Hometown Boy returns to play in Boston, on tour, from Chicago: Dave Rempis: His (New) Gunwale Trio – pronounced “gunnel” – on a high seas journey of Enterprise, Jazz and Creativity: to Free up the Jazz Scene.
Multi Saxophonist Dave Rempis (Tenor, Bari, Alto), composer, organizer) who grew up in Wellesley now carries an international reputation for almost two decades and is a world-class musician who has helped define the continuous meanings of Free-Jazz and all its elaborations... Amongst many, many collaborations he is best known for the Rempis Percussion Quartet; his own label, Aerophonic with two brand new releases, Gunwale’s “Polynya” and Rempis/Abrams/Ra + Baker “Perihelion”. And (as a hero to other musicians & listeners) a concert and festival organizer in Chicago!...
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Hometown Boy returns to play in Boston, on tour, from Chicago: Dave Rempis: His (New) Gunwale Trio – pronounced “gunnel” – on a high seas journey of Enterprise, Jazz and Creativity: to Free up the Jazz Scene.
Multi Saxophonist Dave Rempis (Tenor, Bari, Alto), composer, organizer) who grew up in Wellesley now carries an international reputation for almost two decades and is a world-class musician who has helped define the continuous meanings of Free-Jazz and all its elaborations... Amongst many, many collaborations he is best known for the Rempis Percussion Quartet; his own label, Aerophonic with two brand new releases, Gunwale’s “Polynya” and Rempis/Abrams/Ra + Baker “Perihelion”. And (as a hero to other musicians & listeners) a concert and festival organizer in Chicago!
Gunwale matches veteran Chicago saxophonist Rempis up with two of the up-and-coming stars from the next generation of Chicago improvisers. Ryan Packard is known mostly for his extensive work as composer and percussionist within the thriving contemporary classical scene in Chicago, while Albert Wildeman has achieved fame for his meteoric rise from novice instrumentalist to one of the busiest players in town after relocating to Chicago from the Netherlands.
As a trio, their voice carries a unique shape, combining a love for full-on blasts of energy with a sensitivity to the smallest details, leading to music that can be a freight train one moment, and an insectoid microcosm the next.
In 1993, Rempis began a degree in classical saxophone at Northwestern University with Frederick Hemke. Finding this environment stifling, Rempis quickly ditched the music degree to pursue studies in anthropology and ethnomusicology. As part of these studies, he spent a year at the International Centre for African Music and Dance at the University of Ghana, Legon, studying African music and ethnomusicology. He also continued to perform with many different types of groups, ranging from highlife and reggae bands while in Ghana, to jazz, free jazz, funk, and contemporary music ensembles at home. Upon graduating, Rempis decided to focus on performing, and in March of 1998 at the age of 22 was asked to replace veteran saxophonist Mars Williams in the well-known Chicago jazz outfit The Vandermark Five. This opportunity catapulted him to notoriety as he began to tour regularly throughout the US and Europe playing clubs, concert halls, and festivals on both continents.
Aside from performing, Rempis is also active as a presenter. Since 2002, he’s curated a weekly Thursday-night concert series for the Elastic Arts Foundation. The series has featured over 500 concerts by some of the best improvisers from around the world, while maintaining a focus on up-and-coming local musicians. In late 2005, Rempis helped form the presenters’ collective Umbrella Music, working with a small group of musicians and presenters in Chicago to provide better playing opportunities for creative and improvising musicians. As part of this group, he organized the annual Umbrella Music Festival from 2006-2014.
Rempis is also one of the main organizers of the indie-rock Pitchfork Music Festival, a 60,000-person event which takes place in Chicago’s Union Park every July.
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