Ever since we started doing the Philebrity Salon nights last summer — whereupon we were shocked to find out that it was the city’s only DJ night devoted to jazz records — we became tangentially aware of how simultaneously difficult and rewarding it must be to have anything to do with producing jazz and avant events in this city, whose tradition and history demand that jazz be kept alive here. All of which is to say how much it’s dawned on us what truly great work Ars Nova Workshop has been doing over the last decade. For the uninitiated, Ars Nova “acts as a facilitator between artists and their audiences, while working to inform, inspire and challenge listeners in order to elevate the role of jazz, improvisation and experimental music in contemporary culture.” Translation: Every day, in every way, Ars Nova tends to Philly’s jazz and freak legacy and future whether you personally intend to use it or not — though you should, and even if you don’t, it just improves the vibe all over anyway. So congrats to Mark Christman and all who sail in Ars Nova — they’ll be celebrating their tenth anniversary performance this Friday at International House with a reprise of the first-ever act to play an Ars Nova show: Chris Speed’s Yeah No. And we’d like to send you there. To enter to win tickets, email ihopeiwin[at]philebrity[dot]com with “YEAH NOVA!” in the subject header. You’ll automatically be subscribed to the new Philebrity Reader weekly newsletter and win chances for other exclusive free stuff. We’ll pull winners tomorrow. Good luck!

This entry was posted on Wednesday, March 17th, 2010 at 2:23 pm.