Smile Politely

Bang the Drum: Sonic Liberation Front

Tribal drums rain down, town folk flock over, bass and saxophone debate, but in the end, get together. Afro-Cuban drumming meets free jazz and flirts with electronica. And the ensemble is constituted of 11 members. My oh my, what do we have here?

Sonic Liberation Front, a Philadelphia based group, performs this Saturday at the Krannert Center for the Performing Arts. With their first album, Water and Stone, released in 2001, SLF continues to expand the all-encompassing genre known as jazz. Now with three albums and several collaborations ranging from free jazz pioneer James “Sunny” Murray to alternative television producer Termite TV Collective, SLF is set to push the boundaries of music.

Brought to you by Krannert’s Afterglow Series, which has continuously been providing great music for free. So if polyrhythmic bata drumming is your thing, come on over at 10 p.m. Or maybe you’re an avant-garde enthusiast, a jazz purist, or just up for some late night music, it’s all good. And did I mention it’s free?

So get ready for a unique Saturday, only in the magical town of C-U.

Krannert is located at 500 S. Goodwin Ave., Urbana. The show is open for all ages.

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