LOCKSMITH ISIDORE (JASON STEIN'S LOCKSMITH ISIDORE)
Genres: Avant-Garde Jazz, 21st Century Modern • United States

Fan’s of the Chicago free jazz scene may recognize Jason Stein from his work in Ken Vandermark band Bridge 61, collaborations with Fred Lonberg-Holm and Jeff Parker, and featured roles in other Midwestern ensembles. Stein started his musical life as a blues-and-rock guitarist, but Eric Dolphy changed his life. After hearing the groundbreaking woodwind innovator, Stein replaced his guitar with a bass clarinet. He later studied with Charles Gayle and Milford Graves. A flexible performer, he can go “mainstream” in the post-bop and free traditions or exploit novel situations, as, for example his work oboist Kyle Bruckmann in the experimental chamber jazz ensemble Wrack. His hard-driving presence on sessions with Peter Brotzmann and Fredrik Ljungkvist and his nuanced pitch and color manipulations for Lonberg-Holm and Parker demonstrate his versatility. The trio’s name, Locksmith Isidore, comes from Stein’s grandfather, a master locksmith who didn’t trust banks and hid his money inside read more...