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The Document Chicago Series

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"...482 Music is taking the lead in documenting
an even newer wave rippling through Chicago's
creative music scene.
" - JazzTimes

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In January, 2002, Peter Margasak, in his weekly column in the Chicago Reader, noted that "the post-Vandermark Chicago free-jazz scene" is "viewed the world over as a model of sustainable self-sufficiency and collaborative spirit". The article provided a look at the new "crop of unfamiliar names -- many of them younger musicians who've been drawn to Chicago in the past few years. It's still too soon to tell what the new generation might contribute as a whole, but recently some individual players have started to show serious promise. In contrast to their improv-oriented predecessors, the new guys are working toward a sound that's more introspective and composition based and draws on a wider range of jazz and nonjazz influences."

This series, beginning with the Document Chicago compilation, provides audio updates on the players in this exciting and vital musical scene. (The original Reader article is here.)

"This anthology reveals strong stylistic connections to the players that surfaced during the 90's," writes Margasak in the compilation's liner notes, "but despite certain similarities this music doesn't seek to replicate Chicago's recent past. There's a new dedication to using composition as something more than a launch pad for improvisation - although you'll find improvisation on everything here. Only time will tell if these musicians become the bedrock of Chicago jazz in the first decade of the new century, but the future looks bright."

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DC.1DOCUMENT CHICAGO: New Jazz and Improvisation

"...a refreshing and essential listen for anyone interested in a sound that could
only come from one city."
- All About Jazz
"Short of spending some time there and haunting the clubs, there's
no better way to find out what's happening in Chicago..."
- IAJRC Journal

DC.2 JASON ROEBKE: Rapid Croche

..with Aram Shelton and Tim Daisy
"...a dominant statement." - All About Jazz

"...uncannily original...quite an accomplishment." - WEMU_FM
DC.3 GREY GHOST: How to Create Words

..electronic and acoustic improvisations by Aram Shelton and Johnathan Crawford
"...a decidedly different breed of saxophone-percussion duo." - All About Jazz
"While we're waiting for others to catch on, Grey Ghost has gotten a jump on it."- Jazz Times

DC.4 MATT BAUDER: Weary Already of the Way

..cross-currents in improvisation, composition and electronic studio manipulation
"...an impressive debut... Bauder has thrown down quite a heavy gauntlet, one that
suggests a plethora of paths that he will hopefully return to explore."
- AMG

DC.5 The DAVE REMPIS QUARTET: Out of Season

..Rempis and his quartet make their recorded debut with a live set from Chicago's 3030
"...improvisations ebb and flow powerfully, varying in density and urgency, and the musicians
ingeniously reinforce evolving melodic lines, textures, and tone colors..."
- Chicago Reader

DC.6 The EXCITING TRIO: In Chicago There Is Willy

..in Windy City fashion, The Exciting Trio blur the lines between jazz-improv and indie rock.
"...cleverly enacted ...the artists infuse wit and creativity into the
progressive jazz/improvisation idiom."
- JazzReview.com

DC.7 KYLE BRUCKMANN: gasps & fissures

..Kyle Bruckmann's final release as a member of Chicago's experimental music scene -
he recently relocated to the Bay Area after nearly a decade of important work in the Windy City
"...aesthetic pleasure in design and discovery..." - The Wire

DC.8 ROSENBERG / BAKER / HATWICH / DAISY: New Folk, New Blues

..Scott Rosenberg returns to Chicago to join forces with three of the city's most visible improvisers
"Exhiliarating stuff out of Chicago..." - KZSU Zookeeper
"...as intense and enjoyable a free jazz album as you're likely to hear this year." - Paris Transatlantic

DC.9 ARAM SHELTON: Arrive

..long awaited debut as a leader from a Document Chicago mainstay
"Albums like this one announce that there's plenty of room in the Windy City klieg lights
for an entire assembly of players, not just those anointed by the tastemakers."
- Dusted

DC.10 HARRIS EISENSTADT: The Soul and Gone

..west meets midwest in "Eisenstadt's most varied and fully achieved album to date" -Signal to Noise
"...clearly a brilliant new composer at the helm... one of the most
interesting recordings to come in some time."
- All About Jazz

DC.11 The REMPIS PERCUSSION QUARTET: Rip Tear Crunch

..with Tim Daisy, Frank Rosaly and Anton Hatwich
"...this might be the best new jazz band in town." - Chicago Reader
"...a mammoth effort of experimental improvisational music." - JazzTimes

DC.12 HERCULANEUM: Orange Blossom

.. with veteran members of Chicago's jazz, improvised music, and experimental rock communities
"...blazingly original ... a rare entity: a new group that seemingly arrives from nowhere, fully formed
with its own sound "
- All About Jazz

DC.13 The REMPIS PERCUSSION QUARTET: Hunter Gatherers

..RPQ hits the road!
"...one of free jazz's most shining accomplishment this year, from a band for whom
the sky is the limit."
- Mike Szajewski, WNUR

DC.14 JASON ADASIEWICZ: Rolldown

..Document Chicago veteran's debut as a leader
"...Adasiewicz's compositions and arrangements immediately bring Blue Note-era
Jackie McLean and Eric Dolphy to mind"
- Derek Taylor, Bagtellen

DC.15 PAUL GIALLORENZO: Get in to Go Out

..composer/pianist Giallorenzo's debut on Document Chicago
"This is rich, deep music that heralds the arrival of a gifted composer." - Mike Chamberlain, hour.ca
"...evokes Thelonious Monk, Herbie Nichols, and particularly early Cecil Taylor.."
- Peter Margasak, Chicago Reader

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