Minneapolis and New York converge on Chicago for tonight’s Improvised Music Series! Hanson, Hirsh, Clowser shape musical narratives in real time; Greene and Mattrey probe the limits of their instruments.
8:30 PM:
Ross Clowser: guitar
Nathan Hanson: saxophone
Steve Hirsh: drums
9:30 PM:
Will Greene: saxophone, guitar
Joanna Mattrey: viola
Ro Lundberg: bass
Lily Finnegan: drums
$15 / $10 w/ Student ID - Tickets Available at the Door
About the Artists:
“Lithe and soaring, engaging in judicious honk 'n' splatter” (New York City Jazz Record), Nathan Hanson makes music that invites listeners to stand outside themselves and the flow of time. Hanson investigates how to channel the sound of each performance space. The energy of the audience circulates with the music, silence and breath. The effect leads listeners to become more present to the unfolding of each moment. (photo by Benny Moreno)
Steve Hirsh plays music on the drumset. He leads improvising ensembles around the Twin Cities in Minnesota and beyond. He has been fortunate to perform and record with, among others, Eri Yamamoto, William Parker, Joel Futterman, Daniel Carter, Sally Gates, Matthew Shipp, Luke Stewart, Dave Sewelson, Steve Swell, Mara Rosenbloom, Gabby Fluke-Mogul, Matt Lavelle, Babatunde Lea, George Cartwright, Christopher Parker, Kelley Hurt, Chad Fowler, Douglas Ewart, and Zoh Amba. Born and raised in New York City, Steve now makes his home in the woods of northern Minnesota.
Hailing from the prairies of Iowa, Ross Clowser is an American composer, improviser, scholar, and guitarist. Often working as a bandleader, creative collaborator, and sideman, Ross’ work spans from free improvisation and electronic music programming to intermedia collaborations and through-composed creative music. Inspired by the history of American creative music, the spirit of community, and the power of possibility, Ross creates work that reflects the present moment, imagines new futures, and engages with the past.
Will Greene plays guitar and saxophone and currently resides in Brooklyn, NY. He improvises and writes music based on what he would like to hear. Generally, Will is fascinated by repurposing old, almost-forgotten sounds, finding new, soon-to-be-forgotten sounds, and exploring dynamic and physical limits in their extremes. Will is a member of avant-thrash outfit TRIGGER, the sci-fi country band DRESSAGE, and italo-prog-pop ensemble TREDICI BACCI. He is also proud of and grateful for his past and ongoing collaborations that have taken him across the United States and several continents. A woefully abbreviated list of these collaborators: Joe Morris, Raf Vertessen, John Zorn, Elias Stemeseder, Zoe Christiansen, Kenny Wollesen, Max Jaffe, Henry Fraser, Carrie Furniss, Daniel Pencer, and Jesse Heasly.
Joanna Mattrey is a NYC/Dublin based composer, improviser, and multimedia artist, whose works blend installation, video, sound, and movement, and are often site-specific, using the space to create intimacy with the audience. Her compositions use multimedia elements to strengthen and extend the transmission of her work, creating visual and sonic environments that deeply convey the themes of transformation, memory, social connection, loss, and spiritual journeys. Working in free improvisation, new music, and classical music. She uses extended techniques, modern compositional approaches, and electronic alterations to challenge conventions in sound. Mattrey has performed with icons Tyshawn Sorey, Henry Threadgill, Marc Ribot, John Zorn, Billy Martin, Elliott Sharp, Miya Masaoka, Crash Ensemble, and the International Contemporary Ensemble. Festivals performances include Newport Jazz Festival, Jazzwerkstatt, ArtActs, Tomeka Reid's Chicago Jazz String Summit, Dis(obedience) Fest, Dara Festival, Recent solo works include, 'Soulcaster' (Notice Recordings 2023), ‘Dirge’ (Dear Life Recs 2021), 'Veiled’ (Relative Pitch Records, 2020). Residencies include Roulette, ISSUE Project Room, Banff's Creative Gesture, 14th Street Y, Wild Project, and MoMa PS1's ALLGOLD.