New York-based saxophone player Matana Roberts has strong ties with her birth place Chicago. She is part of the free-spirited Chicago-based jazz collective AACM. Her debut album The Chicago Project, produced by Vijay Iyer and Tortoise drummer John McEntire, contains influences of her mentors Fred Anderson and Von Freeman, but also of hip hop and indie rock. Her current project is devoted to her family history. Through the story of Marie Therese ‘Coin Coin’ Metoyer, a family member from the era of slavery, she exposes the mystical roots of Afro-American music.

CHAPTER 1: GENS DE COULEUR LIBRE

Matana Roberts altsax/composities/tekst, Mazz Swift viool, Jessica Pavone altviool, Audry Chen cello, Jason Ajemian bas, Tomas Fujiwara drums, Daniel Givens projecties