present
In the summer of 2013, guitarist Joe Morris decided to thoroughly acquaint himself with the vibrant Chicago creative music scene. Although he’d worked with plenty of Chicago musicians over the years, including regular collaborations with percussionist Hamid Drake and reedist Ken Vandermark, it had been many years since Morris had spent any significant time in the city. So he undertook a series of concerts, organized by Vandermark, which placed him in a number of different contexts alongside many of his Chicago-based counterparts, including this string-heavy date at Elastic Arts.
From the start, this ad-hoc quartet took advantage of an unusual instrumentation to produce some austere and starkly beautiful music. Each member contributes quickly interweaving lines that occasionally burst to the fore, but tend more often to wrap themselves into one other, hiding in plain sight amongst the unified whole. Cloaking their individual timbres into a sinewy mass, the result is a tight and fascinating exploration of contrapuntal improvisation.
1. White Dead 23:14
2. Yellow Dead 09:31
3. Purple Dead 09:41
4. Spotted Dead 05:22
Dave Rempis, alto sax, baritone sax
Joe Morris, guitar
Tomeka Reid, cello
Jim Baker, piano
Recorded live at Elastic Arts in Chicago, IL
August 8th, 2013
Recorded, mixed, and mastered by Dave Zuchowski
Produced by Dave Rempis
Special thanks to Ken Vandermark for his help in organizing this concert.
DEMY
