Sunday, March 17, 7:00 PM
Hanami + David Lord
At the Jazz Gallery Center for the Arts - 926 East Center Street
Hanami's most recent album, 'The Only Way to Float Free', is a homage to band members’ pasts in Japan as well as their present in Chicago; it’s jazz without certain signifiers of jazz, infused instead with rock & roll, unexplored spaces, and the idea of water.
When guitarist Andrew Trim and multi-reedist Mai Sugimoto came together in 2011 to raise funds for the victims of Japan’s Tohoku tsunami, it was intended to be a one-off concert. But the concert turned into band “Hanami,” (named for the Japanese custom of experiencing the fleeting beauty of cherry blossoms), and the band recorded a debut album (modern jazz takes on traditional Japanese songs), and the wheels were set in motion for something much larger than the initial concept. While Trim and Sugimoto, both of whom lived in Japan as children, were reluctant to record many more Japanese songs for fear of being branded a cover band, dreams of that country still swim through this latest album, which is all originals except for a cover of the 1901 song “Kojo no Tsuki,” or “The Moon over the Ruined Castle” - a piece also recorded in 1967 under the title “Japanese Folk Song” by pianist Thelonious Monk.
//
Guitarist and composer David Lord has developed a singular approach to composition and improvisation. His music has been featured in publications such as Downbeat, Dusted Magazine, A Closer Listen, All About Jazz, Under the Radar, Bandcamp Daily, Pop Matters, Alternative Press, Magnet and Tiny Mix Tapes.
Lord has recorded and performed with Chad Taylor (Chicago Underground, Pharoah Sanders), Jeff Parker (Tortoise, Brian Blade), Devin Hoff (Nels Cline, Mary Halvorson), Billy Mohler (Dolly Parton, Macy Gray), Charles Rumback (Riley Walker, Jim Baker), David Tranchina (Cathlene Pineda), Nathan Hubbard (Mark Dresser, Kris Tiner), Christine Tavolacci (Southland Ensemble), Chris Schlarb (Psychic Temple), Dale Black (Terrance Blanchard), Scott Taylor (Maria Elena Silva) and the Los Angeles indie-rock band Timonium.
Lord has released three albums under his own name, Forest Standards Vol. 1 (2018), Forest Standards Vol. 2 (2020) and Forest Standards Vol. 3 (2023). He has created his own extended lydian polychordal system which can be heard throughout his music. Grounded in the natural world, Lord’s musical logic involves themes of the forest, fungi and ecosystems.
Date March 17
Time: 7:00 PM doors/ 7:30 PM show
Cover fee: $15 (please not that we don't sell advance tickets, doors only. card and cash accepted)