallery in New York.

This two-night stand, coinciding with the annual Association of Performing Arts Presenters (APAP) Conference, will feature sets at 9:00 and 10:30 p.m. Tickets are $20 for the general public and $10 for Jazz Gallery members and can be purchased online in advance or at the door (subject to availability). Free tickets are available to conference badge-holders who make reservations in advance at info@jazzgallery.org

Secret Society’s first club dates since May, these concerts directly follow its widely acclaimed November performances of the multimedia extravaganza Brooklyn Babylon in collaboration with graphic artist Danijel Zezelj at Brooklyn Academy of Music as part of the 2011 Next Wave Festival. Learn more in this video preview.

Reviewers called the innovative project “a true audio-visual treat” (Mia Drane-Maury, Beyond Race) and “a fully staged, fully integrated sight-and-sound performance” (Peter Matthews, Feast Of Music), and noted its “visual splendor and musical majesty of the type not often experienced” (Ralph A. Miriello, Huffington Post) and “originality, power, and beauty that left an audience slack-jawed” (David Krasnow, WNYC’s Studio 360).

“Expanding his sonic palette as never before,” added The Wall Street Journal‘s Tad Hendrickson in his preview feature, “Mr. Argue consciously integrated music from different cultures of Brooklyn for the multimedia piece by adding elements of Balkan brass, French café music and even marching-band music.”

At Jazz Gallery, Secret Society will perform selections from the Brooklyn Babylon score as well as other as-yet-unrecorded pieces in addition to selections from its GRAMMY® nominated debut, Infernal Machines (New Amsterdam Records).

Learn more about Darcy James Argue and Secret Society at http://www.secretsocietymusic.org

Photo: James Daniel

These highly anticipated performances have been previewed, discussed and recommended in such publications as New York Magazine, the New York Times, Time Out New York and Salon.com

This innovative combination of music, animation and painting is produced by Beth Morrison Projects and supported by a grant from The MAP Fund, a program of Creative Capital supported by the Doris Duke Charitable Foundation and The Andrew W. Mellon Foundation.

Tickets are available online or by phone at (718) 636-4100.

Learn more about Brooklyn Babylon at http://brooklynbabylon.com

Photo by Ines Kaiser

On Saturday, October 22nd at 8:00 p.m., composer/bandleader Darcy James Argue and graphic artist Danijel Zezelj will present a special preview of their multimedia collaboration Brooklyn Babylon at Purchase College’s PepsiCo Theatre in Purchase, New York.

This innovative combination of music, animation and painting is produced by Beth Morrison Projects and supported by a grant from The MAP Fund, a program of Creative Capital supported by the Doris Duke Charitable Foundation and The Andrew W. Mellon Foundation.

The project was commissioned for the Next Wave Festival by the Brooklyn Academy of Music, which will present its world premiere four-night run beginning Wednesday, November 9th.

Brooklyn Babylon is an hour-long narrative journey through a dystopian Brooklyn of the future where a carousel is being built atop the world’s highest tower. Argue’s GRAMMY® nominated big band Secret Society provides the original soundtrack to this dusky urban fable, as told by eight chapters of projected animation by Zezelj, who also paints in real time.

A more detailed sneak peek, including production sketches, animation stills, music samples and a two-minute trailer, is available at http://brooklynbabylon.com

Learn more about Darcy James Argue and Secret Society at http://www.secretsocietymusic.org

Photo by Lindsay Beyerstein

Tonight at 8:00 p.m., Brooklyn-based composer Darcy James Argue and his innovative 18-piece big band Secret Society will perform at the Museum of Fine Arts (MFA) in Boston.

The group’s set will feature the American premiere of music from the first three chapters of Brooklyn Babylon, its forthcoming multimedia collaboration with graphic artist Danijel Zezelj, as well as selections from its highly acclaimed debut, Infernal Machines (New Amsterdam Records).

Tickets ($25 for non-members and $20 for members, students and seniors) are available in person at the MFA ticketing desk, by phone at 1-800-440-6975 and online at http://www.mfa.org

Front of house seating is available for an additional $5.

Argue, who earned his Master’s Degree at Boston’s New England Conservatory in 2002, last brought his acclaimed ensemble to the area in February 2010 when the band made its local debut at Regattabar in Harvard Square.

“There’s nothing else like Secret Society in today’s jazz scene,” declared the Boston Globe‘s Steve Greenlee in his review of the show. “Though he leads a big band, Argue is not stuck in the past. His music, which relies as much on hard rock as swing, is ambitious, relevant, and alive.”

Since then, Secret Society has become one of the most talked about groups in jazz, earning such high profile accolades as a GRAMMY® nomination, Jazz Journalists Association Jazz Awards for Up & Coming Artist of the Year and Large Ensemble of the Year, and first-place finishes in the Rising Star Big Band, Rising Star Composer and Rising Star Arranger categories in the DownBeat Critics’ Poll.

The band has also performed at such prestigious venues as Dizzy’s Club Coca Cola, Merkin Concert Hall and The Kennedy Center, and at world renowned festivals including CareFusion Jazz Festival Newport, the London Jazz Festival and the TD Festival International de Jazz de Montréal.

“Argue has managed to not just keep Secret Society together as a vehicle for his innovative writing,” explains AllAboutJazz.com’s John Kelman in a recent review, “but as a means for its musicians to develop a language and a familiarity with each other that’s clearly paying big dividends.”

JazzTimes‘ Michael J. West adds, “With their haunting compositions and imaginative experiments, Argue’s Secret Society might do for jazz what Radiohead did for rock—and poach some of its audience, too.”

Learn more about Darcy James Argue and Secret Society at http://www.secretsocietymusic.org

Photo by Ines Kaiser

From Wednesday, November 9th through Saturday, November 12th, the Next Wave Festival will present composer/bandleader Darcy James Argue and graphic artist Danijel Zezelj‘s multimedia collaboration Brooklyn Babylon at the historic BAM Harvey Theater.

This innovative combination of music, animation and painting is produced by Beth Morrison Projects and supported by a grant from The MAP Fund, a program of Creative Capital supported by the Doris Duke Charitable Foundation and The Andrew W. Mellon Foundation.

The project was commissioned for the Next Wave Festival by the Brooklyn Academy of Music.

Brooklyn Babylon is an hour-long narrative journey through a dystopian Brooklyn of the future where a carousel is being built atop the world’s highest tower. Argue’s GRAMMY® nominated big band Secret Society provides the original soundtrack to this dusky urban fable, as told by eight chapters of projected animation by Zezelj, who also paints in real time.

“Danijel’s visual language is so strong,” Argue explains, “his imagery all but steps up off the page and smacks you upside the head with a crowbar. When I first encountered his graphic novels, I was instantly blown away by the gritty, tactile feel of his work, but also his tremendous gift for storytelling, which is a quality I strive for in my music. Working so closely with Danijel on Brooklyn Babylon has been unbelievably exciting and inspiring—and I think the result will be an extraordinary coalescence of visual and musical narrative.”

Secret Society debuted the opening piece “Chapter One: The Neighborhood” on its June tour of major Canadian jazz festivals in Montreal, Ottawa, Toronto and Vancouver, inspiring many reviewers to call it the highlight of its set.

A more detailed sneak peek, including production sketches, animation stills, music samples and a two-minute trailer, is available at http://brooklynbabylon.com

Season tickets for the 29th Next Wave Festival are for sale online or by phone at (718) 636-4100. Single event tickets go on sale to Friends of BAM on August 29th and to the general public on September 6th.

On Saturday, October 22nd at 8:00 p.m., Argue and Zezelj will present a special preview concert at Purchase College’s PepsiCo Theatre in Purchase, New York. Tickets are available through the ticket office Tuesday through Friday from noon to 6:00 p.m. at (914) 251-6200.

Learn more about Darcy James Argue and Secret Society at http://www.secretsocietymusic.org

Photo by Lindsay Beyerstein

On Friday, September 30th at 8:00 p.m., Brooklyn-based composer Darcy James Argue and his innovative 18-piece big band Secret Society will perform at the Museum of Fine Arts (MFA) in Boston.

Tickets ($25 for non-members and $20 for members, students and seniors) are available in person at the MFA ticketing desk, by phone at 1-800-440-6975 and online at http://www.mfa.org

Front of house seating is available for an additional $5.

Argue, who earned his Master’s Degree at Boston’s New England Conservatory in 2002, last brought his acclaimed ensemble to the area in February 2010 when the band made its local debut at Regattabar in Harvard Square.

“There’s nothing else like Secret Society in today’s jazz scene,” declared the Boston Globe‘s Steve Greenlee in his review of the show. “Though he leads a big band, Argue is not stuck in the past. His music, which relies as much on hard rock as swing, is ambitious, relevant, and alive.”

Since then, Secret Society has become one of the most talked about groups in jazz, earning such high profile accolades as a GRAMMY® nomination, Jazz Journalists Association Jazz Awards for Up & Coming Artist of the Year and Large Ensemble of the Year, and first-place finishes in the Rising Star Big Band, Rising Star Composer and Rising Star Arranger categories in the DownBeat Critics’ Poll.

The band has also performed at such prestigious venues as Dizzy’s Club Coca Cola, Merkin Concert Hall and The Kennedy Center, and at world renowned festivals including CareFusion Jazz Festival Newport, the London Jazz Festival and the TD Festival International de Jazz de Montréal.

“Argue has managed to not just keep Secret Society together as a vehicle for his innovative writing,” explains AllAboutJazz.com’s John Kelman in a recent review, “but as a means for its musicians to develop a language and a familiarity with each other that’s clearly paying big dividends.”

JazzTimes‘ Michael J. West adds, “With their haunting compositions and imaginative experiments, Argue’s Secret Society might do for jazz what Radiohead did for rock—and poach some of its audience, too.”

Learn more about Darcy James Argue and Secret Society at http://www.secretsocietymusic.org

DownBeat‘s August issue is reaching subscribers now and with it the results of the 59th Annual Critics Poll.

We’re very pleased to report that our clients are well represented and in more categories than ever before.

AUM Fidelity earned the number nine spot on the Jazz Album of the Year list with William Parker’s I Plan To Stay A Believer: The Inside Songs of Curtis Mayfield, while its recording artists Darius Jones (Rising Star Alto Saxophone) and David S. Ware (Tenor Saxophone) made strong showings in their respective categories.

The members of Farmers By Nature, who recently released their second AUM Fidelity record, Out Of This World’s Distortions, also made some noise for their recent individual accomplishments. William Parker and Gerald Cleaver were recognized in the Bass and Rising Star Drums categories respectively, and Craig Taborn scored a hat trick with wins for Rising Star Piano, Electronic Keyboard and Rising Star Organ.

Darcy James Argue got the most votes in the Rising Star Composer category and his GRAMMY® nominated big band Secret Society grabbed the second spot for Rising Star Big Band. He and the group were also recognized in the Arranger, Rising Star Arranger, Composer and Big Band categories.

James Falzone, who appeared on three very different recordings in the past year (KLANG’s Other Doors, Allos Musica Trio’s Lamentations and Vox Arcana’s Aerial Age), was fourth in the Rising Star Clarinet category.

Firehouse 12 Records and Mary Halvorson share the credit for Saturn Sings‘ number eight spot on the Jazz Album of the Year list.

Ms. Halvorson also went on to win for Rising Star Guitar while also being recognized in the Rising Star Jazz Artist category. Her longstanding trio, featuring Rising Star Bass winner John Hébert, finished fourth in the Rising Star Jazz Group category.

Last but definitely not least, Fay Victor, who has been impressing critics and fans alike in recent months with her own bands as well as collaborations with Other Dimensions In Music and the ICP Orchestra, was recognized in both the Rising Star Female Vocals and Female Vocals categories.

Congratulations to all the musicians and labels on this recognition of their work and thanks to all the voters for their attention and support of our clients and their music.