Bill Harris

Jun 28, 2023

On The Hasaan, Hope & Monk Project, a fantastic trio session released last year by Driff Records, the Boston-based keyboardist explores the overlapping idiosyncrasies of fellow pianists Thelonious Monk, Elmo Hope, and Hasaan Ibn Ali. In other settings, he has delved deeply into the music of Misha Mengelberg, Duke Ellington, and Sun Ra. Like those past masters, Karayorgis finds endless inspiration in the tensions he can create by suspending complex harmonies and judiciously situated pauses over hard-swinging rhythms. What keeps his music in the present tense is the dialogic rapport he’s developed with other musicians, especially those active in the Boston area (where he’s lived since leaving Athens, Greece, in 1985) and in Chicago. On a series of recordings with Karayorgis—including with the Pandelis Karayorgis Quintet, the Whammies, and Cutout—saxophonist Dave Rempis and trombonist Jeb Bishop have each brought a bristling intensity that tests the stress tolerances of the pianist’s compositions. This week, Karayorgis will reconnect with both of them, and he’ll also play for the first time with a few Chicagoans of a younger generation. On Thursday, he and Rempis will play two sets with bassist Jakob Heinemann and drummer Bill Harris . And on Sunday, he’ll appear in two different ensembles: first in a trio with Bishop and revenant vibraphonist Jason Adasiewicz, then in a quintet with Rempis, alto saxophonist Sarah Clausen, and drummers Tyler Damon and Lily Glick Finnegan. Pandelis Karayorgis See also Sun 7/2. Karayorgis performs two improvised sets in a quartet with Dave Rempis on saxophones, Jakob Heinemann on bass, and Bill Harris on drums. Thu 6/29, 8:30 PM, Elastic Arts , 3429 W. Diversey #208, $15, all ages Pandelis Karayorgis Karayorgis begins the night in a trio with trombonist Jeb Bishop and vibraphonist Jason Adasiewicz; for the second set, the pianist will play in a quintet with saxophonists Dave Rempis and Sarah Clausen and drummers Tyler Damon and Lily Glick Finnegan. Sun 7/2, 9 PM, Hungry Brain , 2319 W. Belmont, $10, 21+