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Improvised Music Series: Jorrit Diijkstra/Jeb Bishop/Beth MacDonald/Ishmael Ali/Michael Zerang + Emily Beisel/Ro Lundberg/Norman Long

IMS welcomes a group featuring Jorrit Dijkstra accompanied by a quintet of Chicago improvisers along with trio set by Emily Biesel, Ro Lundberg, and Norman W. Long.

8:30 pm:
Emily Beisel - clarinet
Ro Lundberg - double bass
Norman Long - electronics

9:30 pm:
Jorrit Diijkstra - saxophone
Jeb Bishop - trombone
Beth MacDonald - tuba
Ishmael Ali - cello
Michael Zerang - drumset

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

About the artists

The music of saxophonist and composer Jorrit Dijkstra (Eindhoven, Netherlands, 1966) draws from the jazz tradition in spirit and sound, but has crossed stylistic and cultural borders in order to express a strong, evolving personal vision. He spent his formative years in Amsterdam’s vibrant improvisation community playing jazz, free improvisation, and world music. Since moving to the United States in 2002, Dijkstra has deepened his affinity with the experimental forces of American music, while staying in touch with his Dutch musical roots. Jorrit works as a composer and is a Professor at Berklee College of Music and a faculty member of the New England Conservatory in Boston.

Dijkstra’s projects include Boston groups such as his quintet Cutout, quartet BOLT, The Porch Trio, and the large ensemble Bathysphere. His duos with drummer/composer John Hollenbeck (with guest pianist Benoît Delbecq on their latest recording) and trombonist Jeb Bishop and long-standing collaborations. Dijkstra’s sextet The Whammies play the Music of Steve Lacy was founded with a core group of Boston improvisers plus Dutch drum legend Han Bennink and violinist Mary Oliver, to explore the repertoire of the late soprano saxophonist Steve Lacy. This project has led to three CD releases and several European and North American tours.

https://jorritdijkstra.com/


Emily Rach Beisel is a Chicago-based improviser, composer, educator, curator and woodwind specialist. Beisel is known for visceral performances blending extended vocal and instrumental techniques with analogue electronics. Their solo album Particle of Organs is described as "Operatic, wild and dark, showcasing the raw power of the body and the instrument, weaving together sounds that are both corrosive and tender." As a curator, Beisel seeks to increase the visibility and involvement of femme, trans and nonbinary artists in the creative performance community. They founded the Pleiades Series at Elastic Arts, presenting monthly performances, community-based free improvisation sessions and a biennial PleiadesFest. Beisel holds a Master of Music degree from Northwestern University and is a member of the American Federation of Musicians Local 10-208.

Ro(b)//ert Lundberg makes sound and image, thinks about and drinks water. Now based in Chicago, they have performed throughout the United States, Canada, and Europe at venues and festivals such as Big Ears and CURRENTS New Media Festival. They perform solo and with outfits ranging from improvising ensembles to art rock bands. Their multimedia artistic work often focuses on the interaction of human infrastructure and the spaces it inhabits.

Norman W. Long is a polymathic practitioner in sound, video, and performance art. His artistic methodology encompasses soundwalks, assemblage, live performances, and audio recordings to engender artifacts, environments, and scenarios, facilitating dialogues between himself and the audience regarding memory space, culture, environmental justice, value, silence, and invisible phenomena. Holding a Master’s Degree in “New Genres” from the San Francisco Art Institute and a Master’s of Landscape Architecture degree from Cornell University (2008), Norman relocated to Chicago in 2008. His artistic endeavors have been showcased at diverse venues, including Experimental Sound Studio, Kavi Gupta Gallery, Renaissance Society, Yale University, Harold Washington College, Chicago Artists Coalition Gallery, Hyde Park Art Center, Constellation Links Hall, Elastic Arts, Constellation, and the Arts Club as part of the 2015 Chicago Humanities Festival.



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Ensemble Dal Niente + Macie Stewart

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JELLO Presents: The OOZE