ALL ticketing options HERE (In-Person and Livestream for both Individual and Full Festival Passes)
Full Vision Festival 2024 Schedule HERE.

Roulette Members may reserve a limited number of tickets using their member benefits by emailing development@roulette.org.

Arts for Art is proud to announce that William Parker, legendary bassist, composer, improvisor, multi-instrumentalist, author, and community leader will be the recipient of the Vision 2024 Lifetime Achievement Award, taking place at Roulette Intermedium, on June 18, 2024.

Set 1, 6:00 PM: Invocation MANTRA – Lisa Sokolov – voice / text by William Parker

Set 2, 6:30 PM: ROOTS AND RITUALS
William Parker, Doson Ngoni – composition, text / Josh Abrams – gembri / Joe Morris – guitar / Mixashawn Rozi – tenor sax / Hamid Drake – percussion / Jackson Krall – Ibu Bells / Juma Sultan, Micheal Wimberly – percussion

Set 3, 7:15 PM Trail Of Tears Excerpts, The Blue Sky” Vanished Horizon”
Annemarie Sandy, Andrea Wolpe, Raina Sokolov Gonzalez – voice / Mara Rosenbloom Piano – piano

Intermission

Set 4, 8:30 PM Raining On The Moon
Leena Conquest – voice / Eri Yamamoto – piano / Rob Brown – alto sax / Steve Swell – trombone / William Parker – bass / Hamid Drake – drums

Set 5, 9:15 PM The Ancients
Isaiah Collier – tenor sax / Dave Burrell – piano / William Hooker – drums / William Parker – bass, composition

Set 6, 10:00 PM William Parker & Huey’s Pocket Watch
Isaiah barr – tenor saxophone / Alfredo Colón – tenor saxophone / Dave Sewelson – baritone saxophone / Rob Brown – alto saxophone / Masahiko Kono, Colin Babcock – trombone / Taylor Ho Bynum, Diego Hernandez – trumpet
Colson Jimenez – bass / Hans Young Binter – piano / Juan Pablo Carletti – drums / Ellen Christi, Kyoko Kitamura – voice / Patricia Nicholson – voice, spoken word / Special guests: Assif Tsahar – tenor saxophone / Taylor Ho Bynum – trumpet

“It is the role of the artist to dance, sing, shout and whisper about all that is wonderful, beautiful and majestic. To mirror and project the present and future, to tell us the stories inside little children’s hearts (giving us a view beyond the horizon). Communicating by the language of stone, wood, soil, the language of happiness, sadness and joy. It is the role of the artist to incite political, social and spiritual revolution. To awaken us from our sleep and never let us forget our obligations as human beings…The idea is to live strongly within this vision without compromises even after being met by a cold gray world that could care less about vision, a world that makes insensitivity and murder of idealism and individualism a standard.” – William Parker

In the words of Gargi Shindé, “To the community he calls home in the Lower East Side of New York City, the professional accomplishments of William Parker are not separate from his humanitarian vision to heal a world severed by greed and hyper commodification of culture. Global consequences of American imperialism, labor exploitation, disenfranchisement in literacy and education, and aggressive urban gentrification—William’s creative repertoire is an unceasing response to the perpetually shifting targets of socio-political disenfranchisement. As a world renowned bassist / multi-instrumentalist, improviser, composer, poet, writer, and educator, William Parker brings together music, words, sound and organizing through his innumerable recordings and live performances, operas, compositions for dance, plays and much more. His practice, in a single lifetime, encompasses a range that evades even the most accomplished artists. He is the very embodiment of an arts ecosystem, without the spectre of corporate artifice and arts bureaucracy.”

William Parker is a composer, bassist and multi-instrumentalist, an author and educator who has recorded over 40 albums as a leader that feature a range of concepts, and ensembles from solo bass, quartets, sextets, large ensembles such as the Little Huey Creative Music Orchestra, as well as special projects such as The Essence Of Ellington. The Inside Songs of Curtis Mayfield etc. He has composed music for The Wroclaw Symphony Orchestra as well as host of commissions by large and small ensembles. He has composed music and librettos for numerous multi-media operas such as Trail of Tears, Vision Peace and Battle Cries, Mass for the Healing World in addition to hundreds of pieces of vocal music. All of Parker’s music incorporates his concept of Universal Tonality. They all include improvisational languages and possibilities.

Founded in 1996, Arts for Art (AFA) is a New York City based nonprofit dedicated to the promotion and advancement of FreeJazz, which is recognized for its variety of highly developed and personalized improvisational languages. The music, dance, poetry and visual arts that AFA presents holds deep roots in Black and multicultural creativity. Moreover, it derives its energy from the tradition and power of free improvisation that was inspired by the Civil Rights struggle of the 1950’s and 60’s. Spearheaded by the acclaimed Vision Festival, AFA’s programming brings together generations of diverse and highly skilled artists. Additionally, AFA organizes education initiatives that further our goals of diversity and accessibility.