The Sandia Mountains Outside Albuquerque; Avant-Garde Saxophonist/ Composer Roscoe Mitchell, Right, with Corey Wilkes at Outpost, Ca
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Clockwise from top left: The Sandia Mountains outside Albuquerque; avant-garde saxophonist/ composer Roscoe Mitchell, right, with Corey Wilkes at Outpost, ca. 2007; the current Outpost space; founder Tom Guralnick. Founder OUTPOST PERFORMANCE Space—fOUNDED BY A BOSTON-BORN, AVANT-EFFECT GARDE SAXOPHOnist— IS Albuquerque’s MINI-MECCA FOR JAZZ. 26 november/decembermay/june 2011 2010 Founder OUTPOST PERFORMANCE Space—fOUNDED BY A BOSTON-BORN, AVANT-EFFECT GARDE SAXOPHOnist— IS Albuquerque’s MINI-MECCA FOR JAZZ. by Ellen Goldensohn om Guralnick is the impresario (i.e., founder, executive director, and part- owner) of Outpost Performance Space, a modest-looking one-story building Ton Yale Boulevard in the university neighborhood of Albuquerque, New Mexico. For more than two decades—in this venue and the small storefront that preceded it—Guralnick has presented hundreds of nationally and internationally known and local musicians. Most with gigs at Outpost are jazz artists; but experimental, world music, and even blues and folk specialists are also represented. California-based jazz pianist Myra Melford feels that Outpost’s success in today’s tough environment is largely due to Guralnick’s unique sensibility—which she describes as a paradoxical mix of pragmatic and visionary. “Outpost,” she says, “presents the whole range of jazz, the straight-ahead and the less popular. Tom has a good head for what will be popular and what will subsidize the more avant-garde music for which he has developed an audience. He always presents high quality, so that audiences trust him—whether or not they know what they’re going to hear.” “Tom takes risks, goes out on so many limbs artistically, and brings in cutting-edge music,” says Yvonne Ervin, executive director of the Western Jazz Presenters Network. “Outpost is a unique model,” she adds. “Having the space makes the organization. The only analogs in the west are the Jazz Bakery in Los Angeles—it recently lost its lease, but has a grant to build a new venue—and Santa Cruz’s Kuumbwa.” About 70 percent of Outpost Productions’ 80 to 100 yearly events take place at the Yale Boulevard space, but Guralnick presents in large-scale venues as well, when booking 27 such major draws as Dave Brubeck or with us; stayed for five days and then went Mexico—was really jazz-based and that, Sonny Rollins. The small venue has hosted on the San Francisco.” in fact, most of my new-music interests jazz names like Rudresh Mahanthappa But in 1981 Guralnick left the workshop were improvisationally and jazz based.” and Ravi Coltrane, experimentalists like and went back East to do his own thing— It was a one-man operation. For the first Pauline Oliveros, Fred Frith and Joan performing and recording and studying couple of years Guralnick presented his LaBarbara; blues masters Pops Staples and sound art and experimental music. He artists in various bookstores and theaters Johnny Shines; and world music from the decided to go for a master’s degree at around Albuquerque. And he continued likes of the Nuyorican Los Pleneros de la Connecticut’s Wesleyan University, whose to perform, both as a soloist and ensemble 21 and Zimbabwe’s Thomas Mapfumo. music department was known for innovation member. A European tour acquainted him Guralnick’s career trajectory, from avant- and breadth: “I was into everything that with small venues like Apollohuis, in the garde saxophonist to DIY jazz presenter, was there... jazz, world music, avant-garde... Netherlands, and Stichting Logos, in has taken some major twists and turns. He everybody from Bill Barron to Alvin Lucier Belgium. These were his mental models grew up in the Boston area and enrolled at to Abraham Adzenyah to T. [percussionist for the kind of intimate presenting space Harvard in 1968—on the cusp between Tanjore] Ranganathan. It was perfect for he wanted to obtain for his own enterprise. the politically active 1960s and the ethnic my interests at the time.” So in 1988 Guralnick sold his house roots-conscious 1970s. After two years, he When the time came to write his thesis and put the money into a two-story store- transferred to Bennington College, where (on solo saxophone improvisation), front that had previously housed a small the late free-jazz trumpeter Bill Dixon and Guralnick decided to head back to New printing company. He would live upstairs dancer Judith Dunn had started a division Mexico. He still owned a house there and on the second floor; the downstairs would of African American music. “I immersed figured he’d stay six months or so to finish become the performance space. The place myself in that world,” says Guralnick, the task. As he tells it, the epiphany that held 95 people at most. There was no “first with Bill and his students; then with caused him to stay in the Southwest stage—and audience members were seated Jimmy Garrison and Jimmy Cheatham.” occurred just as he drove across the border in the kind of brown metal folding chairs After college Guralnick moved to the into New Mexico from Texas on Interstate you’d find in a public school. In fall 1990 Southwest. He joined the New Mexico 40 and caught sight of the area’s red rock the newborn venue held its first event—a Jazz Workshop in 1976. “It was originally formations. He suddenly had the over- performance by the avant-garde jazz group a performers’ collective in Santa Fe,” he whelming sense that he was “home.” His Curlew. says. “But the musicians were going their roots might be in New England, but this Unlike commercial jazz clubs, Outpost— separate ways, and I soon got bitten by the was where he was going to stay. a nonprofit—has never had tables and does presenting bug.” He began to transform Guralnick expected to present and not serve alcohol. “That’s a whole different the workshop into a presenting organiza- perform mainly experimental and world level of commerce,” Guralnick explains. tion and moved to Albuquerque. “I music; but once he got going, his plan “I’m not a teetotaler, but it is nice to brought one of my heroes, Cecil Taylor, evolved: “I realized that my world—my concentrate on the music.” He describes out here in 1979. He spent Thanksgiving musical community here in New the venue’s atmosphere as “informally 28 november/decembermay/june 2011 2010 From left: At the old Outpost: gospel and R&B artist Pops Staples and blues guitarist/singer Johnny Shines, ca. 1990; Los Pleneros de la 21, with Guralnick and his wife, Adriana Ramírez de Arellano, ca. 1998. Outpost today: Vijay Iyer; Oliver Lake and Ensemble respectful”—that is to say, it is “somewhere confesses that, intoxicated with bringing Inpost Artspace Gallery, whose exhibits between a coffee house, a concert hall, and big names to his small space, he went are curated by local artists. a club.” through it much too fast. Indeed, Outpost’s durability has to do Except for selling drinks, there’s scarcely By the end of the decade, it was time to with its community connections. Notwith- a fundraising tactic, large or small, that get to the next level. In a leap of faith, standing his history of bringing in Guralnick doesn’t use to make sure Outpost Guralnick decided to sell the original “renowned” artists, Guralnick makes sure stays alive and well. To keep audience print-shop venue, and—with the help of the organization is locally grounded. members involved, there’s membership. two partners—he bought the building that Thursday nights are dedicated to perfor- Right now about 650 people are Outpost is Outpost’s current home. Soon after- mances by local and regional artists and members (he’s aiming to raise that figure ward, Outpost was chosen as a beneficiary ensembles. He presents Latin music for his to 800 this year), paying from $25 to $575 of the Doris Duke Charitable Foundation’s local base. The venue is also an education for a set of privileges, the most important five-year JazzNet Initiative. This major grant center. Scores of Albuquerque’s high school of which is a discount on ticket prices. gave Outpost a start on what eventually students and adults take lessons at Outpost (Tickets are typically $15–$20 but occa- became a sizable endowment. Building on in jazz improvisation and ensemble playing, sionally range up to $65 for such superstars this seed money, Outpost launched a capital with most courses culminating in a public as Chick Corea and Gary Burton, who campaign that paid for a good piano and performance. (Outpost donors have created are appearing on May 1.) Then there are helped renovate the new space. Many a scholarship fund, so some kids who need raffles, money from renting out the perfor- private donors and other foundations took it can attend at little or no cost.) Monthly mance space, benefit concerts, donations, part, including the McCune Charitable teen performances feature local bands, corporate sponsorships, and website ad- Foundations in Santa Fe and Pittsburgh, poetry readings, dance, and any other arts vertising—the Outpost home page has The FUNd, based at the Albuquerque local teens are ready to share. There are ads for two FM radio stations, as well as Community Foundation; and the Santa Fe even field trips for elementary school kids. local dermatology and gastroenterology Jazz Foundation. John Maestas, now 20 years old, first practices. And, of course, there are foun- Though larger than the original, the learned of Outpost when he was in high dation and governmental grants. newer Outpost is still an intimate space. It school, from a friend who was taking a Guralnick became proficient at writing seats 140 (the metal folding chairs have music class there.