EartH, LondonBringing the adventurous spirit of
Chicago to the
London jazz festival, Locks directs his group through black-caped dance – and they respond with an astonishing tumult of sound
Chicago has long been a home for the experimental fringes of improvised
music. Ever since free jazz pianist Muhal Richard Abrams co-founded the Association for the Advancement of Creative Musicians in 1965 – to counter the dwindling popularity of jazz at the time – the Windy City has produced a largely self-sustaining ecosystem of modern instrumentalists pushing the boundaries of their artform.
While earlier examples include the likes of saxophonist Anthony Braxton and the Art Ensemble of Chicago, the last decade has seen a revival of Chicago’s jazz lineage on the international stage via the critically acclaimed releases of drummer and producer Makaya McCraven and composer Angel Bat Dawid.