This evening features two trios comprising consistent staples of the Chicago improvised music scene

One features Mabel Kwan on piano, Emily Beisel on bass clarinet and woodwinds, and Bill Harris on drums and percussion. Although all three have worked together in various and different configurations in the past, this new group is focused on giving space and breath, and exploring the similarities or contradictions in timbres and sounds between the instruments.

The other, Akasha. Akasha explores the science of improvisation as a ritual for psychic healing, empowerment and execution of alter-destiny. Feat Xris Espinoza, Adam Zanolini, Avreeayl Ra, Alejandro Salazar, Jaden Esi, and BSA.Gold.

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

Pianist Mabel Kwan is a performer of classical, improvised, and experimental music. She is fascinated by sound, contradictions, and our perceptions of what is familiar or strange. Mabel regularly tours the U.S. with improvised music group Restroy, synthesizer duo Mega Laverne and Shirley, and electronic/instrumental trio ULUUUL. She sings vocals for the Lucky Bikes, plays piano with Fifth Season, and is a chamber musician for Bridging Memory through Music, a therapeutic intervention for patients with dementia. Mabel volunteers for TECHNE, an organization that works with young girls to build electronic instruments and improvise using music technology.

Emily Rach Beisel is a Chicago-based improviser, composer, educator, curator and woodwind specialist. Beisel is known for visceral performances combining extended instrumental techniques with heavy amplification and timbral effects. Their solo work frequently explores the intersection between avant-garde art music and extreme metal genres such as mathcore, doom, and death metal. As a curator, Beisel seeks to increase the visibility and involvement of femme, trans and nonbinary artists in the creative music community. They founded the Pleiades Series at Elastic Arts, presenting monthly performances along with a community-based free improvisation jam for femme and nonbinary performers.

Bill Harris is a percussionist, improviser, and audio engineer in Chicago. He also operates and produces for Amalgam, a Chicago-based label and collective, and co-operates Chicago recording studio Marmalade. Some of his primary groups are Je’raf: a psychadelic funk/free jazz/hip-hop group from the future; KAH: an improvising trio with Jeff Kimmel and Ishmael Ali; Hearsay: with Allen Moore and Ishmael Ali; Joybird: with Jess McIntosh and Aaron Smith; and Errata: with Ishmael Ali and Eli Namay. Additionally, Bill focuses on solo work incorporating acoustic and electronic material, using feedback and timbral manipulation. He has recorded two solo records, Blinking Glue, and ONOMAT. In 2015 he started Amalgam, a 100% artist-run collective and label dedicated to showcasing works of improvised and experimental music in Chicago and elsewhere, with a bi-monthly series at Cafe Mustache. Bill is also an audio engineer working in both studio and live contexts, and operates an independent studio in Chicago with engineering, mixing, mastering, and production credits on labels such as Amalgam, Astral Spirits, No Index, 577 Records and Ears&Eyes. In 2020 he started and co-operates a recording studio called Marmalade.