Clockwise from top left: Gabe Heinemann, Jim Baker, Owen Frankel, Vincent Davis

Three Grebes (photo by Mark Wedel

Floating Cave (photo by Jonathan Hansen)

Vincent Davis, born in Chicago, is an internationally acclaimed jazz percussionist, composer and teacher. The seed of music was planted in Davis early, growing up in a home filled with the influences of rock, jazz and gospel. In 1979 Davis left Chicago to attend the Milwaukee Conservatory of Music, where his love of jazz and skill at drumming further bloomed and flourished. It was here that Davis met his mentor Manty Ellis. Davis trained and studied with Ellis, primarily focusing on Jazz trap drumming.

Jim Baker has been playing in and around Chicago and the world for a few decades, mostly in improvisational contexts, mostly playing either piano, synthesizer, or both. He has recorded a bunch of music, mostly with other people, (though he also has a solo CD on Delmark called "More Questions Than Answers"); and plays almost every Monday with Extraordinary Popular Delusions at Beat Kitchen.

Gabriel Heinemann is a saxophonist and composer based in Chicago. Since graduating from Oberlin Conservatory in 2022, Gabriel has continued his musical development through connecting with musicians across Chicago. This past year, he also released a debut trio album, “After a Break”, and production/songwriter EP “Oneiros”.

Unique collaborations abound tonight, in the style of the uniquely Chicago blend of free jazz and rock:

First, Three Grebes (Kalamazoo/Chicago) and Floating Cave join forces to create a mixture of improvised songs and drones, expanding a singular guitar and tuba-driven rock sound with exploratory electronics.

Then, a quartet assembled by saxophonist Gabriel Heinemann combines up-and-coming forces in Chicago jazz with some of its’ most stalwart legends.

8:30 pm:
Three Grebes: Franki Hand (vox, accordion, electric violin, etc.), Beth McDonald (tuba/electronics), and Isaac Turner (guitar, drums, tongue drum, etc.) +
Floating Cave (electronics)

9:30 pm:
Gabriel Heinemann - saxophone
Jim Baker - piano & synthesizer
Vincent Davis - drums & percussion
Owen Frankel - bass

$15 / $10 w/ Student ID -
Tickets Available at the Door

About the artists

Three Grebes plays music, and makes albums, and crush empanadas. Three Grebes is a band that mixing improvisation, songwriting, and drone. The trio features Franki Hand (vox, accordion, electric violin, etc.), Beth McDonald (tuba/electronics), and Isaac Turner (guitar, drums, tongue drum, etc.), but they are often prone to guests. (This show's guest is Floating Cave.) The band released their EP "You Were A Joy" in 2024, and their full album will be released this year. Franki Hand and Isaac Turner are both based in Kalamazoo, MI and also perform with the Kalamazoo Drone Society, and the bands Wowza and Handturner. Beth McDonald is based in Chicago and performs regularly with her local bands Edition Redux and Where Were We.

Floating Cave is the solo work of artist Drew Bissell, who is also part of New Standards Men and Aseethe. His newest release, Amulet of Sound, reads like an ancient mystical text, a cabalistic cypher offering the listener entry into a world yet unknown. As the first non-live release for Floating Cave, Amulet of Sound is a study of interacting layers of ever-evolving, rhythmic synthesized sound, field recording, and improvised traditional instrumentation. Elements of Free music, drone, deep listening, tape manipulation, doom metal, minimalism and film scoring are forged together into a beautiful, singular piece.

Owen H Frankel is a bassist, vocalist, and composer based in Chicago, Illinois. In 2022, he graduated from the Oberlin Conservatory of Music where he studied with Peter Dominguez and Gerald Cannon. While a student at Oberlin, Owen was a founding member of groups Slampson and The Music Quintet. He has also released much music under his own name that highlights him as an adept and unique indie singer-songwriter. An in demand improvising musician in Chicago, Owen can be seen playing regularly at venues around the city and beyond with musicians such as the Vincent Davis, the Jamal Damien trio, and Ernest Dawkins; as well as his recently formed project, Our Mutt.