Nels Cline

Sexual encounters and criminal mayhem occur when two people meet via their computers.

Although the free jazz movement of the 1960s and '70s was much maligned in some jazz circles, its pioneers - brilliant talents like Ornette Coleman, Cecil Taylor, Sun Ra, Albert Ayler, and John Coltrane - are today acknowledged as central to the evolution of jazz as America's most innovative art form. FIRE MUSIC showcases the architects of a movement whose radical brand of improvisation pushed harmonic and rhythmic boundaries, and produced landmark albums like Coleman's Free Jazz: A Collective Inspiration and Coltrane's Ascension. A rich trove of archival footage conjures the 1960s jazz scene along with incisive reflections by critic Gary Giddins and a number of the movement's key players.

Familiar faces at Cully following their previous appearances, John Medeski, Billy Martin and Chris Wood, who have completely redefined the musical possibilities of the jazz trio, are back this year for a sound explosion. With an exemplary career over more than 20 years, the three colorful New Yorkers have made groove their watchword and adventurous performance their playground. With a collective communication that borders on telepathy they deliver legendary concerts, offering themselves to the audience in a brilliant, instinctive style. From funk gimmicks to blues phrasing they make every musical reference their own in this concert, which is performed in company with that great guitarist Nels Cline, who is equally at ease with a John Coltrane number or when playing with the alternative rock band Wilco.

Chicago legends Wilco perform at the Sydney Opera House.

After mysteriously washing up on a desolate stretch of coastline, Jonas sheds his sinful past and is guided to the City of Angels. Intuitively, he knocks on the doors of those in need of a powerful message.