Microplastique (photo by Lola Selby)
Gabrielle Lochard & Julian Otis
An evening of serious play at the Improvised Music Series:
Gabrielle Lochard and Julian Otis will present an improvised vocal music, meditating on the African diasporic experience on Turtle Island. They will work with performance as a vessel for liberatory time travel, informed by the West African indigenous time concept of Sankofa. The will draw from their work as jazz musicians, theater artists, free improvisers, and opera singers.
Adam Shead’s microplastique celebrates the release of its second album “Many Roads,” turning multi-instrumentalism and everything including the kitchen sink into introspective presence and a whimsical embrace of the avant-garde.
8:30 pm -
Gabrielle Lochard - voice, piano
Julian Otis - voice, electronics
9:30 pm - Microplastique
Ben Zucker - brass, percussion, stylophone
Molly Jones - winds, percussion
Josh Harlow - keyboards, percussion
Adam Shead - drums, percussion, compositions
$15 / $10 w/ Student ID - Tickets Available at the Door
About the Artists
microplastique is a Chicago-based quartet featuring multi-instrumentalists Ben Zucker, Molly Jones, Josh Harlow, and Adam Shead. Formed in 2023 under Shead’s direction, the ensemble explores the intersections of composition, improvisation, and sonic texture with a fearless and dynamic approach. Their debut album, blare blow bloom! (Irritable Mystic Records, 2024), received wide acclaim—All About Jazz called it “a wild ride through the avant-garde jazz landscape … a cacophony of sound that somehow manages to be both chaotic and harmonious” (Glenn Astarita), while The Tone Arm praised Shead’s “unique fusion of contemporary classical rigor and free jazz volatility” (Lawrence Peryer). With energetic performances that balance structure and spontaneity, microplastique has quickly established itself as one of Chicago’s most forward-thinking ensembles. Their forthcoming second album, Many Roads—out January 22, 2026 via Irritable Mystic Records—extends the group’s bold commitment to collective exploration and the creation of vivid, unpredictable sound worlds.