We produce the High Zero festival not just for Baltimore and the current moment, but also for posterity, the culture in general, and the ongoing development of improvised music. We document the festival each year thoroughly through high quality digital video and audio recordings, which a published selectively but also form a huge archive for the future.

So far there have been four great CDs produced from performances at the High Zero Festival, published in partnership with the RECORDED music label. They are:

Recorded 004
The Shattering
with Carol Genetti and friends at High Zero 2000

Recorded 005
"Mr. Peabody Goes to Baltimore"
with Joe McPhee and friends at High Zero 2000

Recorded 007
"The Long Awaited Etcetera..."
with Katt Hernandez and friends at High Zero 2001

Recorded 008
WIDE OPEN
with Jack Wright and friends at High Zero 2001

These records are available through various distributors, and also from Normals Books and Records in Baltimore (www.normals.com). What is interesting about them is that they are not only amazing documents of contemporary improvisation (featuring a huge range of players), but that they also sound VERY DIFFERENT from most of the free improvisation we have heard. If there is a recognizable idiom of free improvisation (in the negative sense), these are not it. Check them out.

There is video documentation of the High Zero 2000 festival available in packaged VHS format. Contact John Berndt for information on getting a copy.

There are a number of web sites documenting or supporting previous festivals:

The High Zero 2001 documentation web site
The High Zero 2000 documentation web site
The High Zero 1999 documentation web site

The High Zero 2001 pre-festival web site
The High Zero 2000 pre-festival web site