Hamid Drake & Nick Mazzarella
Representing two distinct generations of Chicago improvisers, drummer/percussionist Hamid Drake and alto saxophonist Nick Mazzarella meet for a series of improvised duets informed by the City's rich heritage of musical exploration, and inspired by the need to respond to the challenges of the present moment with creative energy.
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Representing two distinct generations of Chicago improvisers, drummer/percussionist Hamid Drake and alto saxophonist Nick Mazzarella—who have previously worked together in informal small group contexts and in Joshua Abrams' Natural Information Society—meet for a series of improvised duets informed by the City's rich heritage of musical exploration, and inspired by the need to respond to the challenges of the present moment with creative energy. Working without any predetermined material or structure, the two musicians rely on their intuitions, aesthetic sensibilities, communication, and a shared musical understanding to collaboratively and spontaneously generate expressive compositional ideas.
Originally from Monroe, Louisiana, Hamid Drake is a brilliant, sensitive, endlessly rhythmic, intelligent, spiritual, and powerful Chicago-based drummer and percussionist. In constant demand the world over, Drake has played and/or recorded with luminaries such as Fred Anderson, Peter Brötzmann, Don Cherry, David Murray, William Parker, Jim Pepper, Dewey Redman, and Adam Rudolph.
Saxophonist Nick Mazzarella has been described as "continuing the approach taken by like-minded trailblazing altoists Eric Dolphy, Ornette Coleman, Henry Threadgill, Oliver Lake, and Gary Bartz” by “seeking to embody the history of the music while pushing it forward into new realms” (All About Jazz). A consistent presence in Chicago's music scene since the early 2000s, he has performed and/or recorded with such artists as Johsua Abrams, Geof Bradfield, Dana Hall, Rob Mazurek, Makaya McCraven, Avreeayl Ra, and Tomeka Reid.
Photo of Hamid Drake from Wikipedia Commons
Photo of Nick Mazzarella by Bob Palmieri