- Extraordinary Popular Delusions at the Hungry Brain
For more than five years the quartet that’s come to be known as Extraordinary Popular Delusions has held court at Hotti Biscotti every Tuesday night, playing one or two sets free of charge. In fact, for a while the band actually tried enticing listeners by offering to give them money. The quartet—keyboardist Jim Baker, bassist Brian Sandstrom, drummer Steve Hunt, and reedist Mars Williams—is a kind of living link to the 80s free jazz in Chicago, before Ken Vandermark revitalized the scene by ushering in a new generation of players in the early 90s. These four guys helped keep the torch lit during that fallow decade, and all but Baker did meaningful service in Hal Russell’s NRG Ensemble.