John Corbett (born 1963) is an American writer, musician, radio host, teacher, record producer, concert promoter, and gallery owner based in

Chicago, Illinois (''City in a Garden''); I Will , image_map = , map_caption = Interactive Map of Chicago , coordinates = , coordinates_footnotes = , subdivision_type = List of sovereign states, Count ...

. He is best known among musicians and music fans as a champion of

free jazz Free jazz is an experimental approach to jazz improvisation that developed in the late 1950s and early 1960s when musicians attempted to change or break down jazz conventions, such as regular tempos, tones, and chord changes. Musicians dur ...

and

free improvisation Free improvisation or free music is improvised music without any rules beyond the logic or inclination of the musician(s) involved. The term can refer to both a technique (employed by any musician in any genre) and as a recognizable genre in it ...

. In recent years he has become known in the visual art world as well through his Corbett vs. Dempsey gallery. Corbett's activities include: * musician playing

, usually on acoustic guitar * staff writer for

Down Beat ' (styled in all caps) is an American music magazine devoted to "jazz, blues and beyond", the last word indicating its expansion beyond the jazz realm which it covered exclusively in previous years. The publication was established in 1934 in Ch ...

magazine * curator, with

Ken Vandermark Ken Vandermark (born September 22, 1964) is an American composer, saxophonist, and clarinetist. A fixture on the Chicago-area music scene since the 1990s, Vandermark has earned wide critical praise for his playing and his multilayered composi ...

, of the Wednesday night jazz series at the

Empty Bottle The Empty Bottle is a bar and music venue located at 1035 N. Western Avenue in Chicago, Illinois. Located on the west side of Chicago's Ukrainian Village neighborhood, the venue primarily hosts local, regional, and touring alternative music ac ...

in Chicago, circa 1996–2004 * artistic director of the

Berlin Jazz Festival JazzFest Berlin (also known as the Berlin Jazz Festival) is a jazz festival in Berlin, Germany. Originally called the "Berliner Jazztage" (''Berlin Jazz Days''), it was founded in 1964 in West Berlin by the Berliner Festspiele. Venues included ...

in 2002 * record producer; he curates the Unheard Music Series for Atavistic Records, reissuing both classic and obscure recordings of

and

, and has also produced new recordings by

Peter Brötzmann Peter Brötzmann (born 6 March 1941) is a German saxophonist and clarinetist. Biography Early life Brötzmann was born in Remscheid, North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. He studied painting in Wuppertal and was involved with the Fluxus movement ...

and others * adjunct associate professor at the

School of the Art Institute of Chicago The School of the Art Institute of Chicago (SAIC) is a private art school associated with the Art Institute of Chicago (AIC) in Chicago, Illinois. Tracing its history to an art students' cooperative founded in 1866, which grew into the museum an ...

, where he has taught since 1988 * co-owner, with Jim Dempsey, of Corbett vs. Dempsey, a Chicago art gallery For many years he hosted a radio show on WHPK called Radio Dada. More recently, he has co-hosted a jazz show called Writer's Block on

WNUR WNUR-FM (89.3 FM) is a 7,200–watt radio station based in Evanston, Illinois that broadcasts to Chicago and its northern suburbs. It is the student radio station of Northwestern University. History WNUR first began broadcasting on May 8, ...

with fellow jazz writers Kevin Whitehead and Lloyd Sachs.

Books

*''Extended Play: Sounding Off from John Cage to

Dr. Funkenstein "Dr. Funkenstein" is a song by the funk band Parliament. It was the second single released from their 1976 album, '' The Clones of Dr. Funkenstein''. It reached number 46 on the ''Billboard'' Hot Soul Singles chart.Duke University Press Duke University Press is an academic publisher and university press affiliated with Duke University. It was founded in 1921 by William T. Laprade as The Trinity College Press. (Duke University was initially called Trinity College). In 1926 Du ...

, 1994) * ''Sun Ra + Ayé Aton: Space, Interiors, and Exteriors'' (with

Glenn Ligon Glenn Ligon (born 1960, pronounced Lie-gōne) is an American conceptual artist whose work explores race, language, desire, sexuality, and identity.Meyer, Richard. "Glenn Ligon", in George E. Haggerty and Bonnie Zimmerman (eds), ''Gay Histories a ...

) (Corbett vs. Dempsey, 2013)Corbett, John, and Glenn Ligon, ''Sun Ra + Ayé Aton: Space, Interiors, and Exteriors'', Corbett vs. Dempsey Books, 2013 *''Microgroove: Forays into Other Music'' (Duke University Press, 2015) *''A Listener's Guide to Free Improvisation'' (

University of Chicago Press The University of Chicago Press is the largest and one of the oldest university presses in the United States. It is operated by the University of Chicago and publishes a wide variety of academic titles, including '' The Chicago Manual of Style'' ...

, 2016) *''Vinyl Freak: Love Letters to a Dying Medium'' (Duke University Press, 2017) *''Pick Up the Pieces: Excursions in Seventies Music'' (

, 2019)

Discography

* ''I'm Sick About My Hat'' * ''Van's Peppy Syncopators'' (with Hal Rammel and Terri Kapsalis) * ''The Devil's in the Details'' (with Hal Rammel) * ''Battuto'' (with

Mats Gustafsson Mats Olof Gustafsson (born 29 October 1964) is a Swedish free jazz saxophone player. Career Gustafsson came to the attention of lovers of improvised music as part of a duo with Christian Munthe (started in 1986), as member of Gunter Chri ...

, Terri Kapsalis, and

Fred Lonberg-Holm Fred Lonberg-Holm (born 1 October 1962) is an American cellist based in Chicago. He moved from New York City to Chicago in 1995. Lonberg-Holm is most identified with playing free improvisation and free jazz. He is also a composer of concert wor ...

) * ''Twofer'' (with and

) * ''Humdinger'' (with Davey Williams) * ''Sticky Tongues and Kitchen Knives'' (with

) * ''Night People'' (with Sebi Tramontana et al.)

References

External links

Corbett vs. Dempsey official site

John Corbett official site

John Corbett interview (BOMB Magazine)
2016

circa 2001

circa 2000 {{DEFAULTSORT:Corbett, John 1963 births Record producers from Illinois Place of birth missing (living people) Avant-garde jazz guitarists Living people Music promoters Writers from Chicago