CalArts will kick off the 2017—2018 season of its critically acclaimed Wild Beast Concert Series with a free, outdoor performance by two large and experimental bands defining the future of jazz, The Daniel Rosenboom Octet and theBABAOrchestra, on Saturday, Oct. 14, starting at 7:30 p.m.

Taking place during CalArts Weekend, which welcomes alumni, parents, and the community for a homecoming like no other, the concert comes just one day after the inauguration of CalArts’ fourth president Ravi S. Rajan.

“You won’t hear any standards at this concert,” said David Roitstein, chair of the CalArts Jazz program. “This is jazz that looks to the future—not the past. Both bands reflect a 21st-century sensibility that combines jazz with a wonderful range of inspirations from contemporary classical and experimental sounds to rock, pop and world music. With their bands, Lauren and Daniel have used CalArts’s fertile mix of musical tradition and experimentation to nourish fresh ideas and extravagant new sounds.”

Trumpeter, composer, and producer Daniel Rosenboom leads his dynamic electroacoustic octet through original compositions drawing from avant-garde jazz, minimalism, electronic music, and experimental rock.

Featuring some of Los Angeles’ most creative musicians, and four CalArts alumni, including Rosenboom himself, the octet made its first appearance on Rosenboom’s ambitious and critically acclaimed double live album, “Astral Transference & Seven Dreams” on Orenda Records.

Hailed a “phenomenon” by the Los Angeles Times, Rosenboom has performed on renowned stages around the world, from Madison Square Garden to the Monterey Jazz Festival and from the Hammersmith Apollo to the Hollywood Bowl.

theBABAOrchestra is a 17-piece big band performing original instrumental compositions by composer, conductor, and bandleader Lauren Elizabeth Baba.

Featuring nine CalArts alumni, including Baba, the band has been called precise, surprising, patient, sinister, smart, rude, compelling, inhuman, and “a whirlwind of texture and rhythm” by LA Weekly.

Taking inspiration from jazz, rock, folk, experimental, and new music, “Lauren Baba’s tuned-in take on the big band jazz genre” has entertained crowds all over Los Angeles and will release its debut record later this fall.

The Wild Beast Concert Series – held at CalArts’ highly flexible, acoustically optimized indoor/outdoor performance venue, The Wild Beast and The S. Mark Taper Foundation Courtyard – has been offering free afternoon and evening concerts to the community since 2010, spotlighting a variety of genres within The Herb Alpert School of Music at CalArts.

Designed by Hodgetts + Fung and accommodating more than 750 guests, The Wild Beast was named in honor of former CalArts Composer-in-Residence Morton Feldman, who likened the ineffable creative energy in art to a wild beast.

All Wild Beast Concert Series events are free and open to the public. Reservations are recommended.

The Wild Beast Music Pavilion is located on the CalArts campus at 4700 McBean Parkway, Valencia 91355.