Stephen Haynes

I am an improvising composer, teaching artist, arts organizer and advocate; a product of the historic and fertile Black Music Division at Bennington College, directed by Bill Dixon. My early foundational studies were with the wonderful Frank Baird, who chaired the brass department at the University of Colorado’s Boulder campus during the sixties and seventies. I currently lead several ensembles: Parrhesia (a trio w/Joe Morris and Warren Smith) and Pomegranate (a quintet with Ben Stapp, William Parker, Joe Morris and Warren Smith. My debut recording as a leader, Parrhesia, is on the Engine Studios label. With Joe Morris, I curate the long-running music series, Improvisations, at Real Art Ways. I am very concerned with the plight of the local artist in his/her hometown and region, and with the importance of well-developed support for those of us who enjoy working close to home and being treated properly. Over the years I have worked with a range of musicians, with a primary interest in large ensembles and composition: Bill Dixon, George Russell, LaMonte Young, Butch Morris, Rhys Chatham, Adam Rudolph, Leroy Jenkins, JD Parran, Gunter Hampel, Cecil Taylor and the Dells.