Mbira are a family of musical instruments, traditional to the Shona people of Zimbabwe. They consist of a wooden board with attached staggered metal tines, played by holding the instrument in the hands and plucking the tines with the thumbs, the right forefinger, and sometimes the left forefinger. Musicologists classify it as a lamellaphone, part of the plucked idiophone family of musical instruments. In Eastern and Southern Africa, there are many kinds of mbira, often accompanied by the hosho, a percussion instrument. It is often an important instrument played at religious ceremonies, weddings, and other social gatherings. The "Art of crafting and playing Mbira/Sansi, the finger-plucking traditional musical instrument in Malawi and Zimbabwe" was added to the UNESCO Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity in 2020.
Tomeka Reid is an American composer, improviser, cellist, curator, and teacher.
Eremite Records is an independent American jazz record label founded in 1995 by Michael Ehlers, with early involvement from music writer Byron Coley. Ehlers was a student of Archie Shepp's at the University of Massachusetts Amherst. After college, he began producing concerts in the Amherst area, and Eremite evolved from those events. The label name came from an alternate title to the Thelonious Monk tune "Reflections": "Portrait of an Eremite". The label's logo, designed by Savage Pencil, is an image of a robed Joe McPhee playing soprano saxophone. Eremite organized a concert series in Western Massachusetts that ran through 2008 and produced roughly 100 concerts, including five Fire in the Valley festivals. From 1998–2018, Eremite managed a touring organization that arranged hundreds of concerts across North America for its artists.
Kikagaku Moyo were a Japanese psychedelic band founded in Tokyo. The band's name translates to "geometric patterns".
Joshua Abrams is an American composer and multi-instrumentalist who plays the double bass and guimbri.
Bill Nace is an American experimental guitarist and visual artist, from New Jersey. Nace has collaborated with Joe McPhee, Steve Gunn, Thurston Moore, Yoko Ono, Okkyung Lee, and Kim Gordon. With Gordon, Nace is part of the experimental electric guitar duo Body/Head.
Chad Taylor is an American drummer, percussionist, and composer. Taylor leads both the Chad Taylor Trio with Brian Settles and Neil Podgurski and Circle Down with Angelica Sanchez and Chris Lightcap. He is a founding member of the Chicago Underground along with Jeff Parker and Rob Mazurek.
Jerry David DeCicca is an American singer-songwriter and producer from Columbus, Ohio.
12° of Freedom is the debut album by the Chicago Underground Duo, featuring multi-instrumentalists Rob Mazurek and Chad Taylor. It was recorded during January and June 1997 at three different locations, and was released in 1998 by the Thrill Jockey label. Guitarist Jeff Parker also appears on three tracks.
Descension (Out of Our Constrictions) is a live album by Natural Information Society, featuring guimbri player Joshua Abrams, bass clarinetist Jason Stein, harmonium player Lisa Alvarado, drummer Mikel Patrick Avery, and special guest soprano saxophonist Evan Parker. It was recorded on July 9, 2019, at Cafe Oto in London, and was released in 2021 by both Eremite Records, based in the United States, and Aguirre Records, a Belgian label.
Mandatory Reality is a 2019 album by guimbri player Joshua Abrams and the Natural Information Society.
Shed Grace is the second album by the collaborative free jazz trio Sticks and Stones, featuring saxophonist Matana Roberts, double bassist Josh Abrams, and drummer Chad Taylor. It was recorded during 2003, with no overdubs or edits, at Semaphore Recording in Chicago, Illinois, and was released in 2004 by the Thrill Jockey label. The music consists of original compositions by each player, plus three covers.
Cloud Script is an album by the free jazz quartet of the same name, led by double bassist and composer Joshua Abrams, and featuring tenor saxophonist Ari Brown, guitarist Jeff Parker, and drummer Gerald Cleaver. Consisting of six original compositions by Abrams, it was recorded on September 26, 2016, at Electrical Audio in Chicago, and was released on vinyl and CD in 2020 by the Rogueart label.
Unknown Known is an album by the Joshua Abrams Quartet, led by double bassist and composer Abrams, and featuring tenor saxophonist David Boykin, vibraphonist Jason Adasiewicz, and drummer Frank Rosaly. Consisting of six original compositions by Abrams, it was recorded on December 12, 2010, at Engine Studios in Chicago, and was released on CD in 2013 by the Rogueart label.
Cipher is an album by double bassist and composer Joshua Abrams. It was recorded at two Chicago locations, Riverside Studios and the Empty Bottle, and was released in 2003 by Delmark Records. On the album, Abrams is joined by saxophonist and clarinetist Guillermo Gregorio, trumpeter Axel Dörner, and guitarist Jeff Parker.
Magnetoception is a 2015 album by multi-instrumentalist and composer Joshua Abrams, on which he is joined by members of the Natural Information Society.
Automaginary is a 2015 collaborative album by the Natural Information Society and Bitchin Bajas.
Ithra is an album by saxophonist Dave Rempis, cellist Tomeka Reid, and double bassist Joshua Abrams. Consisting of eight improvised tracks, it was recorded on December 18th, 2017, at Elastic Arts in Chicago, and was released in 2018 by Aerophonic Records.
Represencing is a 2012 album by multi-instrumentalist and composer Joshua Abrams, on which he is joined by members of the Natural Information Society.
Myths and Morals is a solo album by drummer Chad Taylor. It was recorded on March 20, 2017, at Experimental Sound Studio in Chicago, and was released on vinyl in 2018 by Ears & Eyes Records. The album is also available as a digital download, with a bonus track featuring Elliot Bergman on electric kalimba.
