Quin Kirchner blew into Chicago in 2005, after Hurricane Katrina devastated his old hometown of New Orleans. He wasted no time making himself essential as a drummer, and since then he’s played with a wide variety of acts: Afrobeat combo Nomo, tropical pop band Wild Belle, singer-guitarist Ryley Walker, and countless jazz ensembles. In all […]
Tag: Hungry Brain
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Chicago indie workhorse Liam Kazar reaches for the sublime on his debut solo album
Multi-instrumentalist Liam Kazar has been so crucial to my evolving understanding of Chicago’s bustling, magnanimous music scene that I felt a little heartbroken when he moved to Kansas City in 2019. He’d risen to national fame in the early 2010s as part of the youthful fusion ensemble Kids These Days, whose idealistic collision of jazz, […]
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Roscoe Mitchell and Mike Reed unearth the sonic alchemy of a live duo set from 2015
I’m a live-music addict, and it sometimes feels completely unreal that I haven’t been to a concert in almost a year. But one of the pandemic’s few silver linings is that some musicians are digging into their archives and issuing old live material that might otherwise have stayed on the shelf. Such is the case […]
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If enough of us celebrate Independent Venue Week, we might have one next year too
For Independent Venue Week, the Reader has rounded up some favorite stories about Chicago music venues past and present.
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‘The Fan Club’ uses gig posters to support music venues
This week features an outdoor group exhibition of posters curated by Someoddpilot and Public Works.
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The improvising trio of Jim Baker, Keefe Jackson, and Julian Kirshner specializes in surprise
Chicago’s improvisational music community has launched plenty of transformational figures over the decades. But while iconic individuals such as Sun Ra, Roscoe Mitchell, and Henry Threadgill have all changed the way people around the world approach music, a thriving scene also needs players who keep the fires burning every week in local clubs. Keefe Jackson […]
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Want live music back? Wear a mask and call Congress.
Staff from 22 Chicago music venues talk about how far they still are from normal—and what it’ll take to keep them around till we all get there.
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A room of Ohmme’s own
On Fantasize Your Ghost, Macie Stewart and Sima Cunningham make their music a place of trust, discovery, and compassion.
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Thomas Comerford, filmmaker and singer-songwriter
“To me that’s kind of the magical part, bringing the songs to various people to work on them together.”
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COVID-19 hits live music hard
You can still support artists and staff by buying merch and donating to fundraisers.
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Post-everything fusion band Je’raf celebrate their debut album
Post-everything fusion band Je’raf celebrate their debut album, Nicky Flowers resuscitates a Morrissey-tweaking all-synth Smiths cover project, and more.
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Mars Williams brings his Albert Ayler Xmas across Europe and back home to Chicago
This year’s free-jazz holiday tour includes two shows at the Hungry Brain with his band Witches & Devils and special guests.
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Bassist and singer-songwriter Tonina casts a spell with soulful multilingual ballads
The first time I heard bassist, guitarist, and singer Tonina Saputo, her voice stopped me in my tracks—her delicate phrasing and heart-wrenching poignancy brought Billie Holiday to mind, except that she was singing in Spanish as well as English. The song was a cover of “Historia de un Amor,” a torchy Panamanian bolero written in […]
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Folk project DPCD celebrates a graceful, uncluttered new album
Folk project DPCD celebrates a graceful, uncluttered new album, the John Walt Foundation holds its annual Dinner With John fund-raiser, and more.
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Why is Chicago jazz so successful in Europe?
Chicago expats Frank Rosaly and Rob Clearfield discuss the differences between pursuing jazz here and overseas.