KFGM Presents: The FreeSessions

The FreeSessions is an improvised music and movement jam session to promote collaboration amongst creatives in Missoula. The aim is to cultivate a healthy musical eco-system across genres and ages, through the encouragement of active listening among all participants and a full acceptance of all musicians. It is a place to grow your musicality and yourself. Every month a curator presents a new piece of music, concept, or improvisation for the first 30 minutes. Following the curator’s presentation, participants are invited to be a part of group improvisations throughout the rest of the evening. To participate, just show up and sign up at the beginning of the session. Session facilitators will help arrange groups. We encourage participants to read the curator’s blog post prior to the session to get a sense of the intentions they are setting for the group.

The FreeSessions was founded by Bill Kautz and Naomi Moon Siegel in 2017. Beginning in 2024, KFGM is proud to steward the gathering of local creative minds through the continuation of this program at The Missoula Public Library.

The March 25 FreeSessions, is curated by Naomi Moon Seigel. She states, “Hello folks, I am an improvising trombonist, composer, educator, and lifelong student. I am thrilled to be curating the first FreeSessions back after a hiatus. I’m so excited for this community space to be run by KFGM in partnership with the library moving forward, in an effort to make these sessions more sustainable. Blog post coming soon to share more about my curation!”

The April 29 program is Curated by Cole Bronson. Percussionist, Producer, and DJ, Cole Bronson has been a prominent and prolific figure in the Missoula music scene for the last few years. Playing with and contributing to musical outfits/artists such as Cosmic Sans, Rob Travolta, Tormi, Crosstalk, and a recent stint FUULS, along with a wide array of sample-based abstract hip-hop releases under the moniker ‘s_nya’ Bronson’s reach extends across a variety of genres and styles.

The May 31 session is Curated by Jay Bruns. Jay is an abstract audio/visual artist utilizing sound and video to create textural landscapes. He will be curating FreeSessions by pairing video synthesizers with long form ambient granular synthesis through immersive multi-channel audio playback. Participants are encouraged to pursue the relationship between abstract video and sampled ambient and percussive audio.