DKV Trio
Elastic Arts is very happy to welcome back the legendary collaborative ensemble DKV Trio for the longstanding holiday concert that they’ve done in Chicago for many years. This fantastic pairing of journeymen Chicago improvisers found its roots in the mid-1990’s and has worked actively since that time.
Ken Vandermark - reeds
Kent Kessler - bass
Hamid Drake - drums
7:45 PM DOORS / 8:30 PM CONCERT
$25 Single Day / $40 Two Day Ticket
Click HERE for tickets!
About the Artists
The DKV Trio is one of the most exciting ensembles working in contemporary improvised music. Featuring Hamid Drake (drums), Kent Kessler (bass), and Ken Vandermark, the band has been active since the mid 1994 and has released more than a dozen recordings, including three box sets, two as a trio (Past Present, Not Two 2011; Sound in Motion in Sound, Not Two 2014 one of which with Joe McPhee (The Fire Each Time, Not Two 2019). They are currently working on their next collection of material, that will result from the annual concerts they’ve been performing at Elastic Arts in Chicago each December since 2018.
Their 2014 five CD box set, Sound in Motion in Sound, was reviewed by the Free Jazz Collective as follows, “They are tighter, more explosive, and ingenious than ever. Imagine every DKV Trio’s signature element coming together in a remarkably dazzling, fiery display of musical prowess. There’s an almost palpable quality to the way that the musicians meld their ideas and approaches together. There’s groove propelled by Drake’s funky, loose drumming, there’s melody in the bass lines, there’s dissonance and conflict in Vandermark’s fluid, mercurial playing. This is a great recording by an unmistakable, intense group of musicians with a sound and feeling of their own. That much is clear now. I would even dare to call this album their best to date. Inspired, full of energy, harmonically, rhythmically, and even melodically rich, capable of wonderfully recreating the joy of listening to DKV Trio live.” 5 stars
In 2017 they released Latitude 41.88, also on the label Not Two, which was reviewed in the Chicago Reader on December 20, 2018, “Not only can DKV Trio instantly compose music that’s so memorable you’d swear you were remembering deep cuts from an old favorite album when you hear it, but each man’s growth as an instrumentalist heightens the lyricism and soul of their tunes.” In addition, they toured in Europe and in the Midwest of the States with Joe McPhee as a guest. In addition to their tradition of December performances at Elastic Arts, in 2018 DKV was featured at the All Ears Festival in Oslo and the Open Music Festival in Forli, Italy, and in November of 2024 the trio was one of the highlights of the sold out Music Unlimited Festival 38 in Wels, Austria.