At our second event of March with our friends at Asian Improv aRts Midwest the organization is presenting two duo sets. First up will be an acoustic duet from longtime friends and collaborators Tatsu Aoki and Jim Baker. These two have been stalwarts of the Chicago creative music community for decades through numerous ensembles, solo work, and organizing. Headlining the evening will be Nireus, an electronic new music duo including violinist Clara Takarabe and composer / synthesist / multi-instrumentalist H. Anton Riehl. Their broad musical style is influenced by their shared history in classical music, with deep ties to electronic and experimental music. You can hear influences from Palestrina to Shostakovich, Penderecki to Tan Dun, or the music of the medieval Andalusia running through their cinematic expressions. It’ll be a great night. Join us! Music at 8:30pm

$15 / $10 w/ Student IDs – Tickets Available at the Door

Artist Bios

Jim Baker has been playing in and around Chicago and the world for a few decades, mostly in improvisational contexts, mostly playing either piano, synthesizer, or both. He has recorded a bunch of music, mostly with other people, (though he also has a solo CD on Delmark called “More Questions Than Answers”); and plays almost every Monday with Extraordinary Popular Delusions at Beat Kitchen.

Tatsu Aoki, born in Tokyo, to a traditional Geisha performing family, he started performing at the age of four as a part of his family’s performance crew. By the early 1970s, Aoki was active in Tokyo’s underground arts movement as well as a member of an experimental ensemble that combined traditional music and new Western forms. In 1979 Aoki emigrated to Chicago and started his musical career as a traditional Japanese lute player and contemporary experimentalist playing double bass and shamisen. Aoki was named one of 2001’s “Chicagoans of the year” by Chicago Tribune for his music for his cross-cultural music and is most noted for being the long-standing bassist for Chicago’s late great legend Fred Anderson, generating eight albums with the saxophonist. Sustaining a tireless work-ethic, he has released over 90 recording projects in the last 35 years.

Clara Takarabe is a music neuroscience researcher, thinker, and writer in art care labor and economics. She serves as the co-director of the Northwestern Music and Medicine Program, focusing on MRI/EEG research of music in the brain, along with education and interventions for neuropsychiatric syndromes like dementia and epilepsy. Presently, she is running clinical trials intervention through music for Alzheimer’s disease related neuropsychiatric syndromes. Clara’s work and theories in art and care labor have been featured in various platforms, including the Takarabe Lectures, Festival Internacional de Música de Querétaro, Art Co-op, Anticapitalism for Artists, Misuzu Shobo, Jacobin, Against the Current, and Frontiers in Neurology. As a violist she performs in the Chicago Symphony Orchestra and in her experimental cinematic band, Nireus.

H. Anton Riehl, a classically trained composer and versatile multi-instrumentalist, is celebrated for his dynamic role as a modular synthesist in live performances. As a composer and arranger, he engages in projects ranging from symphonic orchestras to intimate chamber ensembles, skillfully blending acoustic and electronic elements. Riehl’s collaborative efforts include notable artists such as Danger Mouse, Karen O, Mike Patton, Daniele Luppi, and Úyanga Bold. His recent contributions extend to the CBS show “Blood and Treasure” and the video games “Receiver II” and “Overgrowth,” showcasing his ability to navigate various mediums with artistic precision.

Official Website

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Tags: Asian Improv aRts Midwest: Nireus, Chicago, Clara Takarabe, Elastic Arts, H. Anton Riehl, Jim Baker, Logan Square, Tatsu Aoki, Tatsu Aoki / Jim Baker Duo