Racer Session #588 | Neil Welch

We’ve made it to the final month of sessions, friends. Two left. Wow! WOW. So many feelings. For the penultimate session this Sunday, Dec 1st, we’ll have friend and founder Neil Welch curate. Music starts at 7pm. Rather than list Neil’s bio and sing his accolades, we’ll let him speak right to you.

“Hello Racer heads —

At the Racer Sessions, thousands of improvisations have been performed, no one like the other. Collaborators found themselves with kindred spirits, creating deeply emotive works in a supportive environment. Formal compositions were born at the session. Bands were formed at the session. RS was the ideal fit for me as an artist. The unique format of a curator and open improvisation session provided me with a testing ground for new works and instrumental techniques to slowly take shape. I have learned so much from each artist that has contributed. The series itself is like a durational work I have been privileged to be a part of.

On January 24th, 2010, I had the honor of being our first curator. On December 1st, 2024, I will be the last. When the Racer Sessions struck up in 2010, I remember vividly that my mind was in two places:

1. I wanted to explore solo saxophone music with a fervor that verged on obsessive.
2. I craved to play with, listen to, and learn from kindred improvising spirits in any instrumentation configuration conceivable.

Along with you, my community, for this final curated session it is this latter desire that I would like to explore. It burns unabated in me to this day.

What we as a community have accomplished is astonishing. We should be proud. I view my participation in the Racer Sessions as one of the major accomplishments of my artistic life. This community embraced me as a person and artist. I will be forever grateful to have taken part. Friends, it is nearly time to let go. This weekly session, which has meant the world to so many of us—which has meant the world to me—will soon become a memory. But in this memory we share a sonic unity! We carry this forward in our work, and in the communities we will come to know in the future.

In deepest gratitude and love,
-Neil Welch