NOTE: Even though many businesses have begun re-opening, generally at reduced capacities and with many restrictions, music venues and theaters in particular are likely to remain closed for some time. For any in-person event, check with the venue or event organizer to confirm details or for information about any health and safety plans in place. We are maintaining a list of cancellations and making updates as events are rescheduled for later dates. We have also added new listings for online events, including online theater and performing arts events and streaming concerts and music events.
Polish clarinetist Waclaw Zimpel has visited Chicago in groups led by locals such as Ken Vandermark and Keefe Jackson, but this time he brings his own working quartet from Europe. He’s one of the most contemplative and lyrical players in improvised music, and on last year’s Stone Fog (Fortune) his tenderness shines through most magnificently on the three pieces he composed. The other tracks are group improvisations, and on those five pieces his resourceful, nuanced band (pianist Krzysztof Dys, bassist Christian Ramond, and drummer Klaus Kugel) conjures a similarly dramatic, moody atmosphere, transplanting into a free-jazz setting some of the brooding intensity and pin-drop dynamics of the classic Miles Davis Quintet with Wayne Shorter. —Peter Margasak