Alliance for Improvised Music

Who We Are

Knowing that you're being heard, knowing that your call is being responded to,
regardless of what the setting is, that's the whole point. -- William Hooker


The Alliance for Improvised Music (AIM) is a recently-formed organization dedicated to building a local audience for avant-garde jazz, creative improvised music, and other forms of adventurous music. Our primary goal is to keep you updated on concerts in the area and other happenings in the music through our newsletter (Inside the Outside), our email list, and this website. For a recent article about AIM, check out this feature from the Duke Chronicle.

We would also like to begin working with local musicians interested in improv. We are hoping to sponsor a 1 or 2 day mini-fest highlighting local and regional musicians (a la Spittlefest, Sleazefest, etc.).

And if you hear of a show of possible interest, be sure to let us know.

In case you're wondering what we mean by "improvised music," we aren't concerned with labels. As Tim Berne said, "I've gotten to the point where I really don't even give a shit what it's called." We don't care whether the music is jazz, rock, or whatever. We're not even sure that we care that much how improvisational the music is. What we're looking for is adventurous, innovative music. (On the other hand, our personal tastes tend toward the "jazz" side - so don't hesitate to help us out with suggestions for bands we don't know about.)

Of course, all of this depends on our members. We're not asking for any money (although I'm sure we could make space on "the board" for eccentric wealthy people). We're doing this out of pure selfishness - we want to see more of the kind of music we like come to town. So what we do need you to do is show up for the shows and not just any that we might sponsor and not just the "big names." We would love to be able to tell a club owner we can virtually guarantee at least X people will show up. If you're interested in helping out in other areas (promotion, set-up, etc.), please let us know.   Contributions to the newsletter are also welcome - concert reviews/previews, artists interviews, record reviews, etc.

If you've got any questions about AIM, please email us.

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