Teiku featuring Jason Stein at Rozz-Tox -- September 27.
Friday, September 27, 8 p.m.
Rozz-Tox, 2108 Third Avenue, Rock Island IL
Led by Josh Harlow (on piano, synth, and electronics) and Jonathan Barahal Taylor (drum set, percussion, synth arrangements), the independent outfit Teiku featuring bass clarinetist Jason Stein performs a special headlining engagement at Rock Island venue Rozz-Tox on September 27, the ensemble designed to reflects its leaders’ musical and spiritual sensibilities: a yearning for insight, an acute sensitivity to the present moment, and a space made for searching deeper.
Teiku is a Talmudic acronym that roughly translates to “unanswered question,” a fitting description of the process of discovery that creative improvisers know well: creating spontaneous and cohesive sonic environments that are felt viscerally but cannot be expressed in words. Voice recordings from Harlow and Taylor’s families further ground some of the pieces, enhancing the ritualistic musical space and deepening Teiku’s rich array of textures and moods. Arrangements transition from frenetic density to subdued groove to minimalist electro-acoustic soundscapes, but as adventurous as the music gets, the spirit of the melody is never lost. Teiku’s music represents a dialogue with ancestral traditions and celebrates the joy of creativity. The invigorating musical conversation presented in their stunning debut album is a testament to the power of this artform and community.
As Harlow and Taylor state, "Teiku arranges [their unique Jewish-Ukrainian ancestors’] Passover melodies into vehicles for sonic exploration. This ancestral music, much like the tradition of Creative Music through which we interpret it, is liberation music. As its humble stewards we offer it as a call for justice for all oppressed peoples; as Jews, we decry the senseless violence, displacement, and killing perpetrated in our name."
Jason Stein is an internationally recognized bass clarinetist and composer, and is among the handful of jazz musicians who play the bass clarinet exclusively. Stein leads the acclaimed trio Locksmith Isidore as well as his own quartet, and he is an indispensable contributor to several of the leading bands on Chicago’s jazz and improvised music scene. Stein has been named on both the Downbeat Critics Poll and the El Intruso International Critics Poll, having won the latter from 2017 to 2020. Stein’s playing showcases an extraordinary expertise on the bass clarinet, ranging from powerful post-bop lines to ear-grabbing wails in the altissimo range. Stein is based in Chicago and has recorded for such labels as Leo, Delmark, Not Two, Atavistic, 482 Music, Clean Feed, Astral Spirits, Sunnyside, Eremite, and Northern Spy. He has also collaborated with Chad Taylor, Josh Abrams, Tom Rainey and Jim Black.
Teiku featuring Jason Stein plays their Rock Island headlining engagement on September 27, admission to the 8 p.m. all-ages concert is $10-15, and more information and tickets are available by calling (309)200-0978 and visiting RozzTox.com.
