Jim Staley

Jim Staley is a trombonist and improviser based in Brooklyn, NY. He works across post-modern classical music and avant-garde jazz, drawing influence from Berlin's experimental scene where he lived from 1971 to 1973.

Jim Staley works primarily with improvisation, crossing genres freely between post-modern classical music and avant-garde jazz. His big, gruff tone hearkens to an earlier era, though his abilities plant him firmly in the free music world. While stationed in Berlin from 1971 to 1973, he became inspired by the collectivist, envelope-pushing spirit of the German avant-garde music scene. After his service period, he turned a family property in Champaign-Urbana into a space where artists and students could live, create, and experiment at little to no cost—affectionately coined "Staley Manor." He co-founded Roulette Intermedium in 1978 with sound-artists David Weinstein and Dan Senn, and graphic artist Laurie Szujewska as an artists' space for the presentation of music, dance and intermedia. Housed in Staley's TriBeCa loft, Roulette was a product of the burgeoning Downtown Music scene and produced between 50 and 90 concerts a year. He is a member of the Tone Road Ramblers, a new music ensemble formed in 1981.