Edition XL with poets Ed Roberson, Kai Ihns, and Ken Taylor
Announcing two special nights of music and poetry in Chicago! On Friday and Saturday, August 1st and 2nd, the new ensemble, Edition XL, will make its Chicago debut at The Green Mill with acclaimed poets, Ed Roberson, Kai Ihns, and Ken Taylor. Each night will feature three sets of original music to be introduced by a short reading from one of the poets.
I feel that all the arts are connected, creatively and often socially, and the performances taking place on August 1st and 2nd at the Mill are a case in point. I was introduced to Ken Taylor’s work when he interviewed fellow poet, John Yau, for the Option series at Experimental Sound Studio in July of 2024. I met John Yau through the visual artist, Richard Hull, in the summer of 2022 when Richard invited us to help teach his “Words, Music, Action!” painting course at Ox-Bow. Ken introduced me to the work of Ed Roberson at the book launch of their book, “found poem(s)”, at the Corbett vs. Dempsey gallery in December of 2024. In addition, Ken has now introduced me to the poet Kai Ihns.
From my standpoint, there will be an added bonus Friday night because the visual artist John Sparagana will be in attendance. John’s work has been an inspiration since curator/writer John Corbett first introduced us years ago. The way he uses modular systems to explode and extend visual communication methodology has a direct parallel to the way I have been trying to work with my music since Marker was formed in 2016. The day after experiencing the opening of the “Albert Oehlen & Kim Gordon show” at Corbett vs. Dempsey in January, I visited John at his Chicago studio where he showed me two of his more recent pieces. At the time I was first working on a new compositional strategy for Edition XL. Originally, I considered the inclusion of Josh Berman and Nick Macri to the lineup of Edition Redux (w/Beth McDonald, Erez Dessel, and Lily Finnegan) as a way to increase orchestral and improvising possibilities for the quartet. I quickly realized that I wanted to tackle the increased possibilities with a new methodology, one that used superimposition of parts and stacking in addition to linear assembly. When I looked at John’s work, and after seeing Oehlen’s modular approach in his, it confirmed that I was on the right track. If they could do it, so could I.
Rehearsals with Edition XL began in February to prepare for this weekend residency at the legendary Green Mill, an opportunity that everyone in Edition XL takes with the highest regard. These are sure to be two extraordinary nights of music and poetry, and the concerts will be recorded for a future release on Audiographic Records.
Links to full concert and ticket info:
[photo of Ed Roberson by Sandy Morris, photo of Kai Ihns unknown, photo of Ken Taylor unknown, photo of John Sparagana unknown]