Join me at Westminster-Canterbury of the Blue Ridge in Charlottesville for a 45 minute presentation on Black Music. Details coming soon.

Trio Performance at Révéler Experiences in Richmond!

Joe Morris is a composer/improviser multi-instrumentalist who plays guitar, double bass, mandolin, banjo, banjouke electric bass and drums. He is also a recording artist, educator, record producer, concert producer/curator and author. His is considered to be one of the most original and important improvising musicians of our time. Down Beat magazine called him “the preeminent free music guitarist of his generation.” Will Montgomery, writing in The Wire magazine called him “one of the most profound improvisers at work in the U.S.” He is featured as leader, co-leader and sideman on 150 recordings to date. He has performed or recorded with John Zorn, Mary Halvorson, Tomeka Reid, Tim Berne, and many others.

Nicole Mitchell is an award-winning creative flutist, composer, conceptualist, bandleader, and educator. For over 20 years, Mitchell’s critically acclaimed Chicago-based Black Earth Ensemble has been her primary compositional laboratory. She is perhaps best known for her work as a flutist, having developed a unique improvisational language. More recently, as Professor of Composition and Computer Technologies at University of Virginia, Mitchell has added electronic instrumentation to that dialogue.

Black Earth SWAY (BE SWAY), founded by award-winning flutist Nicole Mitchell, sings liberation through the lens of Afro-Folk-Futurism. This multigenerational ensemble—featuring Nicole Mitchell (flute, electronics), Coco Elysses (percussion, diddley bow), JoVia Armstrong (cajón set, electronics), and Alexis Lombre (piano, bass)—celebrates open spirits, sisterhood, and the storytelling traditions of Great Black Music. Their performances are a joyful fusion of funk, blues, experimental jazz, and beyond, weaving ancestral memory with bold new mythologies. Together, they create music that is as liberating as it is innovative, carrying forward Chicago’s rich cultural legacy into a vibrant future.

On January 9, 2026, percussionist and electronic sound artist JoVia Armstrong premieres a brand-new composition at Hey Nonny’s Women’s Jazz Festival with an electrifying all-women ensemble. Featuring Nashon Holloway (guitar, vocals), Teiana Davis (piano), Carmani Edwards (bass), T. Ayo Alston (djun-djun), and Maria Jones (djembe), the group unites diverse voices and traditions in a performance that blends jazz, Afro-diasporic rhythms, and electronic soundscapes. This debut promises a powerful evening of innovation, collaboration, and women’s artistry at its finest.

At the Englewood Jazz Festival, JoVia Armstrong delivers a bold set that pushes the boundaries of sound and form. With her hybrid cajón kit and electro-acoustic textures, Armstrong creates immersive soundscapes that blur lines between groove, abstraction, and ritual—embodying the festival’s spirit of innovation in experimental jazz.

Join percussionist, composer, and sound artist JoVia Armstrong for an unforgettable evening at Révéler Experiences. Blending Afro-electronic soundscapes, jazz improvisation, and genre-fluid composition, Armstrong brings her acclaimed music to life with her inventive hybrid cajón kit and visionary approach to rhythm and texture. This performance promises an immersive journey of groove, experimentation, and sonic storytelling.