Based between New York, Berlin, and Chicago, the piano trio Unspooling has spent time together and apart over the last ten years - fortunately, they convened in Lubrza, Poland last year to record this stunning debut, featuring compositions from each member of the band (Julia Chen on piano, Matt Adomeit on bass, and Nate Friedman on drums) and highlighting the trio's intuitive, exploratory approach to improvisation.

JOLIE, the Chicago collective led by pianist/recording engineer Dan Pierson, celebrates the release of Jolie - Joliet TONIGHT at the Hungry Brain, with an opening set from Detroit-based saxophonist/composer De'Sean Jones and his band Knomadik. Buy/listen at https://joliechicago.bandcamp.com/releases

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JOLIE is a grotesquely-beautiful, morphing behemoth of a band. The collective of Chicago musicians continually searches for unimaginable & surreal sonic spaces combined with elements of popular song. Led by pianist and recording engineer Dan Pierson, recording sessions for this unit began in the Fall of 2015. Across various sessions and live performances, featuring a wide cast of instrumentalists, the band’s sound has coalesced into this staggering debut album, “Jolie - Joliet”.

Vocalist and songwriter Alison Wedding has just released a new recording featuring eight of her original compositions, accompanied by Matt Gold on guitars and percussion. Listen/buy at alisonwedding.bandcamp.com

The Chicago-based instrumental duo SUN SPEAK releases its fourth album, Moon Preach, out now on Flood Music. Listen/buy via bandcamp here: www.sunspeak.bandcamp.com

On the heels of a 2018 collaboration with New York vocalist Sara Serpa, Moon Preach delivers ten original compositions that further explore the duo’s earthy melodicism, loping grooves, and finely-tuned textures. 

Recorded in a one-room house in rural New Hampshire, Moon Preach evokes both the quiet calm and dream-like chaos of this off-the-grid setting. The opening track “Alaska” reimagines an older piece, “Unalaska” (from 2014’s Sacred Rubble) and casts it anew in a static swirl; “Quilt” and “Offhue” explore the more surreal elements of rhythm and texture, building into turbulent abstractions. Elsewhere, tracks like “Davlin” and “Jagged Midnight” offer something closer to an introspective Americana. This duality has become a trademark of Sun Speak’s recordings, finding a center between stripped-down structures and more aggressive textural explorations — Moon Preach is their strongest attempt at this balance yet.

Folk duo Storm Jameson (Matt Gold and Jim Tashjian) playing traditional song "The Blackest Crow." Catch Storm Jameson next at Folkways Happy Hour at Cole's on 9/12 -- we're also nearly sold out of their debut record The Year of Orbison so stop by our Bandcamp page and grab a copy.

We're excited to release I've Fallen and I Can't Get Up, the new quartet album from composer/bassist/improvisor/theorist Charlie Kirchen (The Few, Sfyria Trio, Rooms). Featuring Nick Mazzarella on alto saxophone, Dave Miller on guitar, Devin Drobka on drums, and Kirchen on bass, Kirchen's compositions incorporate precisely notated themes and free improvisation within tightly wound formal frameworks. Pick up a copy here: https://charliekirchen.bandcamp.com/releases

Ashley Daneman talks about her Flood release People are Fragile on The Jazz Session podcast - check it out here.

Bassist/composer Mike Harmon's One Song is out now! Head to the bandcamp page to pick up a vinyl, CD, or digital copy. One Song features four of Mike's compositions and is full of beautiful exploratory chemistry within the long-standing quartet of Dan Pierson (piano, electronics), Greg Tuohey (guitar), Matt Carroll (drums) and Harmon.

Bassist/composer Mike Harmon will release his record One Song via Flood Music on May 3rd. The album features four of Harmon's compositions, interpreted by a long-standing quartet of guitarist Greg Tuohey (Aaron Parks, Joe Pug), pianist Dan Pierson (Rooms, JOLIE), drummer Matt Carroll (Ohmme, Typical Sisters), and Harmon on bass. Preorder is open now! Catch the quartet at their Chicago release show on 5/1 at the Hungry Brain.

We're so thrilled to share Ashley Daneman's new album, People are Fragile. These songs tell an emotional story of Ashley's journey through pain and healing, and features a ton of incredible Chicago- and Kalazmoo-based musicians. Head over to our releases page to listen and pick up a copy of this beautiful album.

Guitarist and songwriter Matt Gold (Sun Speak, Storm Jameson, Makaya McCraven, Greg Ward) has released a new video featuring his working trio, with Gold on guitar, Bryan Doherty (Hood Smoke) on electric bass, and Jeremy Cunningham (Resavoir, Laurenzi/Cunningham) on drums. This video captures the feeling of Gold's trio performances; a more intricately-produced version of the song, "Queen Anne," features vocals from Macie Stewart (Ohmme, Ken Vandermark) and appears on a full-length album slated for later this year.

We're thrilled to be releasing singer-songwriter Ashley Daneman's new album, People are Fragile, out March 1st. The album features Daneman's songwriting and a host of Chicago musician including pianist Rob Clearfield, drummers Quin Kirchner and Makaya McCraven, bassist Andrew Vogt, and lap steel/guitarist Matt Gold. Preorder is now open at https://ashleydaneman.bandcamp.com/album/people-are-fragile - reserve a copy and check out this great music!

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On account of extreme weather, we're unfortunately postponing tomorrow's Ayanna Woods // WILK show. We're working on a make-up date for this one; meanwhile you can check in with our series calendar to see what's coming up next month.

Andrew Lawrence's debut piano trio album "Trialogue" is out today on Flood Music. A deep dive into Lawrence's imaginative compositions and improvisations, the record features bassist Patrick Mulcahy (Patricia Barber, Ana Tijoux) and drummer Greg Artry (Willie Pickens, Bobby Broom). CD and digital available now via this link.

We're excited to announce the upcoming release of pianist Andrew Lawrence's new record, Trialogue, out January 15th on Flood Music. The record shines a light on Lawrence's dynamic pianism and imaginative compositions, and is full of ecstatic interaction with bassist Patrick Mulcahy and drummer Greg Artry.

Listen here to Ashley Daneman's conversation with WMUK Kalamazoo -- lots of insight into her upcoming record People are Fragile, out March 1st on Flood Music.

Storm Jameson (Matt Gold and Jim Tashjian) releases their album The Year of Orbison  today on Flood Music! Head to bandcamp for CD and digital orders.

Storm Jameson's The Year of Orbison is reviewed in Northern Sky Magazine (U.K.). The album officially drops 10/19 -- if you're in Chicago, be sure to check out the record release show on 10/17 at the Whistler. Preorder still open at stormjameson.bandcamp.com.

Preorder now available for Storm Jameson's upcoming release, The Year of Orbison, out 10/19 on Flood Music.

Check out the first single from Storm Jameson's upcoming release, The Year of Orbison, out October 19th.

Chicago Reader weighs in on the new BISON BISON album, out July 6th on Flood Music. Record release show on July 8th at the Hungry Brain!

Chicago-based quartet Bison Bison releases their debut self-titled album on July 6th. Bison Bison is guitarist Ishmael Ali (Errata, /je’raf/), saxophonist Wills Mckenna (Wills Mckenna Quartet, Here and Now), drummer Matt Carroll (Ohmme, Typical Sisters) and bassist Mike Harmon (Goran Ivanovic Trio, Natural Language, Jolie). The band balances collective improvisation with melodic compositions in the spirit of the late Paul Motian. Bison Bison celebrates this release with a performance at the Hungry Brain on July 8th. 

Sun Speak's new album, Sun Speak with Sara Serpa, is featured in this week's New York Times Playlist! Check out their track "Basin" along with some other great music.

Chicago duo SUN SPEAK (Matt Gold, guitars; Nate Friedman, drums) releases its third album today, a collaboration with NYC-based vocalist Sara Serpa. The trio moves through five original songs and one Erik Satie composition, discovering empathy in their approaches toward focused melodies, improvisations, and atmospheres.

Chicago trio ROOMS (Dan Pierson, piano; Charlie Kirchen, bass; Matt Carroll, drums) will re-release their 2016 album Vigil  via Flood Music this summer. The record features Monome processing by Anders Pollack and "combines their obsessive attention to detail in the studio with their sometimes chaotic improvised jam sessions [into a] gorgeous but sometimes uneasy sound" (Chicago Tribune).

For their third release, Chicago duo SUN SPEAK collaborates with New York-based Portuguese vocalist Sara Serpa (John Zorn, Ran Blake, Serpa/Matos). The trio moves through five original songs and one Erik Satie composition, discovering empathy in their approaches toward focused melodies, improvisations, and atmospheres. Sun Speak with Sara Serpa drops via Flood Music on Friday, April 27th.