The end of the year is a time for traditions that affirm social and spiritual priorities, and one of Chicago’s most enduring annual rituals comes from its music community. Since 1990, local percussionists Hamid Drake and Michael Zerang have convened at Links Hall to perform a concert that celebrates the season but doesn’t align with […]
Tag: Michael Zerang
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The Gilgamanians and Maku Sica celebrate new records from distant points on the spectrum of improvisation
The Gilgamanians and Maku Sica (formerly Mako Sica) sound profoundly different from each other, but these two local ensembles share a commitment to using improvisation to tap into ideas they would never find any other way. The Gilgamanians are percussionist Michael Zerang and shortwave-radio operator Don Meckley. This is the duo’s first concert, but their […]
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Chefs for Puerto Rico, Mayorkun, and more
Chicago’s hospitality community comes together tonight to raise funds and awareness for those affected by Hurricane Fiona with the curated tasting event Chicago Chefs Cook for Puerto Rico. Diverse cuisine from chefs Bill Kim, Devon Quinn, Tigist Reda, and more will be available from 6-9 PM tonight along with music and cocktails. The evening will […]
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Ne-Hi alum Mikey Wells drops a mellow, summery new album with Flamingo Rodeo
Chicago postpunks Ne-Hi split in May 2019, and since then guitarist-singer Mikey Wells has expanded his palette of delightful pop hooks in two standout projects: Spun Out, which is indie dance oriented, and Flamingo Rodeo, which plays choogle rock a la 1970s AM radio. On Flamingo Rodeo’s new album, Pontoon (due this month on Shuga […]
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Mandingo Griot Society: a global exchange born in Chicago
Foday Musa Suso absorbed centuries of tradition growing up in Gambia. As part of the griot caste, his family had performed a centuries-long role in Gambian society, narrating historical epics and singing praise songs while playing the kora, a harplike 21-string instrument his distant ancestors invented. Suso dreamed of bringing his music to places far […]
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Percussionists Hamid Drake and Michael Zerang return to in-person performance for their annual solstice concerts
Six years ago, I characterized Hamid Drake and Michael Zerang’s winter solstice concert series as “an anchor, a beacon, and a seasonal tradition in its own right.” The two drummers began performing as a duo at Links Hall in 1990; surrounded by percussion instruments from around the world, they would begin by candlelight, then play […]
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Hamid Drake and Michael Zerang livestream their traditional solstice duo
Hamid Drake and Michael Zerang livestream their traditional solstice drum duo, Che Arthur of Pink Avalanche drops two instrumental solo EPs, and more.
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Liof Munimula took their play with sound seriously
Liof Munimula’s toolbox included a 42-piece percussion setup, a shortwave radio rig with a 40-foot antenna, and a subversive sense of humor.
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Reunion Chicago, Slo ’Mo, and Open Television throw a three-night virtual Pride party
Reunion Chicago, Slo ’Mo, and Open Television throw a three-night virtual Pride party, Brent Gutzeit of TV Pow assembles a massive compilation to benefit the fight for racial justice, and more.
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Japanese trumpeter Toshinori Kondo pays a visit to honor late saxophonist Fred Anderson
Twenty-five years ago, Fred Anderson and Toshinori Kondo recorded a live quartet record with drummer Hamid Drake and bassist Tatsu Aoki that’s only now seeing release.
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The 29th annual solstice concerts offer a yearly return or a new annual tradition
I have to admit, I literally slept on going to Michael Zerang and Hamid Drake’s winter solstice concerts for the first 27 years (though granted, I was only 17 when the first one happened). Out-of-town friends even crashed at my pad to attend the early-morning shows, but as a former night owl, I always thought […]
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Celebrated percussion duo reconvenes for their 28th annual winter solstice sunrise concerts
Hamid Drake and Michael Zerang played their first sunrise percussion concert in 1990. Timed to coincide with the winter solstice, the performance was an open-invite gesture, nonpreachy spiritual gesture to welcome all their friends who felt out of place attending more conventional holiday-oriented festivities. Twenty-eight years later, much of the country feels like it could […]
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Polymath Tatsu Aoki celebrates his kanreki with a night of bass and drums
No matter where you’re from, turning 60 feels significant, but in Japan they have a name for it. Kanreki signifies the start of a new cycle of life with your troubles and responsibilities forgotten. Celebrants often wear red—a color associated with youth—and traditionally they retire from adult household responsibility. Tatsu Aoki, who was born in […]
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A linchpin of Chicago’s 1980s avant-garde has died in Florida
Daniel Scanlan played in groups as diverse as Liof Munimula, the Vandermark Quartet, Broken Wire, and Church Key.
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Michael Zerang explores time, tone, and light with a musical coffin from Moby-Dick
This weekend Chicago percussionist Michael Zerang plays an instrument called Queequeg’s Coffin with a string quartet for the drone piece Follow the Light.