ICEfest 2006

Time Out Chicago / Issue 80: Sept 7–Sept 13, 2006
BY Marc Geelhoed
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The International Contemporary Ensemble turned up at New York’s Mostly Mozart Festival at Lincoln Center last month, evidence of the 40-year-old fest’s continuing attempt to refresh its image. This week, ICE marks its homecoming by taking its music out of traditional venues with seven shows at as many clubs. For more info, call 312-494-2655.

Tuesday 12
HotHouse (31 E Balbo Dr between State St and Wabash Ave, 312-362-9707). 8pm, $5.
The trains of the title of Steve Reich’s Different Trains refer to those Reich rode as a boy in America and those that carried European Jews to the concentration camps. Using extracts of memories from survivors who were on the different trains, Reich weaves those taped samples in and out of a string quartet, movingly. Works by another minimalist, Louis Andriessen, as well as those by John Cage and others, fill out the set list.

Wednesday 13
Elastic (2830 N Milwaukee Ave between Woodard St and Dawson Ave, 773-862-3616). 10pm, $5 donation.
Clarinetist Joshua Rubin consistently dazzles in his solo moments with the full ensemble, and this concert puts him front and center. He and percussionist David Schotzko, no slouch himself, play works for their quizzical reed-and-percussion pairing by Franco Donatoni, Stockhausen and others.

Thursday 14
Velvet Lounge (67 E Cermak Rd between Michigan and Wabash Aves, 312-791-9050). 9pm, $10.
Katinka Kleijn finds time outside her day job with the CSO to play more contemporary music with ICE. She’s tight with jazz saxophonist Greg Ward, who’s written a new piece for her that they’ll play tonight, along with solo works by Alvin Lucier and Dai Fujikura that she flat-out owns.

Friday 15
Pressure Café (6318 N Clark St at Highland Ave, 773-743-7665). 9pm, $5.
Guitarist Dan Lippel is one of the newest ICE members, and he’s overseeing this concert featuring…him. He plays acoustic and electric guitars in a set of dissimilar composers. Takemitsu’s subtle simplicity is a world apart from Elliott Carter’s electric atonality, and other oppositions abound in this program.

Sunday 17
Green Mill (4802 N Broadway at Lawrence Ave, 773-878-5552). 2pm, $5.
The other players sit out for this concert showcasing ICE’s corps of pianists. Local composers Kirsten Broberg and David Smooke have works for four pianists on a single piano, and works by modern masters Ligeti, Kurtág and Messiaen hold down the traditional side of the scale.

Hungry Brain (2319 W Belmont Ave between Oakley and Western Aves, 773-935-2118). 10pm, $5 donation.
The most free-form of all the seven concerts features saxophonist Dave Reminick and trumpeter Peter Evans, the ICE members most passionate about improvising. Emerging Improvisors, an improv-fostering nonprofit, sponsors this Sunday-night series.

Monday 18
Katerina’s (1920 W Irving Park Rd between Wolcott and Damen Aves, 773-348-7592). 8:30pm, $5.
ICE turns to the past for Bach’s Fifth Brandenburg Concerto and other chestnuts. It’s also commissioned a handful of composers to rewrite those favorites for ICE’s instrumentation, which could be even more entertaining than the originals.