Chicago musician and composer Erez Dessel performs a set of solo piano improvisations for his debut on the OPTION stage.

Experimental Sound Studio presents Erez Dessel in a set of solo piano improvisations based on graphic systems, along with compositions by his artistic heroes.

This performance and interview are presented in the ESS garden, and will be premiered online on ESS’s YouTube.

The OPTION series is curated by Ken Vandermark, Lily Finnegan, and Andrew Clinkman.

Event Details

Sunday, September 3

3:00-5:00pm

Experimental Sound Studio Garden

5925 N. Ravenswood Ave., Chicago

About Erez Dessel

Erez Dessel is a pianist, composer, educator, and curator. He currently lives in Chicago, where he can be found leading his own groups, as well as playing in groups led by drummer Tim Daisy, saxophonist Ken Vandermark, and a variety of other improvisers. Dessel’s music is centered around exploring improvisation, graphic notation, and polyrhythmic structures. He frequently works with cassette tapes, and is currently developing ways to paint with the piano using charcoal, pastel, paper, and linen. He also curates Night School, a performance art/improvised music series at Agitator Gallery.

As an educator, he led his quartet to perform and teach in over 50 workshops in the Boston area, and was also selected to bring his group to the Virginia Arts Festival to lead a week of masterclasses in public schools and community spaces. After graduating from NEC in 2020, Dessel moved to Savannah, GA to accept the position of music director at the Savannah Music Festival Jazz Academy, Savannah’s first and only free after-school youth jazz program.

Dessel studied at the New England Conservatory of Music (NEC), where he worked with a host of jazz luminaries including Billy Hart, Ethan Iverson, and Jason Moran. While in Boston he performed regularly, including at the Celebrity Series festival Jazz Along the Charles, the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum, and Wally’s Jazz Club.

www.erezdessel.com

About OPTION

OPTION is an ongoing music salon curated by Chicago musicians Andrew Clinkman, Lily Finnegan, and Ken Vandermark and presented by Experimental Sound Studio. Its programming explores contemporary perspectives on improvisation and composition in a ‘salon’ format, enabling local, national, and international artists to publicly discuss their practice and ideas as well as perform.

Parking

Street parking can be found easily around ESS on streets such as W. Thorndale. There are three parking spots directly in front of ESS on Ravenswood. On weekends, parking is also available along the front of Weber Furniture; please do not block the garage doors. Behind ESS through the alley, there are also two parking spots which we are happy to reserve for anyone with accessibility needs. Please get in touch with info@ess.org to reserve a spot.

During the OPTION series this summer, diagonal parking is available in the alley directly south of ESS and Weber Furniture Service.

Accessibility

ESS has wheelchair seating and accessible bathrooms on both floors.

Please note that once on one floor, there is no ADA-accessible path inside the building to switch between floors; you will have to exit the building and reenter from the respective floor entrance. Our front entrance on Ravenswood leads you to our 1st floor (Audible Gallery, Studio A, Live Room), while our alley entrance leads you to the basement/garden (garden shows, Creative Audio Archive, Studio B).

To reserve accessible seating or parking, request other accommodations, or ask us any accessibility-related questions, please email info@ess.org.

Official Website

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Tags: Chicago, Edgewater, Erez Dessel, ess, Experimental Sound Studio, OPTION: Erez Dessel