Chicago's Eighth Blackbird spreads wings for Grammy season
Among the usual Chicago suspects nominated this Grammy season, one name stands out that probably isn't on the tip of every local's tongue: Eighth Blackbird.
Yet the group, a classical sextet that experiments with electronics and theater artists and performs mostly new work from contemporary composers, has been making music for 12 years, earning a reputation as one of the genre's more daring players. Their live performances continually flirt with classical conventions but, like Nickel Creek and bluegrass, they are not hesitant to expand expectations and see what happens when, say, a DJ filters their music through a laptop, or a dance choreographer tells them where to move.
Commissions, university residencies and continual touring keep the group outside Chicago most of the year, although they hope a new relationship with the Harris Theater in Millennium Park will usher in a new relationship with the city where they are based, or at least raise their profile. Eighth Blackbird headlines the theater Jan. 26.
The group is best known in New York City, where hybrid classical groups are numerous. In Chicago, however, experimental music is mostly the domain of the city's legion of free jazz improvisers.
That's unfortunate, considering what Eighth Blackbird has managed to accomplish since it originated out of Oberlin Conservancy of Music in Ohio, where core members -- pianist Lisa Kaplan, violinist Matt Albert, cellist Nicholas Photinos, clarinetist Michael Maccaferri and percussionist Matthew Duvall -- were convinced to collaborate by an instructor who sensed possibilities. He was right; almost immediately, the group relocated to Chicago and etched out a mission statement that stressed pushing boundaries, tweaking chamber music tradition and playing to new audiences.
In performance, this translates to casual dress, playing without stands or scores, incorporating movement and -- this is the Phish generation, after all -- a bit of jamming.
"They're small things, but we consider they make a significant difference," said flautist Tim Munro, 29, a native Australian, who recently joined the ensemble.
Unlike rock bands, which rise and fall depending on the whims or bad habits of lead singers or songwriters, Eighth Blackbird is a true collective of equal parts. They are a certified not-for-profit organization that raises donor money to commission contemporary composers, most notably minimalist master Steve Reich and other modern-day conceptualists like Bang On a Can, the New York composition trio known for writing and performing marathon concerts of uninterrupted music and operatic scores that incorporate multimedia.
The contemporary classical scene is a true niche, but -- unlike the traditional classical world -- the players and composers expressly try to incorporate moods, anxieties and styles of the present day. Tonality, dissonance and electronic music are touchstones that have allowed rock world players, from Frank Zappa to Radiohead, to crossover into the classical realm just as contemporary composers like Terry Riley, John Zorn, John Cage and Reich have earned friendly nods from their more pop-oriented peers.
Eighth Blackbird's latest album, "Strange Imaginary Animals" (Cedille Records), collects eight compositions from five composers, uniting them with interpretations that create the aural imagery of animated creatures, either in full gallop or holding whimsical conversations in an imaginary language. The precision of the playing transforms the instruments' natural sounds, helping build unusual textures, switching up dynamics with restless energy.
Their efforts earned the group a Grammy nomination for best chamber music performance as well as a classical contemporary composition nomination for composer Jennifer Higdon and a producer of the year nomination for Judith Sherman.
The exposure is long-earned, considering that the ensemble has set up shop in Chicago -- they practice in a barn-like industrial space alongside the city's Ravenswood corridor -- but continue to struggle to gain notice in their hometown.
Not that they're slacking. Next Saturday's concert will feature a live remix of the new album; DJ Dennis DeSantis will join them onstage and fiddle with the music through his laptop, culminating in the ensemble's cover version of Radiohead's "Dollars and Cents." A return visit to the Harris May 29 will feature "Double Sextet," a debut of the commissioned Reich piece, and movement created by New York choreographer and Macarthur Grant recipient Susan Marshall.
Although Munro has said the ensemble has watched their fair share of classical purists head for the exits once they perform, they do manage to win converts with every performance -- people who get sucked into the virtual worlds the group whips together onstage. For both listener and player, the end goal is the same: "It's wonderful and refreshing to be taken outside of your comfort zone," he said.