The Squid's Ear Magazine


Stirrup + 6 (Lonberg-Holdm / Macri / Rumback): The Avondale Addition (Cuneiform)

The Stirrup trio of cellist Fred Lonberg-Holm, Nick Macri (bass), and Charles Rumback (drums) is merged with improvisers from Lonberg-Holm's Lightbox Orchestra project--Keefe Jackson & Mars Williams on reeds, guitarist Peter Maunu, violist Jen Clare Paulson, trumpeter Russ Johnson & Zoots Houston on electronics -for this compelling structured performance at Elastic Arts.
 

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product information:

Personnel:



Fred Lonberg-Holm-lightbox operator

Nick Macri-bass

Charles Rumback-drums

Jen Clare Paulson-viola

Zoots Houston-electronics

Keefe Jackson-reeds

Russ Johnson-trumpet

Peter Maunu-guitar, violin

Mars Williams-reeds


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UPC: 045775047324

Label: Cuneiform
Catalog ID: Rune 473
Squidco Product Code: 29419

Format: CD
Condition: New
Released: 2020
Country: USA
Packaging: Jewel Case
Recorded live at Elastic Arts in Chicago, Illinois, on June 15th, 2017, by Dave Zuchowski.

Descriptions, Reviews, &c.

"Stirrup is Fred Lonberg-Holm (cello, tenor guitar), Nick Macri (bass), and Charles Rumback (drums). Formed in Chicago in 2009 to explore their mutual interests in deep grooves, moody harmonies, and extended structures, the genre-defiant trio continue to do so to this day. A true collective, all three write and arrange for the band.

The Avondale Addition is an amalgam of two of Fred Lonberg-Holm's long-running projects: Stirrup and his "Lightbox Orchestra", a revolving-door project that began over 20 years ago as a way to organize large, ad-hoc improvising ensembles using a light-based cueing system and cue cards. Typically, a Lightbox concert has no pre-composed materials, but for this performance recorded live at Elastic Arts in Chicago, compositions by members of Stirrup comprised a "book" from which the guest musicians (the "+6") draw on in addition to freely improvising when called on to do so.

In effect, Charles and Nick continue to do things they might normally do on a Stirrup gig, but instead of Fred playing cello, he acts as a kind of improvising arranger stationed behind his Lightbox cueing station, with the invited guests taking on the melodic and soloist roles he might normally perform.



Fred Lonberg-Holm is a composer, cellist, and improviser currently based in Kingston, NY. A student of Anthony Braxton, Bunita Marcus, Morton Feldman, Pauline Oliveros, and Noah Creshevsky, he received a BS in composition from Brooklyn College and an MA in composition from Mills College. During the 1980s and early 1990s, he was active in the downtown New York improvised music scene. Fred moved to Chicago in 1995, where he became active in the Chicago improvised music scene. In addition to developing his own groups-Seval, the Valentine Trio, Pillow, Terminal 4, and In Zenith-he participated in numerous projects including the Peter Brötzmann Tentet, XMarsX (with Mars Williams), ADA Trio (with Peter Brötzmann and Paal Nilssen-Love), and theVandermark 5. Currently, he is a member of Joe McPhee's Survival Unit III (with Michael Zerang), NRG Ensemble and Witches and Devils (with Mars Williams), Party Knüllers (with Ståle Solberg), Boxhead Ensemble, The Chicago Plan (with Steve Swell and Gebhard Ullmann), eponymous duos with Frode Gjerstad and Simon Camatta, and Ballister (with Paal Nilssen-Love and Dave Rempis) as well as many 'one off' projects. He also leads a number of ensembles, including Stirrup and the Lightbox Orchestra, a non-gestural conduction system that he developed in the mid-90's for a large, ad-hoc ensemble of approximately 10 musicians. Since moving to Kingston, he has developed and co-curates a monthly improvised music series with bassist Michael Bisio. His extensive discography includes improvised and free jazz recordings as well as new music, pop, rock and noise.

Bassist Nick Macri has been exploring Chicago's slipstream of creative music for decades from collaborative, creative groups and ad hoc improvised pairings, to notable sideman gigs, and the rare solo excursion. He is a founding member of the collective trio Stirrup with Fred Lonberg-Holm and Charles Rumback and is/was a contributing member to many, varied groups including Ken Vandermark's Audio One, Momentum 3, and Momentum 5 groups, instrumental explorers Euphone and Heroic Doses, art-pop quartet The Zincs, and the pastoral, psych-folk of The Horse's Ha (with Janet Bean and James Elkington). He has performed and toured as a sideman and recorded sessions with an eclectic list of artists including Laetitia Sadier of Stereolab, The Sea and Cake, Daughter of Swords, Nina Nastasia, Azita, James Elkington & Nathan Salsburg, Wanees Zarour, Hector Zazou, and visual artist Bruce Licher of Savage Republic. Additionally, he has improvised in duo or group settings with many musicians. He has performed across Europe, Asia, South America, and North America including concerts at Saalfelden Jazz Festival (Austria), Festival de Musique Actuelle Victoriaville (Canada), Reading Festival and Leeds Festival (U.K.), World Music Festival Chicago, All Tomorrow's Parties (U.K.), the London Institute of Contemporary Arts, the Museum of Contemporary Art, the Logan Center, and the Pritzker Pavilion (Chicago).

Drummer Charles Rumback is a figure of the rich and varied Chicago music scene. Born and raised in Kansas, he moved to Chicago to study at the Chicago College of Performing Arts where he received a degree in Jazz Composition. Having co-led groups such as Leaves and Colorlist, he has recorded and toured regularly with projects such as Azita, the Horse's Ha, L'altra and Via Tania. Having released his first album as a leader on Clean Feed Records in 2009, his current projects include Colorlist, Leaf Bird and Stirrup. Charles' playing deals closely with the jazz tradition, yet he has worked closely with artists from a wide variety of backgrounds such as; Jason Ajemian, Asuna, Caroline Davis, Josh Eustis, John Hughes, Fred Lonberg-Holm, Matt Lux, Bill Mackay, Nick Macri, the Medium Necks, Ron Miles, Jeff Parker, Liz Payne, Jason Stein, John Tate and Greg Ward."


Artist Biographies

"Fred Lonberg-Holm (born 1962) is an American cellist based in Chicago. He relocated from New York City to Chicago in 1995. Lonberg-Holm is most identified with playing free improvisation and free jazz. He is also a composer of concert works. As a session musician and arranger, he is credited on many rock, pop, and country records. Lonberg-Holm currently leads the Valentine Trio, with Jason Roebke (bass) and Frank Rosaly (drums). This jazz trio performs original compositions as well as tunes by both jazz composers (e.g. Sun Ra) and pop songwriters (e.g. Jeff Tweedy, Syd Barrett). The group released its first album Terminal Valentine, in 2007, which was reviewed by AllAboutJazz critic Nils Jacobson.

He coordinates and directs performances of his Lightbox Orchestra, an improvising ensemble with a flexible, ever-changing membership. Lonberg-Holm does not play an instrument in this group, but rather conducts its non-idiomatic improvisations via the "lightbox" and by holding up handwritten signs. The lightbox contains a light bulb for each musician which Lonberg-Holm switches on or off to suggest when they should play. Collective groups of which Lonberg-Holm is a member include Terminal 4 who released an album, in 2003, called When I'm Falling that received four and a half stars, and AMG Album Pick by Allmusic, and it was reviewed by Allmusic's Joslyn Layne, The Boxhead Ensemble, Pillow, the Lonberg-Holm/Kessler/Zerang trio (with Kent Kessler and Michael Zerang), and the Dörner/Lonberg-Holm duo (with Axel Dörner).

Among groups led by other people, he is a member of the Vandermark 5, the Joe McPhee Trio, the Peter Brötzmann Chicago Tentet, Keefe Jackson's Fast Citizens, and Ken Vandermark's Territory Band. When he lived in New York, Lonberg-Holm frequently collaborated with the rock group God Is My Co-Pilot pianist and composer Anthony Coleman as well as multi-instrumentalist Paul Duncan of Warm Ghost. In Chicago, he has worked with Jim O'Rourke, Bobby Conn (on "Llovessonngs" [1999] and "The Golden Age" [2001]), The Flying Luttenbachers, Lake Of Dracula, Wilco, Rivulets, Mats Gustafsson, Sten Sandell, Jaap Blonk, John Butcher, and a great many others.

Lonberg-Holm's concert works have been premiered by William Winant, Carrie Biolo, the Austin New Music Co-Op, Subtropics Ensemble, Duo Atypica, the Schanzer/Speach Duo, New Winds, Paul Hoskin, Kevin Norton, the E.S.P. Ensemble, and others. His scores for dance have been performed at the Brooklyn Academy of Music and Dance Theater Workshop as well as many other venues. He is a former composition student of Anthony Braxton and Morton Feldman. He performed improvised music in the role of a troubled composer who finds inspiration in the love of a couple he spots on the street in a short film for the Playboy channel."

-Wikipedia (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fred_Lonberg-Holm)
12/11/2024

Have a better biography or biography source? Please Contact Us so that we can update this biography.

"Bassist and Chicago native Nick Macri has careened in an out of various musical situations over the years from creative group settings and notable sideman gigs to theater work and solo excursions. He is/was a contributing member to many, varied groups including Ken Vandermark's Audio One, instrumental explorers Euphone (Jade Tree) and Heroic Doses (SUB>POP), art-pop quartet The Zincs (Thrill Jockey), the pastoral psych-folk of The Horse's Ha (with Janet Bean and James Elkington), and instrumental trio Stirrup with Fred Lonberg-Holm & Charles Rumback, (Clean Feed, 482 Records). He has also performed and toured as a sideman and recorded sessions with an eclectic list of artists including Laetitia Sadier (Stereolab), Ken Vandermark, The Sea and Cake, Mark Eitzel (American Music Club), Jeremy Enigk (Sunny Day Real Estate), Nina Nastasia, Azita, Bobby Conn, Lanterna, Tim Kinsella (Friend/Enemy), The Lonesome Organist, James Elkington & Nathan Salsburg, Wanees Zarour's Middle East Music Ensemble, Bruce Licher (Savage Republic, Scenic), Tara Jane O'Neil, and Hector Zazou. He has performed across Europe, Asia, South America, and North America including concerts at Saalfelden Jazz Festival (Austria), Festival de Musique Actuelle (Montreal), Reading Festival and Leeds Festival (U.K.), World Music Festival Chicago, All Tomorrow's Parties (U.K.), the London Institute of Contemporary Arts, the Museum of Contemporary Art, the Logan Center and the Pritzker Pavilion (Chicago)."

-Nick Macri Website (http://www.nickmacri.net/bio/)
12/11/2024

Have a better biography or biography source? Please Contact Us so that we can update this biography.

Charles Rumback is a Chicago drummer, composer, and bandleader. He has performed in the groups Colorlist, From Beyond, Stirrup, and Who Cares How Long You Sink, and his own bands with sidemen like bassist John Tate, pianist Jim Baker, saxophonist Greg Ward, and bassist James Singleton.

-Squidco 12/11/2024

Have a better biography or biography source? Please Contact Us so that we can update this biography.

"Jen Clare Paulson is no ordinary fiddler, she's actually a violist who has always had a wandering musical eye. Originally from Chicagoland, she relocated to Madison to get her doctorate in viola performance with a minor in jazz studies at the University. In addition to performing in regional orchestral and chamber music settings she is also a member of several new music ensembles based in Chicago - most notably Kyle Bruckmann's Wrack, who recently toured Europe and won a generous Chamber Music America grant for future projects. Highlights from JCP's musical pursuits include: studying Japanese koto in college, playing Bach cello suites on tenor banjo, transcribing tenor sax blues solos for viola and playing in string sections behind artists as diverse as Ray Charles, Olivia Newton John and Ricky Skaggs.

Jen has taken a few lessons on bluegrass fiddle with Jerry Loughney (Above the Town) and old time fiddle with Jim Becker (Caliphone); but mostly she's listening hard and making it up as she goes.

JCP teaches violin and viola at The Madison Music Foundry and works as an apprentice at Spruce Tree Music and Repair, learning to repair and restore new and vintage string instruments."

-Art Lit Lab (https://artlitlab.org/artists/jen-clare-paulson-the-kerosene-healers)
12/11/2024

Have a better biography or biography source? Please Contact Us so that we can update this biography.

Zoots Houston is a Kingston, NY based keyboard and synth player. He is know for his work with Derek Baron, and a trio with Ben Bennett & Fred Lonberg-Holm.

-Squidco 12/11/2024

Have a better biography or biography source? Please Contact Us so that we can update this biography.

"Keefe Jackson, saxophonist/clarinetist/improvisor/composer, arrived in Chicago in 2001 from his native Fayettevile, Arkansas. He performs regularly in the U.S. and in Europe with many musicians including Pandelis Karayorgis, Tomeka Reid, Tim Daisy, Dave Rempis, Jeb Bishop, Jason Roebke, Jason Adasiewicz, Mike Reed, Jason Stein, Josh Berman, Fred Lonberg-Holm, Frank Rosaly, Oscar Jan Hoogland and Marc Unternaehrer. He has also appeared with Michael Moore, Ab Baars, Michiel Braam, Satoko Fujii, and Anthony Coleman. Bill Meyer (Chicago Reader): "...the impeccable logic of his lines and the richness of his tone leave you wanting more... Jackson's high-register squiggles and coarsely voiced, rippling runs push the limits of the tenor's tonal envelope." Frank van Herk, de Volkskrant (Amsterdam): "[Jackson] has an old-fashioned, warm-woolly sound, and a feeling for melodic lines that take their time in unfolding." He has been mentioned in the DownBeat Critics Poll in the Rising Star Tenor Saxophone category. Recordings are available on Delmark and Clean Feed Records."

-Keefe Jackson Website (http://www.keefejackson.com/)
12/11/2024

Have a better biography or biography source? Please Contact Us so that we can update this biography.

"Trumpeter Russ Johnson is a recent Midwest transplant after spending 23 years as an important member of New York City's jazz community. He has 7 recordings as a leader or co-leader and performed on more than 75 recordings as a sideman. Russ has worked alongside many of the legendary figures in jazz including Lee Konitz, Steve Swallow, Bill Frisell, and Joe Lovano. In addition, he has recorded and/or performed with a long list of the most prominent musicians currently on the international jazz scene, including Myra Melford, Ken Vandermark, and Tony Malaby. Russ has performed in more than 40 countries across the globe. His groups have recently performed at the Chicago, Winter Jazz Fest (NYC) Hyde Park, (Chicago) and Bergamo, (Italy) jazz festivals.

His most recent recordings, Meeting Point (Relay Recordings) and Still Out To Lunch! (Enja Records) received 4 1/2 & 4 stars respectively from Down Beat Magazine and appeared on many "Best Recordings of 2014/5" lists including Down Beat, the Chicago Tribune, Chicago Reader, NYC Jazz Record and Magnet magazine. Russ will be releasing a new recording by his "Headlands" Quartet in 2017.

Russ is also active as an educator/clinician, having taught at colleges and universities across the U.S. and Europe. He currently serves as Director of Jazz Studies at the University of Wisconsin Parkside where he won the university wide "Stella Gray" Teaching Excellence award in 2016."

-Russ Johnson Website (https://www.russjohnsonmusic.net/)
12/11/2024

Have a better biography or biography source? Please Contact Us so that we can update this biography.

"Peter Maunu is the archetype 21st Century musician -- a master at using technique and technology to forge great art.

The creative breadth and beauty of Peter Maunu's textural guitar work can best be appreciated by examining his musical roots. He began his career as a classical violinist and concert master, earning a scholarship to the San Francisco Conservatory of Music while still in his early teens. After hearing the groundbreaking work of Hendrix and The Beatles' "Tomorrow Never Knows", Peter became fascinated with the sonic possibilities of the guitar and it soon commanded much of his interest. His orchestral approach to playing has always infused his guitar work.

Peter's musicality and command of many styles has led to recording and live performances with an eclectic group of artists including Airto, Billy Cobham, Jean-Luc Ponty, Heart, L.A. Express, The Pointer Sisters, Wang Chung, Lou Gramm and Bobby McFerrin. In the late 70's, he and several Bay Area friends -- Mark Isham, Patrick O'Hearn, Terry Bozzio -- formed the pioneering instrumental alliance Group 87, which released two ahead-of-its-time albums. Maunu's longtime involvement with composer Mark Isham has encouraged his experimental side, leading to Peter's many contributions in film music. His solo album "Warm Sound in a Gray Field" is a showcase for his adventurous compositional style."

-Spectrasonics (https://www.spectrasonics.net/company/artists/artist.php?id=45)
12/11/2024

Have a better biography or biography source? Please Contact Us so that we can update this biography.

"Mars Williams is an open-minded musician, composer and educator who commutes easily between free jazz, funk, hip-hop and rock, Mars has played and recorded with The Psychedelic Furs, Billy Idol, Massacre, Fred Frith, Bill Laswell, Ministry, Power Station, Die Warzau, The Waitresses, Kiki Dee, Pete Cosey, Billy Squier, DJ Logic, Wayne Kramer, John Scoffield, Charlie Hunter, Kurt Elling, Swollen Monkeys, Mike Clark, Jerry Garcia, Naked Raygun, Friendly Fires, The Untouchables, Blow Monkeys and virtually every leading figure of Chicago's and New York City's "downtown" scene.

John Zorn credits Mars as "one of the true saxophone players--someone who takes pleasure in the sheer act of blowing the horn. This tremendous enthusiasm is an essential part of his sound, and it comes through each note every time he plays. Whatever the situation, Mars plays exciting music. In many ways he has succeeded in redefining what versatility means to the modern saxophone player."

In 2001 Mars received a Grammy Nomination for Best Contemporary Jazz Record with his group Liquid Soul.

Despite his busy touring schedule with Liquid Soul and The Psychedelic Furs, Mars manages to stay active on the Chicago underground improvising scene. In recent years he has toured and recorded with the Peter Brötzmann Tentet, Switchback, Full Blast, Scorch Trio, the Vandermark 5, Boneshaker, Chicago Reed Quartet and Cinghiale, teaming him with such musicians as Ken Vandermark, Hamid Drake, Michael Zerang, William Parker, Ikue Mori, Kent Kessler, Fredric Lonberg Holm, Peter Brotzmann, Joe McPhee, Paal Nilssen-Love, Ab Baars, Mike Reed, Jeb Bishop, Harrison Bankhead, Dave Rempis, Kidd Jordan and Matts Gustafson.

He performs weekly in Chicago along with Jim Baker, Steve Hunt, and Brian Sandstrom in the improvising quartet "Extraordinary Popular Delusions". As a bandleader, he continues to perform and record CDs with his own free-jazz groups, the NRG Ensemble, Witches & Devils, Slam, XmarsX, Mars Trio, Boneshaker and The Soul Sonic Sirkus which features improvising musicians and aerial circus performers. Along with Die Warsau's Van Christie, Mars has started Ratking Music, a production company focusing on music for film and television.

In addition to performing and creating music, Mars has been an educator in the field of woodwinds and jazz improvisation for over thirty years. Mars held the position of Woodwind Instructor at Bard College for two years. In the last few years Mars has presented Master classes and clinics to a number of private and public institutions including, the University of Massachusetts, Amherst, the University of Chicago, Roosevelt University (Chicago, IL), and June Collins Smith Museum of Fine Art (Auburn, AL)."

-Mars Williams Website (http://www.marswilliams.com/about/)
12/11/2024

Have a better biography or biography source? Please Contact Us so that we can update this biography.


Track Listing:



1. Song for Salim 11:01

2. Salt Lines 8:41

3. Floating Melody 8:34

4. Insen for Yonsei 7:35

5. Little Spots 7:39

6. Rodney's Last Ride 9:04

7. Domi's Dream 7:51

Related Categories of Interest:


Cuneiform
Improvised Music
Jazz
Free Improvisation
Chicago Jazz & Improvisation
Large Ensembles
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Fake Music
(Soul What Records)
Masterful, fervent free jazz from trans-Atlantic trio of Mars Williams on saxophones, Kent Kessler on bass, and Paal Nilssen-Love on drums, captured live at Elastic Arts, in Chicago in 2017 for three impressive collective improvisations of intense energy, articulate and extended expression, and ecstatic improvisation in an exceptional and cohesive concert.
Williams, Mars presents
An Ayler Xmas Volume 2
(ESP)
After releasing "An Ayler Xmas: The Music of Albert Ayler & Songs of Christmas" on Chicago saxophonist Mars Williams' Soul What? Label, ESP approached him for a 2nd volume, resulting in this joyful and quirky holiday record with contributions from Josh Berman, Fred Lonberg-Holm, Kent Kessler, Jeb Bishop, Christof Kurzmann, Didi Kern, Thomas Berghammer, Steve Hunt, Jim Baker and Hermann Stangassinger.
Boneshaker
Thinking Out Loud [VINYL-DAMAGED]
(Trost Records)
The third album from this international trio of powerful improvisers--Norwegian drummer/percussionist Paal Nilssen-Love, Chicago bassist Kent Kessler, and Chicago/NY saxophonist Mars William-- in four odysseys that take the listener from introspective playing to out and out blowing, using technique to serve their incredible dialog.
Jackson, Keefe / Benjamin Vergara / Jim Baker / Phil Sudderberg
The Hallowed Plant
(Relative Pitch)
During Chilean trumpeter Benjamn Vergara's visit to Chicago in 2016 he joined forces with multi-reedist Keefe Jackson, pianist and ARP synth player Jim Baker, and drummer Phil Sudderberg to record this album of collective free jazz, a mix of lyrical and abstract playing that references bop and the modern Chicago creative scene in sublime ways.



The Squid's Ear Magazine

The Squid's Ear Magazine

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