The Engines

The Engines, one of Chicago's strongest improvising bands, visits Philadelphia for the first time to coincide with the release of their self-titled debut on the Okkadisk imprint. This collaborative band features four mainstays of the Chicago jazz and improvised music scene, with Jeb Bishop on trombone (Jeb Bishop Trio, Brotzmann Tentet, School Days), Dave Rempis on saxophones (Rempis Percussion Quartet, Triage, Vandermark Five), Nate McBride on bass (FME, Powerhouse Sound, Pandelis Karayorgis Trio), and Tim Daisy on drums (Festival Quartet, Dragons 1976, Vandermark Five).

The Engines started as a trio with a residency at Chicago's Empty Bottle in the summer of 2005. Bishop was added as a regular member after he joined them for one concert in May of 2006, since the dynamic of the group as a quartet worked so well. Since then, they've been working regularly in Chicago at many of the venues associated with creative music including The Hideout, Elastic, The Hungry Brain, and The Velvet Lounge.

All of these musicians have distinguished themselves as both leaders and sidemen, but formed this band as a collaborative meeting of minds and talents. Each member contributes original compositions, producing a wide set of expressive possibilities ranging from high-energy jousting over driving bass vamps to quieter moments of melodic exploration. With McBride on both acoustic and electric bass, the band can explore some of the sonic textures associated with the early AACM, or launch into hard-hitting Zeppelin-like grooves, and they use this range of possibilities to its fullest.