Environ (Loft)

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Environ was a performance space that was influential during the Loft Jazz scene of the mid-1970s in NYC. [1] [2] [3] [4] It was located on Broadway in SOHO and close to two other noted Loft Jazz venues: RivBea and Ali's Alley. [5] Environ was established by Darius, Danny, and Chris Brubeck, sons and band mates of noted jazz musician Dave Brubeck; [6] the space was managed [7] and named [8] by John Fischer, with assistance by staff Mark Forman [1] and Brian Olewnick. [9]

Environ offered performance space to many Loft Jazz musicians, dancers, and other performance artists. [10] Dave Holland, Anthony Braxton, Charles Tyler, Hamiet Bluiett, [5] David Murray, Lester Bowie, Joseph Bowie, Chico Freeman were some of the many free jazz artists that performed there. [10] James Siegfried, who was later to become better known as James Chance and the Contortions (part of the No Wave scene in NYC), had his debut there.[ citation needed ] Environ attracted many of the future avant-garde jazz and No Wave musicians to its stage and audience. [10] Muhal Richard Abrams, one of the founders of the AACM, practiced there regularly on the house piano. [1] [11]

References

  1. 1 2 3 Forman, Mark (December 2009). "Environ: A lost jazz loft space in NYC". Perfect Sound Forever. Retrieved 22 October 2025.
  2. ↑ Allen, Jim (19 April 2023). "Elevating the Underground: The '70s NYC Loft Jazz Scene". Bandcamp Daily. Retrieved 22 October 2025.
  3. ↑ Shatz, Adam (29 October 2000). "MUSIC; 70's Redux: Notes From the Jazz Underground". The New York Times. Retrieved 22 October 2025.
  4. ↑ Heller, Michael C. (2016). Loft Jazz: Improvising New York in the 1970s. University of California Press. ISBN   9780520960893 . Retrieved 6 November 2025.
  5. 1 2 Crouch, Stanley (17 April 1977). "Jazz Lofts: A Walk Through the Wild Sounds". The New York Times. Retrieved 22 October 2025.
  6. ↑ Heller 2016, p. 206.
  7. ↑ Heller 2016, p. 118.
  8. ↑ Heller 2016, p. 134.
  9. ↑ "Brian Olewnick". Simon & Schuster. Retrieved 6 November 2025.
  10. 1 2 3 Palmer, Robert (20 August 1976). "Music: Environ 'Workshop' Offers Exciting Jazz". The New York Times. Retrieved 6 November 2025.
  11. ↑ Heller 2016, p. 55-56.

40°43′17″N74°00′00″W / 40.7213°N 74.0000°W / 40.7213; -74.0000


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