The Chicago Underground Duo @ Woodland Pattern This Sunday POSTED:: February 19, 2010
FILED UNDER::
Concerts
FILED UNDER:: Concerts
words by Hal Rammel
Chicago Underground – in its various manifestations from duo to quartet to orchestra – was formed by Rob Mazurek in 1995. The ensemble has numerous recordings on the Chicago-based Thrill Jockey label (most recently the duo CDBoca Negra) has brought the group much attention not only as improvisers and composers in the world of post-rock as well as post-bop. Since their last performance for Alternating Currents Live in 2000 Mazurek relocated from Chicago to Brazil and has gone on to perform and record with his highly acclaimed large ensemble the Exploding Star Orchestra as well as some powerful collaborative projects with trumpet master Bill Dixon. Chad Taylor’s base of operations moved to New York a few years ago and he has performed and toured extensively with Cooper-Moore.
Rob Mazurek describes himself as “a sound/vision abstractivist, cornetist, improviser, composer and multi-media artist” who has defined a unique style drawing upon many facets of contemporary and non-contemporary sound and vision. As a prime mover in the vibrant Chicago music scene, he is the leader/organizer of the Exploding Star Orchestra, the Chicago Underground collective, Mandarin Movie and Sao Paulo Underground. He has collaborated and/or recorded with Bill Dixon, Jim O’Rourke, Fred Hopkins, Luc Ferrari, Tigersmilk, Gastr del Sol, Noamnesia, Isotope 217, Tortoise, Stereolab, Sam Prekop among many others.
Living in Chicago in the late 1990s, Chad Taylor helped form the various Chicago Underground Ensembles with Rob Mazurek as well as performing with the Fred Anderson Trio and the trio Sticks and Stones, a collective with Matana Roberts and Josh Abrams. Playing drums and vibraphone he has performed on over 50 recordings, many of these documenting his work with Derick Baily, Matana Roberts, Eugene Chadbourne, Joe McPhee, Peter Brotzman, Roscoe Mitchell, William Parker, Leroy Jenkins, Fred Hopkins, Evan Parker, Henry Grimes, Ken Vandermark, Nicole Mitchell, Ernest Dawkins, Marilyn Crispell, Ellery Eskelin, Steve Lehman, Bobby Bradford, Jeff Parker, Roy Campbell, Connie Crothers, and many other great improvisers. In recent years he has worked with Cooper-Moore and Assif Tashar in the trio Digital Primitives, has performed and recorded with Marc Ribot’s Spiritual Unity project (playing the music of Albert Ayler), Marc Ribot’s band Sunship, and leads his own ensemble Circle Down.
Alternating Currents Live presents The Chicago Underground Duo (Rob Mazurek on cornet/electronics and Chad Taylor on drums/vibraphone/percussion), live, at Woodland Pattern (720 E. Locust) on Sunday, February 21 at 7 p.m.