The members of AIRLFT are an intrepid group of voyagers into the music’s outer limits who between them have recorded, performed and/or studied with some of jazz’s most revered experimentalists: Ornette Coleman, Cecil Taylor, the Sun Ra Arkestra, Oliver Lake, Odean Pope, Don Preston, Jamaaladeen Tacuma, Sunny Murray and others. 

Diehl is a former student of the late free jazz luminary Sunny Murray who melds the worlds of avant-jazz and Afro-Yoruban traditions in his enduring ensemble Sonic Liberation Front. His recent releases include the acclaimed all-percussion ensemble Onilu (featuring legendary drummer Joe Chambers), which will release its second album in 2026; a collaboration with centenarian saxophonist Marshall Allen; and projects with his bands Ashé Mystics and the Instant Arts Quartet. 

Diehl founded the AIRLFT series as a combination of performance outlet and laboratory for new music, welcoming contributions from his dauntless coterie across a wide spectrum of compositional approaches and sonic environments. The pieces on the album range from bracing freeform excursions to rigorous notated music to graphic scores and conducted or guided improvisations, yielding a multitude of moods and dynamics across the hour-long plus.

AIRLFT is also a monthly series happening at 7 PM on the 4th Thursday of every month at the Philly’s Irish Center, Mt. Airy’s Historical and Live Music Spot located at the Commodore John Barry Arts and Cultural Center, 6815 Emlen St, Philadelphia, PA 19119

AIRFLT
Kevin Diehl – drum kit, Afro Cuban and assorted percussion, instigator; Terry Lawson – tenor sax and flute, gravitas; Elliot Levin – tenor sax, flute, spoken word, Matt Lavelle – trumpets, alto and bass clarinets, vibrations; Tom Lowery – Afro Brazilian percussion and sounds; David Hotep Middleton – guitar driven effects and sounds; Pete Dennis – bass and sounds; Joshua Marquez – guitar and other instruments driving effects and sounds. Photo by John Hubbard. 

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