(A)loft Modulation

A gritty, dilapidated five-floor walk-up in Manhattan’s seedy flower district is an after-hours haunt of musicians, artists, junkies, and prostitutes. The fuse of American culture burns below the surface. It’s the last explosive heyday of jazz and the inhabitants of the building jam night after night, while a compulsive photographer documents everything with round-the-clock reel-to-reel recordings and photographs.

Inspired by true events at 821 6th Ave. between 1957-65, (A)loft Modulation traces the turbulent, roiling obsessions of artists and loiterers in their pursuit of purpose, while social chaos seeks to overthrow American culture. It’s angst vs. contentment, selfishness vs. benevolence, artist vs. layman — a struggle that plays out through the fractured lens of unlabeled reel-to-reel tapes which are stumbled upon 60 years after they were recorded.

Using archival video and sound, (A)loft Modulation will bring 821 6th Ave. back to life for a few hours each night, including a live jazz band led by saxophonist Jonathan Beshay that will improvise nightly. Also featuring original piano compositions by Grammy nominee Gerald Clayton.