friday28
Best of Chicago voting is live now. Vote for your favorites »
cEmile naoumoff Faure’s 13 nocturnes for piano span most of his life as a composer, straddling the 19th and 20th centuries. In an impressionistic current with eddies of romantic turbulence, they depart from Chopin and Schumann, heading toward Debussy and Ravel. Pianist Emile Naoumoff, here playing Nocturnes nos. 2, 6, 7, and 13, approaches them as a progression: in his hands the uneasy tenderness of the First Nocturne’s opening is a premonition of the last’s desolation. Naoumoff, so persuasive in this neglected music, can trace his affinity back to one of the 20th century’s musical forces, Nadia Boulanger–a student of Faure–who took him on as a student when he was eight. Also an accomplished composer, he’s recorded his striking transcription for piano of Faure’s Requiem. This 45-minute concert, broadcast live on WFMT, will include commentary by the pianist. a 12:15 PM, Pianoforte Chicago, Fine Arts Building, 410 S. Michigan #825, 312-291-0291, reservations required. F A –Steve Langendorf
cQUI, LESLIE KEFFER Though they’ve been acquitting themselves admirably since 2001 as a crungy guitar-and-drums duo, I bet QUI wouldn’t have landed this gig if they hadn’t bitten the bullet last year and added a lead singer–specifically the Jesus Lizard’s lead singer, David Yow. These LA guys are doing Yow a favor too, of course, by taking him out of the “what have you done for us lately?” column. What they’ve done for us together is Love’s Miracle (Ipecac), a dirty, sweaty, fantastically tasteless train wreck of an album. The lyrics are nasty and make no sense, and yes, that’s Zappa’s “Willie the Pimp” and Pink Floyd’s “Echoes.” (The latter sounds past its sell-by date, but I’m pretty sure that’s intentional.) Thankfully this stuff is more fun than annoying–quite a feat, since it’s annoying as fuck. Yow is in fine form, digging up the bluesy part of his dirt-track howl and strangling the shit out of it–think Bon Scott emceeing a demolition derby in hell–and his comrades are a colossal riff machine, especially drummer Paul Christensen, whose sound is as thick and bubbly as boiling asphalt. –Monica Kendrick
perry robinson By the time Perry Robinson started playing professionally, in the 1950s, modern jazzers had forsaken the clarinet in favor of the saxophone. But there’s never been anything fusty about his playing. On everything from his early recordings with 60s free-jazz warriors like Henry Grimes, Charlie Haden, and Archie Shepp to The Soul in the Mist (Ictus), culled from two dates with percussionist Andrea Centazzo and pianist Nobu Stowe late last year, Robinson revels in the instrument’s versatility. He switches effortlessly from playing patient, wistful melodies over a swinging pulse to drawing fleet, frantic figures in the midst of a free fall. Robinson hasn’t played Chicago since the mid-70s, when he came here with Two Generations of Brubeck; tonight he leads a trio with local bassist Matthew Golimbisky and drummer Jimmy Bennington, and tomorrow he joins Bennington’s band for a couple shows. See also Sunday. a 9 PM, Velvet Lounge, 67 E. Cermak, 312-791-9050, $15. –Bill Meyer
This show is part of Adventures in Modern Music (full schedule, page TK); Boris, Michio Kurihara, and Damon & Naomi headline with a collaborative set and People open. a 9 PM, Empty Bottle, 1035 N. Western, 773-276-3600 or 866-468-3401, $20, $70 for a festival pass.
sofia jernberg See Wednesday. Jernberg performs in a duo with cellist Fred Lonberg-Holm. a 7:30 PM, Myopic Books, 1564 N. Milwaukee, 773-862-4882. F A
