presents
Joshua Abrams's Natural Information Society
Join Ars Nova Workshop for a free concert at The Rotunda by the Natural
Information Society, Chicago multi-instrumentalist Joshua Abrams's latest
duo project with drummer Chad Taylor.
“A super psychedelic and ultimately beautiful journey,” Tortoise guitarist
Jeff Parker wrote for Waxpoetics about multi-instrumentalist Joshua Abrams's
Natural Information (Eremite; 2010). Abrams's debut album under the Natural
Information moniker—which featured a quintet with vibraphonist Jason
Adasiewicz, guitarist Emmet Kelly, drummers Frank Rosaly and Noritaka
Tanaka, and Abrams primarily playing a North African bass lute called a
guimbri—earned a spot on the year-end lists of The Wire, Dusted, and Foxy
Digitalis, and The New York Times's Ben Ratliff called it “one of the rough
gems of the post-everything musical era.”
Abrams, a native of Philadelphia, has been a heavy-hitter on the Chicago
scene for over 15 years. He has worked with experimental jazz legends like
Roscoe Mitchell and Bill Dixon, up-and-comers like Nate Wooley and Craig
Taborn, indie artists like Bonnie “Prince” Billy and Sam Prekop (The Sea &
Cake), and hip hop artists such as Prefuse 73 and Philly's The Roots. He's
also the co-founder of Town & Country and has released four albums under his
own name, including 2006's highly celebrated Reminder.
For this performance, the Natural Information Society will feature a duo
with Abrams and drummer Chad Taylor, who's a member of the Chicago
Underground Duo and has worked with Marc Ribot, Ken Vandermark, and Pharoah
Sanders. Abrams and Taylor have partnered many times over the years, most
notably in their trio with saxophonist Matana Roberts, Sticks & Stones.
Admission is FREE