Fortunately for jazz and avant-garde enthusiasts, New Yorker Alex Lemski brings diversity and excitement to the city with forward-thinking cultural events like the Denver Free Music Festival and the Edge of the String concert series. The president and driving force behind the nonprofit Creative Music Works, Lemski has also branched out and begun sponsoring jazz classes and seminars through the grass-rooted Lamont School of Music. A consistent supporter of free-form sounds and risk-taking since the mid-'80s, Lemski's the staunch non-commercial odd man out in today's increasing tide of Ticketmaster-induced slavery, placing music over the almightiest of moolah. Here's to the outer reaches of jazz -- and beyond!