June 10, 2019
Doors At 7. Music At 7:30pm
"Paul Giallorenzo (keyboards/electronics), Eli Namay (bass), and Andrew Green (drums), are three are important members of the music community. Paul's work being central to the scene in Chicago on an international level- as a performer, recording artist, and organizer. Eli and Andrew are part of a new wave of improvising and experimental musicians developing exciting lines of activity that are indispensable to the creative growth of contemporary music."
-Ken Vandermark/Option curator
"Due to the fact that his visa to the United States has been declined, Brazilian saxophonist, Vincius Mendes, will not be able to come to Chicago to perform. The Option concert on June 10th will still move forward, with Paul Giallorenzo (keyboards/electronics), Eli Namay (bass), and Andrew Green (drums). All three are important members of the music community, with Paul's work being central to the scene in Chicago on an international level- as a performer, recording artist, and organizer. Eli and Andrew are part of a new wave of improvising and experimental musicians developing exciting lines of activity that are indispensable to the creative growth of contemporary music."
-Ken Vandermark/Option curator Paul Giallorenzo is a Chicago-based improviser, composer, producer, and sound designer using piano, synthesizer, keyboards, and electronics in a diverse range of contexts with a wide array of Chicago and international musicians in improvised, avant-jazz, experimental, and electro/acoustic music, performing regularly locally and throughout North America and Europe. His work can be found on the Chicago-based Delmark Records and Austin-based Astral Spirits labels, as well as various other imprints including Leo Records (UK), Not Two Records (Poland), and 482 Music (NY). Paul is also a presenter, organizer, and co-founder of the music venue/art gallery Elastic Arts, producing hundreds of creative music concerts and art events in Chicago since 2001.
Eli Namay has been working to develop a musical practice that is informed by critical theory and political activism. Artistically, he is particularly focused on how cultural and economic symbols mediate social relations (ideology, social reproduction, etc). Eli is interested in exploring ways economic and ideological influences on music might be disrupted artistically, thus creating a genuinely creative practice that is emotionally healing for both the listener and practitioner. This has led him to an interest in non/pan-idiomatic improvisation, experimental notation that gives rise to a multiplicity of outcomes, and the use of liminal perceptual frameworks.
Some of Eli’s frequent collaborators both past and present include: Ishmael Ali, Luis Fernando Amaya, Danny Andrade, Jessica Aszodi, Emily Beisel, Jim Baker, Can I Get an Amen, Carol Genetti, Zachary Good, Alex Grimes, Gerrit Hatcher, Anton Hatwich, Bill Harris, Sam Trump Harris, Spencer Jenich, Jeff Kimmel, Chris Kimmons, Lia Kohl, Old Lazarus’ Harp, Peter Maunu, John McCowen, Nick Meryhew, Ryan Packard, Matt Roberts, Phil Sudderberg, Shavasana, Katherine Young, and Bethany Younge. Eli works with Phil Sudderberg on a DIY record label called Gilded Records.
Andrew Green is a versatile drummer, percussionist, and music educator, specializing in drum set, classical percussion, and world percussion. His main project is a collaborative indie jazz trio called Twin Talk, with saxophonist Dustin Laurenzi and bassist/vocalist Katie Ernst. Twin Talk were featured performers at the 2014 Chicago Jazz Festival and regularly tour around the US. Andrew’s other projects include orchestral folk group Jonas Friddle & the Majority, grand prizewinner of the 2012 John Lennon Songwriting Award, and samba percussion group Bloco Maximo.
Andrew is an active freelance musician and plays regularly with Jamie Breiwick’s Spirits Quartet, Katie Ernst’s Little Words, and groups led by Paul Dietrich, Dan Meinhardt, Corbin Andrick, Miles Comiskey, and many others. Andrew has performed in the US and around the world, including shows in Europe, Canada, at the Rochester Jazz Festival in New York, the Hyde Park Jazz Festival in Chicago, the Montreux Jazz Festival in Switzerland, and the Kennedy Center in Washington, DC.