Ronald Boykins was a jazz bassist and is best known for his work with pianist/bandleader Sun Ra, although he had played with such disparate musicians as Muddy Waters, Johnny Griffin, and Jimmy Witherspoon prior to joining Sun Ra's Arkestra.
Nicole Mitchell is an American jazz flautist and composer who teaches jazz at the University of Virginia. She is a former chairwoman of the Association for the Advancement of Creative Musicians (AACM).
Aram Shelton is an American composer, improviser and musician, based in Oakland, California. His music has been compared to that of Eric Dolphy, Sun Ra, Archie Shepp, and Albert Ayler.
Tomeka Reid is an American composer, improviser, cellist, curator, and teacher.
Aquarius is an album by American jazz flautist Nicole Mitchell, which was recorded in 2012 and released on Delmark. It was the debut of her ensemble Ice Crystal, a quartet with vibraphonist Jason Adasiewicz, bassist Josh Abrams and drummer Frank Rosaly. The last piece is a tribute to saxophonist Fred Anderson.
Celebrating Fred Anderson is an album by American jazz saxophonist Roscoe Mitchell, which was recorded live in 2015 at Chicago's Constellation and released on Nessa. For this tribute to saxophonist Fred Anderson, Mitchell assembled a quartet with cellist Tomeka Reid, bassist Junius Paul and drummer Vincent Davis and prepared four original pieces and adaptations of two Fred Anderson compositions, "Bernice" and "Ladies in Love".
Varmint is an album by American jazz vibraphonist Jason Adasiewicz, which was recorded in 2008 and released on Cuneiform. It was the second recording with his quintet Rolldown, featuring cornetist Josh Berman, saxophonist Aram Shelton, bassist Jason Roebke and drummer Frank Rosaly.
New Myth/Old Science is an album by Living by Lanterns, a Chicago-based project with invited guest musicians from New York co-led by drummer Mike Reed and vibraphonist Jason Adasiewicz, which was formed specifically to play arrangements of rare Sun Ra tunes. The album was recorded in 2011 and released on Cuneiform.
Joshua Abrams is an American composer and multi-instrumentalist who plays the double bass and guimbri.
Frank Rosaly is a Puerto Rican American drummer, composer, and sound designer associated with a transparent compositional approach to drumming across various styles of music including jazz, improvisation, rock and experimental music. Rosaly also composes for film.
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.
Melodic Art–Tet is a live album by the cooperative group of the same name, featuring saxophonist Charles Brackeen, trumpeter Ahmed Abdullah, bassist William Parker, drummer Roger Blank, and percussionist Tony Waters. It was recorded on October 15, 1974, at WKCR studios in New York City, and was issued by NoBusiness Records in 2013, nearly 40 years after the concert.
Simultonality is a 2017 album by multi-instrumentalist and composer Joshua Abrams and the Natural Information Society.
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.
Groove Awakening is the fourth album by saxophonist and pianist Ari Brown. It was recorded during May 2013 at Riverside Studio in Chicago, and was released later that year by Delmark Records. On the album, Brown is joined by pianist Kirk Brown, double bassist Josef Ben Israel, drummer Avreeayl Ra, and percussionist Dr. Cuz.
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.
Represencing is a 2012 album by multi-instrumentalist and composer Joshua Abrams, on which he is joined by members of the Natural Information Society.
Empathetic Parts is a live album by Mike Reed's Loose Assembly. The group's third release, it was recorded on November 7, 2009, at the Umbrella Music Festival held at The Hideout in Chicago, and was issued on CD in 2010 by 482 Music. Led by drummer Reed, the group features saxophonist Greg Ward, cellist Tomeka Reid, vibraphonist Jason Adasiewicz, and double bassist Joshua Abrams, plus guest saxophonist Roscoe Mitchell.
Titration is the debut album by the free improvisation ensemble Active Ingredients. Led by drummer Chad Taylor, it features alto saxophonist Jemeel Moondoc, trombonist Steve Swell, and double bassist Tom Abbs, as well as guest artists Rob Mazurek (cornet), David Boykin, and Avreeayl Ra (percussion). The album was recorded on July 5 and 6, 2002, and was released in 2003 by Delmark Records.
Reggaeology is the third album by American drummer Hamid Drake and his group Bindu. Tracks 1 through 6 were recorded during May 6–8, 2009, at Soma Electronic Music Studios in Chicago, Illinois, while the remaining track was recorded on July 28, 2009, at Sape Shoppe Studio in Chicago. The recording, which blends jazz and reggae, was released on CD in 2010 by Rogueart. On the album, Drake is joined by vocalist Napoléon Maddox, who also provided most of the lyrics, trombonists Jeff Albert and Jeb Bishop, guitarist Jeff Parker, and double bassist Josh Abrams.
