Peter Maunu, Kent Kessler, Julian Kirshner (photo by Erik Sowa)
Clockwise from upper left (photo credit):
Ausberto Acevedo
Paul Giallorenzo
Tyler Damon (Jeff Swanson)
Jason Stein (Peter Gannushkin)
Presenting an evening of veteran Chicago improvisers!
Julian Kirshner reassembles a collective improvising trio alongside veterans Peter Maunu and Kent Kessler. This intergenerational band draws from different corners of the jazz and improvised music tradition, paying homage to the Chicago scene, the 80’s fusion landscape and contemporary experimental music.
A new collective brings together the unique voices of Jason Stein (bass clarinet), Paul Giallorenzo (piano), Ausberto Acevedo (bass), and Tyler Damon (drums), whose diverse backgrounds and creative energy promise to create a vibrant and dynamic collaboration. Each member brings their distinct approach to the group. Drawing inspiration from both tradition and modernity, this group promises to create a sound that is full of surprises and spontaneous innovation. Their first of hopefully many meeting marks the beginning of a journey of creative exploration and exciting musical dialogue.
8:30 pm -
Peter Maunu - guitar/violin/mandolin
Kent Kessler - bass
Julian Kirshner - drums
9:30 pm -
Ausberto Acevedo - Bass
Tyler Damon - Drums
Paul Giallorenzo - Piano
Jason Stein - Bass Clarinet
$15 / $10 w/ Student ID -
Tickets Available at the Door
Artist Bios
Jason Stein is an internationally recognized bass clarinetist and composer and is among the handful of jazz musicians who play the bass clarinet exclusively. Stein leads the acclaimed trio Locksmith Isidore as well as his own quartet, and he is an indispensable contributor to several of the leading bands on Chicago’s jazz and improvised music scene. Stein has been named on both the Downbeat Critics Poll and the El Intruso International Critics Poll, having won the latter from 2017-2020. Stein’s playing showcases an extraordinary expertise on the bass clarinet, ranging from powerful post-bop lines to ear-grabbing wails in the altissimo range. Stein is based in Chicago and has recorded for such labels as Leo, Delmark, Not Two, Atavistic, 482 Music, Clean Feed, Astral Spirits, Sunnyside, Eremite, and Northern Spy.
Originally from NY (b. 1977), Paul Giallorenzo is a Chicago-based improviser, composer, producer, and sound designer using piano, synthesizer, keyboards, and electronics in a diverse range of contexts with a wide array of Chicago and international musicians in improvised, avant-jazz, experimental, and electro/acoustic music, performing regularly locally and throughout North America and Europe. Giallorenzo’s work has been praised for its “inside-out” nature – his ability to push the boundaries of “conventional” jazz toward more freedom but also, on the other side, to bring a measure of structure to more avant-garde material. Writing in the online journal Point Of Departure, John Litweiler said, “His solos and aggressive duets are gems of after-Bop, after-Bley melody,” while AllAboutJazz.org lauded music that “smudges the lines between the tradition and the avant-garde.” His work can be found on the Chicago-based Delmark Records and Austin-based Astral Spirits labels, as well as various other imprints including Leo Records (UK), Not Two Records (Poland), and 482 Music (NY). Giallorenzo is the Artistic Director of the intermedia arts organization Homeroom and a co-founder and programmer of the music venue/art gallery Elastic Arts, producing hundreds of creative music concerts and art events in Chicago since 2001.
Ausberto Acevedo is a an Evanston, IL based double bassist, composer, improviser, and teacher performing regularly both live and in the studio. Ausberto has performed or recorded with a variety of musicians throughout many genres. Ausberto is a founding member of Resonance Arts, a nonprofit organization dedicated to presenting unconventional performance in unlikely spaces throughout the greater Chicago area.
Tyler Damon (b. 1987, Cincinnati, Ohio) is a drummer, improviser and educator. He currently resides in Chicago, Illinois. In addition to solo work, Tyler’s contemporary outfits include a longtime duo with saxophonist Dave Rempis, as well as a quartet alongside Rempis, Jason Adasiewicz and Joshua Abrams. He is found frequently in duet with tenor saxophonist Gerrit Hatcher, expanded in trio with bassist Andrew Scott Young. Where Were We, a triad completed by Erez Dessel on keys and Beth McDonald on tuba and electronics, was formed in 2023. Tyler is also often seen and heard accompanying guitarist Eli Winter in the company of Sam Wagster on pedal steel.