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The NRG Ensemble's Annual "Hal-the-Weenie" Concert at The Hungry Brain
Courtesy of Sachiko Takahashi | Posted on October 22, 2017
Where
The Hungry Brain
2319 W. Belmont Ave
Chicago, IL
Map
(773) 687-8230
When
Sun, October 29, 2017
9:00 pm
At Door
Save the date
Musicians
Mars Williams
saxophoneDave Rempis
saxophoneKent Kessler
bass, acousticSteve Hunt
keyboardsFred Lonberg-Holm
celloAbout
The NRG Ensemble was formed in the late 1970s by Hal Russell (1926-1992), a journeyman drummer who’d been seduced in his 40s by the siren sounds of Albert Ayler and took up the saxophone. Russell and the younger musicians he recruited into NRG kept free jazz alive in Chicago during the lean years of the 80’s, playing their face-peeling tunes—characterized by tight horn charts, woolly solos, and a prankish sense of humor. Furiously swinging saxophone exchanges between Mars Williams and Dave Rempis reinvent the concept of the “tenor battle”. Brian Sandstrom’s rotation between electric guitar, acoustic bass and trumpet, Steve Hunt’s inventive drumming and Kent Kessler’s strong, muscular bass propels the group forward.