Jazz Articles about Jason Adasiewicz

About Jason Adasiewicz

Album Review

Angelika Niescier: Chicago Tapes

Read "Chicago Tapes" reviewed by Glenn Astarita

by Glenn Astarita
March 9, 2026

When German alto saxophonist Angelika Niescier first explored Chicago jazz a few years ago--teaming with cellist Tomeka Reid on the striking Beyond Dragons (Intakt, 2023)--the collaboration sparked something unmistakably electric. Now comes Chicago Tapes,, recorded live at Transient Sound Studio. Here, Niescier dives headlong into the improvisational deep end of the city, enlisting an all-star lineup drawn from the restless creative core of Chicago's boundary-pushers. Niescier wields her alto alongside Dave Rempis, who toggles between alto and tenor ...

Album Review

Angelika Niescier: Chicago Tapes

Read "Chicago Tapes" reviewed by Troy Dostert

by Troy Dostert
February 23, 2026

Continuing to solidify her reputation as a double-threat composer and improviser, alto saxophonist Angelika Niescier shines once again with Chicago Tapes, a superlative effort which sees her uniting with a number of the leading figures in the Windy City scene. The results are consistently riveting, showcasing these musicians in myriad ways and generating infectious synergy throughout. Niescier thrives in small-combo configurations, as she demonstrated convincingly on earlier outings like Beyond Dragons (Intakt, 2023) with cellist Tomeka Reid and ...

Album Review

Angelika Niescier: Chicago Tapes

Read "Chicago Tapes" reviewed by Mark Corroto

by Mark Corroto
February 10, 2026

German saxophonist Angelika Niescier first connected with her musical compatriots during a visit to the U.S. Midwest in 2012, though it would take more than a decade for that relationship to fully crystallize on record. Even that timeline needs qualification. In 2023, she recorded Beyond Dragons in Chicago with cellist Tomeka Reid and California-born New York City>> drummer {{m: Savannah Harris. Still, her 2025 return to the Windy City for Chicago Tapes feels like both a culmination and a celebration, ...

Album Review

Rempis / Adasiewicz / Corsano: Dial Up

by Mark Corroto
December 15, 2025

Chicago has long been a magnet for creative musicians. Louis Armstrong left New Orleans for the Windy City in 1922, and Sun Ra arrived in 1945 to begin reshaping its musical landscape. Fast-forward to the 1990s, and Chicago welcomed saxophonist Dave Rempis, who quickly became a central force in the city's improvised-music scene. After emerging in the Vandermark 5, he established his voice through numerous groups, including The Rempis Percussion Quartet, The Engines, Kuzu, Ballister, and a vast network of ...

Album Review

Wheelhouse: House and Home

Read "House and Home" reviewed by Mark Corroto

by Mark Corroto
July 25, 2025

Saxophonist, producer, composer, event organizer and label chief Dave Rempis circles back to one of his most essential ensembles. In 2012, Aerophonic Records released Boss of the Plains by the drummer-less trio of Rempis, vibraphonist Jason Adasiewicz, and bassist Nate McBride. Formed in 2005, when McBride moved to Chicago from Boston, the trio spent a decade exploring the possibilities of a free-improvising chamber sound. But in 2013, Wheelhouse went on hiatus after McBride returned to his hometown. In ...

Album Review

Rempis / Adasiewicz / Abrams / Damon: Propulsion

Read "Propulsion" reviewed by Mark Corroto

by Mark Corroto
September 12, 2024

Do you ever imagine yourself, while listening to an album from the Chicago creative scene, as a detective in one of those murder mystery movies? The investigator has assembled a wall with a string running from the crime scene photos and victims to all the accused. They do so to visualize the connections between suspects. The same process is helpful with Chicago musicians. Saxophonist Dave Rempis had curated nearly a thousand Thursday night performances at Elastic Arts in Chicago between ...

Album Review

Amir ElSaffar River of Sound Orchestra: The Other Shore

Read "The Other Shore" reviewed by Neri Pollastri

by Neri Pollastri
December 2, 2022

Secondo disco per la Rivers of Sound Orchestra, ensemble creato nel 2015 da Amir ElSaffar con il preciso intento di esplorare in modo originale le culture musicali delle sue origini. ElSaffar è infatti nato negli Stati Uniti da madre statunitense e padre di origini irachene; avvicinatosi precocemente alla musica, ha coltivato quella jazzistica dalla discoteca paterna e quella classica dalle frequentazioni della madre; musicista dalle collaborazioni di altissimo livello--tra gli altri Cecil Taylor e Vijay Iyer--solo da adulto si è ...