Ted Sirota's Rebel Souls Make Rare Philadelphia Appearance Tonight

This quintet of avant-garde collective souls hails from all over the map. Guitarist Jeff Parker cut his teeth with Chicago loop icons Tortoise; soprano and tenor saxophonist Geof Bradfield blew hard R&B with organ grinder Charles Earland; bassist Clark Sommers has performed with the Charlie Haden Liberation Orchestra; and leader/drummer Sirota got all greasy with bluesman Eddie Kirkland and found jazz truth with the Chicago-based Sabertooth Jazz Quartet. Sirota's first album, Rebel Roots, was followed by Propaganda and Ted Sirota's Rebel Souls vs. the Forces of Evil. In 2003 Sirota and the Rebel Souls recorded Breeding Resistance. Sirota's background in reggae, calypso, soca, African music, blues, jazz and avant improv conjures a band that can blow mean bar-walking blues shuffle as easily as it pursues ethereal adventures in sound sculpting. The band's unruly cross-pollination of sounds and styles should erupt like a volcanic hailstorm at Slought. -Ken Micallef, Philadelphia Weekly

Trombonist Jeb Bishop has been active in new and improvised music in Chicago since 1993. He currently performs and records with groups including the Vandermark Five, the Peter Brotzmann Chicago Tentet, Terminal Four, School Days, the Territory Band, and his own Jeb Bishop Trio. He also organizes and performs in the monthly Chicago Improvisers Group concerts at the Green Mill in Chicago.

Tenor/soprano saxophonist Geof Bradfield received his Master's degree at CalArts, studying with Charlie Haden, Albert “Tootie