Byron Asher’s Skrontch Music performs original music exploring the history of jazz in New Orleans and investigating its relationship to lineages of Black radicalism. Through ongoing archival research, contemporary composition, and collective improvisation, the music looks backwards to see forward, reminding listeners of where the music has come from and suggesting where it might go. At this concert, the band will perform music from their 2024 release, Lord, when you send the rain, a meditation on the blues and its impact on the formation of jazz in New Orleans and its manifestations today, as well as a new piece for improvising large ensemble.