Fund Drive for the CMS Archive Project

Press release
Source: Jazz Promo Services

The Creative Music Foundation, Inc. announces a fundraising drive to preserve the CMS Archive: the large collection of live recordings of its world-renowned Creative Music Studio program. This collection of recordings is unique in its artistic scope: the CMS program featured some of the most outstanding and ground-breaking composers/performers in World Jazz, World Music, New Music, guiding ensembles of highly motivated emerging artists.

Through a combination of benefit festivals, grants, membership and private contributions, the goal is to raise $ 120,000 by the fall of 2007. CMS invites your inquiries and comments and pledges of support by contacting creativemusic@verizon.net. All contributions are tax-deductible to the full extent of the law.

The CMS Archive contains more than 300 audio and video tapes, recorded from 1972 to 1986 at the CMS facilities in Woodstock NY., as well as at other concerts sites in the US. Among the artists leading ensembles on these recordings are Don Cherry, Anthony Braxton, Leo Smith, Foday Suso, Abdullah Ibrahim,  Roscoe Mitchell, Joseph Jarman, Cecil Taylor, Jimmy Giuffre, Frederic Rzewski, Carla Bley, Dave Holland, Paulo Moura, Nana Vasconcelos, Pauline Oliveros, Karl Berger, Baikida Carroll,  Trilok Gurtu, Steve Gorn, Ismet Siral, Jack DeJohnette, Fred Frith, Oliver Lake, Lee Konitz, Leroy Jenkins, George Lewis, just to name a few. (for a  more complete list, see www.CreativeMusicStudio.org).

Under the guidance of CMS-Director Karl Berger, the master engineer and composer Ted Orr will lead the effort to transfer and re-master the tapes. The new masters will be stored and backed up in 3 different digital formats.
 
At the discretion of the guiding artists, selections of the re-mastered recordings will be made available in CD/DVD compilations to the CMS network of artists, contributors, active and supporting members, as well as to educational institutions and dedicated radio hosts. Negotiations are underway to house the digitized archive at Columbia University in New York.

During the '70- and '80's, the Woodstock-based Creative Music Studio was considered the premier study center for contemporary creative music. Founded in 1971 by Karl Berger, Ingrid Sertso and Ornette Coleman, CMS brought together leading innovators in the jazz and world music communities. Unprecedented in its range and diversity, CMS was an acknowledged phenomenon in the international music world, providing participants with the rare opportunity to interact personally with the musical giants of improvisation and musical thought on a daily basis.

CMS is credited as the birthplace of Worldjazz - the improvisational and compositional expansion of the world's musical traditions. Now one of the main driving forces in many styles of music, this concept was pioneered very early at CMS, guided by authentic leaders.

The CMS community now exists as a remarkable network of creative musicians, many of whom came to CMS from Asia, Europe and South America.

The CMS Archive project is expected to launch a new wave of communication among the CMS participants and thus lead to further workshops, concerts and recordings. A not-for-profit recording platform, ArtistsCreateRecordings (ACR), has been established to support and showcase recording projects by CMS members.  

The Creative Music Foundation, Inc. is a not-for-profit 501 (c) (3) corporation.. CMF invites your participation in the CMS Archive Project as co-producers, donors, active or supportive members. Contact: Creative Music Foundation Inc., POB 671, Woodstock, NY 12498, creativemusic@verizon.net.

For more information, please visit www.CreativeMusicStudio.org.

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