Bruce Golden and George Cartwright have been collaborating on making music since the heady days of Ars Super Nova (with John Evans, Jeb Stuart, and Evan Gallagher) in Jackson, Mississippi.
Much and much music has been made and continues to be made since then. Here is more.


The release of "Auto-Fanon System" by George Cartwright, featuring percussionist Bruce Golden and cornetist Noah Ophoven-Baldwin, represents a significant evolution in the sound world of one of avant-garde music’s most idiosyncratic voices. Known as the founder of the legendary NYC ensemble Curlew, Cartwright has spent decades blurring the lines between free jazz, R&B, and the "Downtown" avant-garde.

In this collection, Cartwright leans further into the modular, electronic-adjacent textures that have defined his recent late-career output, creating a dialogue between human breath, rhythmic precision, and sonic abstraction.

The Personnel: A Trio of Generational Intersection
George Cartwright (Alto/Tenor Saxophones, Electronics, Guitar): The architect of this session. Cartwright’s playing here is characterized by its "humanist" edge—even at its most abstract, there is a melodic warmth and a grit reminiscent of his Mississippi roots.

Bruce Golden (Drums, Percussion): A longtime collaborator whose history with Cartwright dates back to their days in Jackson, Mississippi (Ars Supernova) and into the later iterations of Curlew. Golden’s style is uniquely suited to this material; he provides a "loose-limbed" but driving polyrhythmic foundation that feels like a conversation rather than a simple beat.

Noah Ophoven-Baldwin (Cornet): Representing the younger generation of the Twin Cities creative music scene, Ophoven-Baldwin brings a brilliant, sharp-edged clarity to the front line. His cornet work provides a brassy foil to Cartwright’s reeds, often utilizing extended techniques and micro-tonalities that merge seamlessly with the album’s electronic undercurrents.


Sonic Characteristics:

Non-Linear Narratives: The tracks avoid traditional "head-solo-head" jazz structures. Instead, they operate as sound environments. You may hear a gritty guitar loop or a glitchy electronic pulse (the "Auto" in the title) over which the three musicians weave intricate, interlocking lines.

The Mississippi-NYC-Minneapolis Axis: The album carries the DNA of Cartwright’s various homes. It has the swampy, blues-informed soul of the South, the intellectual rigor of the 80s Knitting Factory scene, and the adventurous "new music" spirit of the contemporary Twin Cities.

The Dialogue of Breath: The interplay between Cartwright’s sax and Ophoven-Baldwin’s cornet is the album’s emotional core. At times they scream in unison; at others, they whisper around Golden’s pointillist percussion, creating a sense of vast, open space.

Why It Matters
"Auto-Fanon System" is more than just a free-improv session; it is a document of a veteran artist refusing to rest on his laurels. By bringing in the precise, modern sensibilities of Noah Ophoven-Baldwin and the telepathic connection of Bruce Golden, Cartwright has created a work that feels both ancient and futuristic. It is music that demands active listening—a system of sounds that reveals new gears and pulleys with every spin.