A special long weekend of music made in the moment presented by Elastic Arts’ Improvised Music Series
Join us for three days of improvised music from Chicago artists here at Elastic Arts!
Thursday 4/16
8:30pm - Jason Roebke Quartet
9:30pm - Ken Vandermark / Damon Locks / Chris Corsano
We kick off the festival Thursday April 16th with a bang, featuring a set from Jason Roebke Quartet followed by a trio from Ken Vandermark / Damon Lock / Chris Corsano.
Roebke’s quartet features fellow stalwarts Ed Wilkerson Jr on reeds, Mabel Kwan on piano, and Marcus Evans on drums. The music bridges the worlds of jazz and experimental music with his compositions leading the listener through twists, turns, and returns. Equal parts Art Ensemble of Chicago and Luc Ferrari, Roebke’s graphic scores are rich and flexible, concentrating on exploring multifarious ways of stopping, something that’s been a feature of the bassist’s improvisation for decades.
The trio of Chris Corsano (drums), Damon Locks (electronics), and Ken Vandermark (reeds) will perform for the first time as part of the Imminence Festival. Though this is their initial music as a group, there have been a number of previous collaborations from these musicians, some of them longstanding. Damon and Ken began to work as a duo through an invitation to perform at Chicago's Hyde Park Jazz Festival in September of 2020 and have continued to develop their music since, with many concerts in Chicago and a tour in Europe during May of 2023. Damon and Chris performed together at the Catalytic Sound Festival held in December of 2023, presenting an absolutely stunning set of improvised music. Chris and Ken have played together in many configurations over the last several years, developing a special rapport in the process. Though it will be completely improvised and spontaneous, the music the will present at the Imminence Festival will based on their collective histories, which include decades of work with a variety of musical aesthetics and artists that have taken place during hundreds of concerts and dozens of recordings, at home and abroad.
Friday 4/17
8:30pm - Potliquor w/ Ben Hall + Macie Stewart
9:30pm - Hearts & Minds
Saturday 4/18
8:30pm - Jim Baker (solo)
9:30pm - Dave Rempis / Jacob Wick / Beth McDonald / Phil Sudderberg
10:30pm - Bill Mackay and Katinka Kleijn
Saturday 4/18 @ 1:00pm $FREE$ Afternoon Workshop w/ Open Jam ft. Ishmael Ali / Molly Jones / Ben Zucker / Bill Harris