{"id":2444,"date":"2018-07-26T21:49:59","date_gmt":"2018-07-27T01:49:59","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.artsjournal.com\/jazzbeyondjazz\/?p=2444"},"modified":"2018-08-09T14:01:57","modified_gmt":"2018-08-09T18:01:57","slug":"synth-and-sushi-bar-chicago-future-jazz-present-tense","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.artsjournal.com\/jazzbeyondjazz\/2018\/07\/synth-and-sushi-bar-chicago-future-jazz-present-tense.html","title":{"rendered":"Synth and-sushi bar, Chicago (future jazz, present tense)"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"\"<\/a>

K-rAd and his Euro-rack at Sushi Dokku; photo by Marc PoKempner<\/p><\/div>\n

K-rAd freely improvised and spontaneously composed an original, pulsing, burbling, chiming, floating and ripping, multi-layered, deep and flowing funky-bassed, percussion-lively suite over about three hours last night (7\/25\/18), using his elaborate, sound-unbound\u00c2\u00a0Euro-rack<\/a>\u00c2\u00a0synthesizer setup to stir, smooth and spice social interactions in a seemingly unlikely Chicago venue for such a thing.<\/p>\n

Down\u00c2\u00a0an alley, through a back door (see the bright red arrow) down in a basement of\u00c2\u00a0<\/span>Sushi Dokku<\/a>\u00c2\u00a0in Chicago’s fashionable W. Randolph Street dining district, a small crowd of not-necessarily music-seeking patrons seemingly in their late 20s sat at booths or a horseshoe bar sipping sake, picking at small plates, chatting, flirting, a couple necking. They were clearly easy, maybe pleased and perhaps somehow moved by the electronic music, which filled the room actively, vividly. This wasn’t subtle Eno-esque ambiance, more like Terry Riley’s mirrors on\u00c2\u00a0<\/span>Rainbow in Curved Air <\/em><\/a>reflecting\u00c2\u00a0shards of guitar-keyboards from\u00c2\u00a0<\/span>In A Silent Way <\/em><\/a>with James Jamerson<\/a>‘s loping Motown dance lines underneath and marimba, gongs, super-fast figures, anything else of sonic possibility liable to bubble up or flash forth any moment. Often yet not always there was a perky, steady beat and streaming sequencer figures but no other recurring structure to speak of, hence no expectations, and no guidelines (words, “melody,”\u00c2\u00a0 song form, defined harmonic field) for listeners to grab onto.<\/span><\/p>\n

A<\/span>ttendees may not, however, have been trying to grab on or listening at all, so much as being in their own space, oblivious if still possibly influenced by their sonic surroundings. Put me in mind of the mythic days (before my time) when big, showy Hammond B-3 organs ruled at neighborhood corner taverns. As such, this solo synth show, orchestrally even more grandiose, felt like future jazz, present tense.<\/span><\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>

under Sushi Dokku, photo: Marc PoKempner<\/p><\/div>\n

K-rAd aka Chris Grabowski is the expert soundman of the Green Mill,<\/a> a jazz haven — his deft attentions have served not only an elite of U.S. musicians but also the Mill’s every-night, all year ’round audience. He understands the ebb and flow dynamic between performer and audience, but wasn’t doing anything specifically to shape his soundtrack beyond his own impulse\/whim. “It nice to play here,” Grabowski said, “they seem to like it,” with a sweep of hand encompassing everyone in the joint, and he’s happy it’s a regular gig — he’s here every other months (“Someone else doing modular things on off-months, I think.”). It doesn’t advertise, though.\u00c2\u00a0K-rAd<\/a> can most easily be found on Facebook, but is modest about upcoming appearances there, too.\u00c2\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

He kept an eye on the room while focusing mostly with his ears on the waveforms coursing, modulating, filtered and reverberating at his fingertips’ not very dramatic patch, button-push and dial (sorry I didn’t take an inventory of Grabowski’s equipment, which he mentioned took more than two years of acquisition and construction, but it may be proprietary information, anyway). <\/span>The nearly palpable physicality of electronic music, as I heard it, made the air kind of tingly. (But then, I’ve been spending a fair amount of time lately obsessed with a Korg Minilogue<\/a>). My pals and I split a shrimp tempura, a flight of assorted sakes and can of Kikusui Aged Funaguchi<\/a><\/span>. Yes, I’d go back.<\/p>\n

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K-rAd freely improvised and spontaneously composed an original, pulsing, burbling, chiming, floating and ripping, multi-layered, deep and flowing funky-bassed, percussion-lively suite over about three hours last night (7\/25\/18), using his elaborate, sound-unbound\u00c2\u00a0Euro-rack\u00c2\u00a0synthesizer setup to stir, smooth and spice social interactions in a seemingly unlikely Chicago venue for such a thing. Down\u00c2\u00a0an alley, through a back […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":2445,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_genesis_hide_title":false,"_genesis_hide_breadcrumbs":false,"_genesis_hide_singular_image":false,"_genesis_hide_footer_widgets":false,"_genesis_custom_body_class":"","_genesis_custom_post_class":"","_genesis_layout":"","jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[3],"tags":[1682,1675,1681,1355,1497,1674,1678,1677,1359,1679,1684,1676,1685,1680,1683],"class_list":{"0":"post-2444","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-main","8":"tag-chicago-venues","9":"tag-chris-grabowski","10":"tag-euro-rack","11":"tag-howard-mandel","12":"tag-jazz-beyond-jazz","13":"tag-k-rad","14":"tag-kimusiu-aged-funaguchi","15":"tag-korg-minilogue","16":"tag-marc-pokempner","17":"tag-sake","18":"tag-sushi","19":"tag-sushidokku","20":"tag-synth-and-sushi","21":"tag-synthesizer","22":"tag-w-randolph-street-dining-district","23":"entry"},"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/www.artsjournal.com\/jazzbeyondjazz\/wp\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/Chris@SushiD-e.jpeg","jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p1i3CL-Dq","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":2539,"url":"https:\/\/www.artsjournal.com\/jazzbeyondjazz\/2019\/01\/extraordinary-popular-delusions-chicago-free-improv-all-stars.html","url_meta":{"origin":2444,"position":0},"title":"Extraordinary Popular Delusions, Chicago free improv all-stars","author":"Howard Mandel","date":"January 10, 2019","format":false,"excerpt":"Jim Baker, keys& synth; Brian Sandstrom, bass; Steve Hunt, drums; Ed Wilkerson, saxes, didgeridoo, oud, Mars Williams, reeds and toys -- photo by Marc PoKempner Keyboardist and synthesizer specialist Jim Baker has led the collective quartet Extraordinary Popular Delusions playing every Monday night in obscure Chicago venues for the past\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "main"","block_context":{"text":"main","link":"https:\/\/www.artsjournal.com\/jazzbeyondjazz\/category\/main"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":1401,"url":"https:\/\/www.artsjournal.com\/jazzbeyondjazz\/2013\/09\/chicago-jazz-festival-13-in-marc-pokempners-photos.html","url_meta":{"origin":2444,"position":1},"title":"Chicago Jazz Festival ’13, in Marc PoKempner’s photos","author":"Howard Mandel","date":"September 4, 2013","format":false,"excerpt":"Photo-journalist Marc PoKempner, a long-time collaborator and one of my bffs, has a clear eye as well as a sharp ear for music. He captured some of the diversity and vigor of the 35th annual Chicago Jazz Festival, August 28 - Sept 1 \u00c2\u00a02013. Click on these photos for the\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "main"","block_context":{"text":"main","link":"https:\/\/www.artsjournal.com\/jazzbeyondjazz\/category\/main"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.artsjournal.com\/jazzbeyondjazz\/wp\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/09\/rudresh-collage-chicago-jazz-fest-2013.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.artsjournal.com\/jazzbeyondjazz\/wp\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/09\/rudresh-collage-chicago-jazz-fest-2013.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.artsjournal.com\/jazzbeyondjazz\/wp\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/09\/rudresh-collage-chicago-jazz-fest-2013.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.artsjournal.com\/jazzbeyondjazz\/wp\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/09\/rudresh-collage-chicago-jazz-fest-2013.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":1700,"url":"https:\/\/www.artsjournal.com\/jazzbeyondjazz\/2014\/08\/chicago-jazz-festival-club-tour-images.html","url_meta":{"origin":2444,"position":2},"title":"Chicago Jazz Festival club tour images","author":"Howard Mandel","date":"August 30, 2014","format":false,"excerpt":"The 36th annual Chicago Jazz Festival (mostly free) kicked off Wednesday with a trolley tour of\u00c2\u00a0neighborhood clubs. Marc PoKempner captured performers' and crowds' spirits in his images: The Jazz Festival continues tonight -- Saturday -- with headlining vibist Gary Burton receiving JJA Jazz Awards for his playing and Best Book\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "main"","block_context":{"text":"main","link":"https:\/\/www.artsjournal.com\/jazzbeyondjazz\/category\/main"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.artsjournal.com\/jazzbeyondjazz\/wp\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/08\/peppers-po.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.artsjournal.com\/jazzbeyondjazz\/wp\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/08\/peppers-po.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.artsjournal.com\/jazzbeyondjazz\/wp\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/08\/peppers-po.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.artsjournal.com\/jazzbeyondjazz\/wp\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/08\/peppers-po.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":1908,"url":"https:\/\/www.artsjournal.com\/jazzbeyondjazz\/2015\/08\/jazz-images-made-in-chicago-pokempner-sees-steve-coleman-greg-ward-onye-ozuzu-gary-bartz-and-more.html","url_meta":{"origin":2444,"position":3},"title":"Jazz images Made in Chicago: PoKempner sees Steve Coleman, Greg Ward & Onye Ozuzu, Gary Bartz and more","author":"Howard Mandel","date":"August 23, 2015","format":false,"excerpt":"Marc PoKempner may be best known for his photos of pre-presidential Barack Obama, Chicago's reform mayor Harold Washington and the blues -- but his jazz photography illuminates what we hear by refreshing how we see it. 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