Literally dozens of boundary-bashing, category-defying, head-zapping acts would never have played Tampa Bay without the Emit Series of new and experimental music. David Manson, a trombonist and composer known for his work with SHIM, Fluid Motion and other acts, is Emit's artistic director. He kicked it off in 1995 with a concert by the Rova Saxophone Quartet and SHIM in the opulent confines of the Salvador Dali Museum. Since then, he's booked and promoted shows, solicited grants, arranged ad hoc venues (the Dali management bounced him out a few years ago) and generally kept the thing going on a shoestring. In eight years, local aficionados of out-there music have feasted on the likes of Sam Rivers, Ken Vandermark, Tim Berne, Derek Bailey, William Parker, Dave Liebman, Eugene Chadbourne, The Shaking Ray Levis, Billy Bang and others. Emit presents free jazz, neo-classical, interactive electronics, interdisciplinary art forms and other stuff that simply can't be defined. Manson is a true patron of the arts who contributes with sweat instead of money. So show the man some love and expand your horizons in the process. Attend one of these shows. Watch for another Rova gig coming soon. The annual Emit-a-thon happens 8 p.m. Tuesday, Sept. 30, featuring Tom Heasley, Erin Cardinal, Po0g, and Vonn New & Lumena. Check out www.emitseries.org for more details.
This article appears in Sep 25 – Oct 1, 2003.