Serengeti + Meat Number 5 @ The Whistler (Chicago)

Creative multi-genre rapper Serengeti performs for free at this local bar, owned by the folks at Whistler Records.  Many of his works differ in concept and style, partially a result of his many collaborations, and here he performs with instrumental hip-hop duo Meat Number 5.

To hear some of Serengeti's recent material, check out his collaborative endeavor called Yoome, and start anticipating a new album with producer Polyphonic, called Terradactyl, that will be released in May.

Friday, February 20

William Elliott Whitmore, FT (the Shadow Government) @ Reggie's (Chicago)

In support of his just-released album Animals in the Dark, soulful folk crooner and banjo player William Elliot Whitmore returns to Chicago as part of his month-long US tour.  Released this week on Anti-, the album expands his blues-influenced tunes with touches of extra instrumentation.

Eclectic rock experimentalists FT (the Shadow Government) play as main support.

Saturday, February 21

Chicago Soundmap 2009 @ Heaven Gallery (Chicago)

Composers Jim Baker (Exploding Star Orchestra) and Kyle Bruckmann (Pink Mountain, Lozenge) lead the 2009 edition of Chicago Soundmap, an annual festival that asks selected composers to balance composition and improvisation.

The duo’s 10-piece ensemble includes local jazz standouts in the form of saxophonist Keefe Jackson, clarinetist Jason Stein, and bassist Jason Roebke as well as electronic artist Brian Labycz.

Sunday, February 22

Zing! @ The Green Mill (Chicago)

Distorted math rock, whirling free jazz, buzzing electronica — not much is off limits for this adroit quintet.  If you're in town, catch the group at Chicago's storied jazz venue for a "pre-Oscars party."

The Quin Kirchner Group @ Heaven Gallery (Chicago)

This newly formed improvisational outfit features four young standouts in Chicago's jazz, rock, and electronic scenes.

The quartet's style is more accessible than the type of experimental/free jazz that one might imagine from an improvisational outfit; according to alto/soprano saxophonist Charles Gorczynski, the group's songs aim to sound more like compositions, using repeated melodies and apparent sections.

This makes sense in the context of the members' other groups: Gorcynzki's Colorlist, upright bassist Matt Ulery's Loom, and clarinetist / tenor saxophonist Elliot Bergman's NOMO, for which Kirchner also drums.

The night's other set belongs to the collaboration of bass clarinetist Jason Stein, pianist Jim Baker, and bassist Josh Abrams — a trio with its own esteemed members that should rely more on solos and less on conventional structure.

With more musical projects than fingers, Chicago guitarist Dave Miller has his hands fully immersed in jazz, rock, psychedelic, noise, and experimental forms.

His primary creation as a bandleader, Algernon, is one of his most accessible — jazz-flared, vibraphone-heavy post-rock that's rife with effects. His other groups draw further into the realms of freeform structures, though most don't hurt for hooks. (One such outfit, Zing!, was lauded here in advance of a local show last weekend.)

Online editor Scott Morrow caught up with Miller to discuss musical personalities, the connotations of the term "experimental," the next Algernon album, and his countless other endeavors.

Algernon is one of your most straightforward, melody-driven projects. Other than being a vehicle for your rock-flavored compositions, what do you hope to accomplish with Algernon?

One of my most important objectives in music has always been to connect with people. I try to walk the like between tradition and innovation as gracefully as possible.

So with Algernon, the project that reflects my musical personality most accurately, I try to write music that is accessible to people who are not musicians or music intellectuals without sacrificing the integrity of the music.

Like many of your outfits, Algernon is full of wild guitar effects. But how much of your experimentation — with pedals or otherwise — is reserved for Zing!, Blink., your other groups or your compositions for film and theater?

I was having a conversation about the musical term "experimental" with my good friend and musical cohort in Algernon, Toby Summerfield, recently. He made a really strong point that I agree with: a lot of times, the music that we write is called "experimental" because it may stretch the boundaries of what people may think of being conventional-sounding music.

Truth be told, "experimental" music writers will spend much time finding new and unusual ways of making music. However, the finished product is ideally no longer an experiment but a fully realized and valid musical idea.

With that being said, I am a curious musician by nature. So no matter what band I'm playing in or project that I'm working on, I try to continually find new ways of interpreting the music that lets my musical personality and influences shine through.

Your projects allow you to collaborate with other members of the jazz/rock/improv community. How does working in so many groups affect your own creativity?

I've found it to be somewhat overwhelming at times because, at any given moment, I tend to have a lot on my plate. Nevertheless, I'm never at a loss for being inspired, because I'm consistently playing great music with so many great musicians and having a blast doing so. I feel lucky to be a part of everything going on in Chicago scene right now!

What can we expect from the next Algernon release? What else are you working on?

The next Algernon album is all written. We have too many songs at this point, I think. We'll be recording in March at Steve Albini's studio, Electrical Audio, with our favorite enginer, Manny Sanchez.

This new album will be a little bit more rock-oriented and will have more experimentation with form. The album as a whole will go through a lot more musical moods than the last. I'm excited to get it done!

As far as other projects, the new Ted Sirota's Rebel Souls album will be out in March or April, the new WW Lowman album should be out by the summer, the new Mercury Effect (Tommy Faulds' solo project) album, which I contributed a good amount of guitar to, should be out soon, and new albums from the Kevin Kizer Quintet and the John Wojciechowski Quintet should be out soon as well.

I'm also in the beginning stages of planning out a solo record. I don't know really how to describe it yet, but it's different.

- Scott Morrow

Dave Miller: www.myspace.com/davemillermusic4
Algernon: www.algernonmusic.com

Local rock headliners Volcano! throw together big beats, pop melodies, eccentric vocals, electronics and experimental rock structures.  Cougars, the night’s second act, hits hard with no-nonsense rhythms, uncompromising rock riffs, well-placed horns and urgent vocalizations.

The night's best set, however, may come from the opener, Zing!.  Bringing together a handful of young, hardworking standouts in Chicago's avant-garde jazz and rock scenes, Zing! is as much noisy math rock as it is free-jazz. Bassist Matthew Golombisky recently moved to Argentina, but his remaining compadres should carry on the group's imposing mixture of effects and ambiance.