TEMPO Lounge ~ Doors 7:30 PM | Show at 8 PM

Join us for an evening of improvised music with the "Johnny Appleseed of Free Improvisation" Jack Wright.

Wright will be joined by Jonah Gelbart, Evan Lipson & Mike Pride as part of a 2026 tour that involves collaborations with a variety of musicians on the East Coast.

Jack and Evan have been musically connected ever since the mid-2000's when Evan lived in Jack's Spring Garden Music House in Philadelphia. They've toured frequently together throughout the Midwest and Southeast as Wrest with Ben Bennett, and with Zach Darrup as Roughhousing, through 2018.

The two had a European Tour Nov. 3-19, 2018, which was a blazing success--Amsterdam, Rotterdam, Brussels, Ghent, Hamburg, and Denmark: Soderburg, Toftlund, and Copenhagen

Jack Wright (b. 1942) is a musician described as playing "post-electronic saxophone, and dedicated to to free playing since 1979. Described thirty years ago as an "undergrounder by design," he is a veteran improviser based mainly in Philadelphia. He has played mostly on tour through the US and Europe since the early 80s in search of interesting partners and playing situations. Now at 83 he is still the "Johnny Appleseed of Free Improvisation," as guitarist Davey Williams called him in the 80s, on the road as much as ever. He continues to inspire players outside music-school careerdom, playing sessions with visiting and resident players old and new. His partners over the years are mostly unknown to the music press, and too numerous to mention. He's said to have the widest vocabulary of any saxophonist, including leaping pitches, punchy, precise timing, sharp and intrusive multiphonics, surprising gaps of silence, and obscene animalistic sounds. Apart from interviews, for a true assessment of his and his partners music and for links to his writings (including The Free Musics) go here: Spring Garden Music,

Evan Lipson has lived with the incurable disease of music since early adolescence, seeking the liminal realms in which intellect and instinct, history and myth, and creative and destructive force intersect. Drawn towards aberrant perspectives at an early age, his formative activities were primarily rooted in extreme and discordant forms stemming from various traditions of “underground” and ancient musics. He may or may not have some degree of affiliation with Rev. Fred Lane in addition to a social scientific think tank known as MEINSCHAFT.

Jonah Gelbart is an improviser, composer, system-builder based in the greater Philadelphia area, playing trumpet and shofar. He plays everything from classical, straight-ahead jazz, new music, to free improvisation. He is currently a member of the Hansen-Protasi Group, the Kitchen Sink ensemble, the (Toshi) Makihara/Allen/Gelbart Trio, and various other temporary musical arrangements. Playing sessions regularly since June 2025 at the Spring Garden Music House in Philadelphia with Jack Wright, saxes, and Henry Allen, guitar.

Mike Pride, percussionist, composer, vocalist and visual artist based out of New York City, currently performs solo, leads jazz quartet From Bacteria To Boys, the 7-drummer installation Drummer's Corpse, and the piano trio I Hate Work. He is also co-leader of the ensembles Pulverize The Sound (w/ Peter Evans and Tim Dahl) and Period (w/ Charlie Looker and Chuck Bettis). Pride is renowned for his ability to excel in a wide range of genres and ensembles. He has worked with everyone from improvised music icon Anthony Braxton to punk legends Millions Of Dead Cops, toured extensively on four continents, appeared on more than 100 recordings, and toured arenas worldwide opening for comedian Amy Schumer with Jason Stein's Locksmith Isidore. Pride’s versatility doesn’t end with his eclectic résumé as a popular sideman and leader/co-leader of ensembles, he is also a busy educator and clinician, a composer for TV shows, video games, podcasts and websites, and an experienced visual artist.

DETAILS

Jack Wright Quartet with Jonah Gelbart, Evan Lipson & Mike Pride
Sunday, September 20
Doors 7:30 pm
8 pm show

TEMPO Lounge
29 Wurts St
Kingston, NY

TICKETS

$15 community / $20 standard / $30 supporter
FREE Kids 12 and under.
All tickets are General Admission. Seating is available at all TEMPO events.

Choose the ticket that feels right for you. Every option supports TEMPO in its own way, and we’re grateful to have you with us.

TEMPO Performing Arts Center is a project of Kingston Music Initiative (KMI). Kingston Music Initiative is a registered 501(c)(3) non-profit organization, recognized by the IRS. Our EIN is 99-0864420. Contributions to Kingston Music Initiative are tax-deductible to the extent permitted by law.