Ninth Annual Empty Bottle Festival of Jazz and Improvised Music

Ninth Annual Empty Bottle Festival of Jazz and Improvised Music
June 15th - June 18th, 2005
Empty Bottle
1035 N. Western Ave
Chicago, IL
773-276-3600


Since January 1996, reedist KEN VANDERMARK and writer/musician/producer JOHN CORBETT have brought established stars of the vanguard and emerging artists from all over the world to the Empty Bottle for an extraordinary gathering of Jazz and Improvised music. In its Ninth year, this four-day event is no exception, featuring performances by SAM RIVERS, PETER BROTZMANN,ED WILKERSON JR., KEN VANDERMARK, PAUL RUTHERFORD, NASHEET WAITS and ROBERT BARRY, just to name a few. The full schedule is below:

** WED. 6/15: 9:30pm - Free!

--> Chicago Ad Hoc: A first time meeting of ten performers featuring an amalgam of instrumental combinations ranging from brass to reeds to electronics to strings.

** THUR. 6/16: 9:30pm - $15 Cover

--> PETER BROTZMANN (Die Like A Dog, Last Exit, Sonore) and NASHEET WAITS (Andrew Hill, Jason Moran & The Bandwagon, Fred Hersch)

--> DAVEY WILLIAMS (Curlew, Davey Williams/LaDonna Smith Duo, Say What! Trio) with JIM BAKER (Caffeine) & TIM DAISY (Bridge 61, Vandermark 5, Dragons 1976)

--> THE REMPIS PERCUSSION ENSEMBLE (Triage, Vandermark 5, Territory Band)

---------> SURPRISE SET!

** FRI. 6/17: 9:30pm - $15 Cover

--> KEN VANDERMARK (Vandermark 5, FME, Bridge 61, Spaceways Inc.) with TORSTEN MULLER, PAUL RUTHERFORD (Globe Unity Orchestra, Iskra 1903--Paul Lovens, Anthony Braxton, Evan Parker) & DYLAN VAN DER SCHYFF (NOW Orchestra, Dave Douglas, Peggy Lee Band)

--> PETER BROTZMANN, KENT KESSLER (NRG Ensemble, DKV Trio, Vandermark 5, Peter Brotzmann Chicago Tentet), PAUL RUTHERFORD & NASHEET WAITS

--> The TATSU AOKI (Asian Improv. Records, Asian American Jazz Founder/Director, Fred Anderson Quartet), ED WILKERSON JR. (8 Bold Souls, Shadow Vignettes), MICHAEL ZERANG Trio

----------> SURPRISE SET!

** SAT. 6/18: 9:30pm, $15

--> SAM RIVERS (Sam River's Rivbea Allstar Orhestra, Miles Davis Quartet, Dizzy Gillespie Quintet)

--> The ROBERT BARRY (Miles Davis, Sun Ra Arkestra), PAUL RUTHERFORD Duo

--> The FRED LONBERG-HOLM Trio (The Lofty Pillars, Light Box Orchestra, Peter Brotzmann Chicago Tentet)

--> Relay Signals featuring JASON AJEMIAN (Born Heller), ZOE BUCK, TIM DAISY, ERNST KAREL (EKG, Unclocked) and ARAM SHELTON (Grey Ghost Duo)

This annual festival stems from the Empty Bottle “Wednesday Night Jazz Series," concerts that continue to bring improvisers from Chicago, elsewhere in North America, Europe, Japan and the rest of the world to Windy City audiences on a weekly basis. Though the series maintains a jazz core, it is open to many forms of creative music, including total improvisation, free jazz, experimental composition, swing-based post-bop, tone-color improvisation, texturalist minimalism, and out-rock.

In May 2003, KEN VANDERMARK became the head curator of these performances, and began directing the “Chicago Improvisers Series" which now features local ensembles for month long Tuesday night residencies that emphasize the most original, exciting new music the genres have to offer. His work as a presenter led to being invited to act as the creative director for the ACME Festival, a four day event held in Athens, Georgia, during April, 2004, which featured concerts and workshops involving 21 musicians from Germany, Norway, Sweden, and the United States.

JOHN CORBETT has been a bridge to experimental music for many listeners. He is the author of EXTENDED PLAY: SOUNDING OFF FROM JOHN CAGE TO DR. FUNKENSTEIN (Duke U. Press, 1994) and is a senior contributor to DOWN BEAT. In addition to his writing, John teaches at the School of the Art Institute of Chicago, where he is Adjunct Associate Professor and is the co-owner/director of Corbett vs. Dempsey Gallery. In 2000, together with Kurt Kellison of Atavistic, John unleashed the incredible UNHEARD MUSIC SERIES, a collection of hand-picked, rare, long out-of-print albums released 1960-1970 showcasing anything from action jazz to creative music to free improvisation. The series also includes previously unreleased sessions, private tapes and rare photos. John has been organizing live music for more than twenty years and was appointed artistic director of JazzFest Berlin 2002.

As in the past, you can count on exquisite posters by Dan Grzeca, printed by the gentlemen of The Bird Machine!

Please contact me (Shannin Cartwright) at [email protected] or Pete Toalson at [email protected] with any questions or requests.