WRACK skirts the boundaries of an ever-evolving tradition hovering at the crossroads of other traditions. It is both a chamber ensemble with a highly unusual instrumentation and a book of compositions tailor-made for the personalities of its members. While the compositions' melodic and contrapuntal content is reminiscent of European-American classical modernism, their modular structures and improvisational procedures are heavily indebted to the innovations of the African-American Creative Music continuum.
Oboist Kyle Bruckmann founded the project in Chicago in 2002, enlisting trombonist Jeb Bishop, percussionist Tim Daisy, bassist Kurt Johnson, and violist Jen Clare Paulson. Their debut record on Red Toucan demonstrated the band's "ability to combine turned-up flame with clear-headed attention to texture and space" and was hailed as "a document of exciting new directions from some of Chicago's best players." (Dusted magazine)
Bruckmann moved to the San Francisco Bay Area in 2003, but has maintained ties to Chicago's vibrant avant-jazz and improvised music community ever since. During a 2005 homecoming visit, Wrack reconvened with bass clarinetist Jason Stein and bassist Anton Hatwich replacing Bishop and Johnson, who were unavailable at the time. The resulting album on 482 Music, Intents & Purposes, provides "dazzling proof that intricately arranged, angular modern jazz can be accessible and enjoyable." (The Wire)
Wrack is a member of Chamber Music America, and an affiliate of the San Francisco Friends of Chamber Music.
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Contact Bruckmann via: kb [at] kylebruckmann [dot] com.
BIOGRAPHIES:
KYLE BRUCKMANN's creative work spans a dizzying range, from a traditional Western classical foundation into genre-bending gray areas encompassing free jazz, electronic music and post-punk rock. International touring and appearances on more than 50 recordings have led to his recognition as "a modern day renaissance musician" and "a seasoned improviser with impressive extended technique and peculiar artistic flair."
Since moving to San Francisco in 2003, he has performed with the SFSO and ensembles throughout the region while joining forces with the Stockton Symphony, Quinteto Latino, and new music collective sfSound. From 1996 until his westward relocation, he had been a fixture in Chicago's thriving experimental music underground, with frequent collaborators including Jim Baker, Olivia Block, Guillermo Gregorio, Fred Lonberg-Holm, Robbie Hunsinger, Ernst Karel, and Michael Zerang. Ongoing affiliations also include EKG and the "rock" monstrosity Lozenge.
Bruckmann earned undergraduate degrees in music and psychology at Rice University in Houston, studying oboe with Robert Atherholt. He completed his Masters degree in 1996 at the University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, where he studied oboe performance with Harry Sargous and contemporary improvisation with Ed Sarath.
TIM DAISY (percussion) has been an active member of Chicago’s creative music scene since 1997. He has performed, composed, recorded, and toured with many of the city’s celebrated musicians and ensembles. Along with performing sideman duties in internationally acclaimed bands including the Vandermark 5, The Rempis Percussion Quartet, and The Engines, Tim maintains an active composing schedule, writing for his own groups as well as contributing to a number of collaborative ensembles. Groups he currently leads include Vox Arcana, with Fred Lonberg-Holm on cello and James Falzone on clarinet; New Fracture Quartet, with Jaimie Branch on trumpet, Dave Miller on guitar and pedals, and Nate McBride on bass; The Tim Daisy Ensemble, with Erica Dicker on violin, Daniel Levin on cello, and Jeff Kimmel on bass clarinet; and Falling Sky Quartet, with Tim Haldeman on tenor saxophone, Dave Miller on guitar, and Jake Vinsel on bass.
Tim has also had the fortunate experience of working with these excellent musicians: Peter Brötzmann, Fred Anderson, Rob Brown, Erik Friedlander, Jeb Bishop, Frank Rosaly, Jason Adasiewicz, Michael Zerang, Steve Swell, Magnus Broo, Mats Gustafsson, Per-Åke Holmlander, Mikolaj Trzaska, Mark Tokar, Yuri Yaremchuck, Aram Shelton, Jason Ajemian, Keefe Jackson, Josh Berman, Kent Kessler, Ingebrigt Håker Flaten, Paal Nilssen-Love, Jim Baker, Joe McPhee, Brian Sandstrom, Jason Roebke, Greg Ward, Tomeka Reid, Toby Summerfield, Todd Margasak, Scott Rosenberg, Kyle Hernandez, Darren Johnston, Dan Blacksburg, Dan Effland, Mark Ziegler, Tim Fitzgerald, Cameron Pfiffner, Robert Barry, Josh Abrams, and Nori Tanaka.
His festival performances include: Suoni Per Il Poplo in Montreal QC, North Sea Jazz Festival in the Netherlands, Le Mans Jazz Festival at Le Mans, France, Banlieue Bleue Festival in Paris, the Chicago Jazz Festival, Enjoy Jazz Festival in Mannheim, Germany, Festival Jazz a Mulhouse in Mulhouse, France, Umbrella Music Festival in Chicago, Ring Ring Festival in Belgrade, Serbia, Lviv Jazz Festival in Lviv, Ukraine, Debrecen Jazz Days in Debrecen, Hungary, Wels Jazz Festival in Wels, Austria, Phrenology Fest in Chicago, the Elastic Festival of Improvised music in Chicago, and the Third Ward Jazz Festival in Milwaukee, Wisconsin.
ANTON HATWICH (bass) has lived in Chicago since 2003. Since that time, he has become ensconced in the local improvised music scene, performing regularly with some of the city's finest young musicians. Hatwich can be heard around Chicago in the groups Festival Quartet, The Rempis Percussion Quartet, Indoor/Outdoor, Fast Citizens, Sky and Lights, Keefe Jackson's Project Project, and Kite Ensemble.
JEN CLARE PAULSON (viola) received her Bachelor of Arts degree from Augustana College in 1997, where she studied viola and Japanese koto. In 1998, she received an Eckstein Fellowship supporting graduate studies at Northwestern University in conjunction with membership in the Civic Orchestra of Chicago. As part of that orchestra, she played under the baton of Daniel Barenboim, Pierre Boulez, and John Cage in Chicago's Symphony Hall and with Barenboim in Carnegie Hall in New York. She graduated from Northwestern with a master's degree in 2000. Her orchestral work has also landed her on stage with Ray Charles, Art Garfunkel, Olivia Newton-John, Oscar Peterson, Ricky Skaggs, and Hugh Heffner at the Playboy Mansion.
Paulson is currently pursuing a DMA in viola perfomance with Sally Chisholm at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, with a minor in jazz studies. She is a member of the Madison Symphony Orchestra and it's resident string quartet, the Hunt Quartet, which plays a large role in MSO's community engagement activities. Other long-term projects include the Northland string quartet, Chris Mills' City That Works and Guillermo Gregorio's Madi Ensemble.
JASON STEIN (bass clarinet) studied at Bennington College with Charles Gayle and Milford Graves, and at the University of Michigan with Donald Walden and Ed Sarath. In 2005, he relocated to Chicago and has since recorded for such labels as Delmark, Atavistic, 482 Music and Clean Feed. Stein has performed throught the US and Europe, including performances in festivals in Lisbon, Cracow, Barcelona, Debreccen and Ljubljana. He has had the opportunity to perform with a number of exciting local and international musicians including: Michael Moore, Jeff Parker, Rudi Mahall, Ken Vandermark, Rob Mazurek, Jeb Bishop, Michiel Braam, Ingebrigt Haker-Flaten, Pandelis Karayorgis, Fred Lonberg-Holm, Tony Buck, Kent Kessler, Tobias Delius, Nate McBride, Jack Wright, Michael Zerang, Michael Vatcher, Frank Gratkowski, Peter Brotzman, Fredrik Ljungkvist, Wilbert DeJoode, and Håvard Wiik.