Longtime collaborators
Carlos Nino and
Miguel Atwood-Ferguson have worked on countless projects together since the mid-2000s, and many of them tend to be elaborate, wide-scale productions. The two organized a symphonic tribute to the late
J Dilla, performing his music with a 60-piece orchestra, which was released as
Timeless: Suite for Ma Dukes, and the long-running series of
Carlos Nino & Friends releases have hosted guests such as
Laraaji,
Dexter Story, and
Madlib. Both musicians participated in the recording of the Los Angeles Side of
Makaya McCraven's colossal
Universal Beings, and the two flew to Chicago in 2018 for the album's release show. For this performance, all of the musicians relearned the music they'd improvised that had been assembled to make up the album. While
Nino and
Atwood-Ferguson were in town, they were invited to open for
Jeremy Cunningham at Co-Prosperity Sphere, the headquarters of
International Anthem Recording Co. The two musicians performed a stripped-down, completely improvised set together, with
Atwood-Ferguson's virtuosic five-string violin playing harmoniously converging with
Nino's percussive swells and radiant electronics. Heading in no obvious direction, the musicians let the spirit carry them, and the result is a continuously flowing 44-minute voyage somewhere in the neighborhood of free jazz and ambient music, but not exactly either.
Atwood-Ferguson manages to make his violin swoop, glide, sprinkle, and chirp, imitating birdsong, flutes, and rainfall, while
Nino's bells and shakers rush, wisp, and billow. Everything is bathed in an ethereal glow, occasionally with a psychedelic tinge, and the music seems to be perpetually lifted above the ground. After it all lands,
Nino conducts a series of breathing exercises in order to get everyone readjusted to the real world, and the audience members seem to share the same sense of elation as the musicians.
Chicago Waves is a quietly powerful document of a transcendent moment, demonstrating the two artists' gifts for channeling positive energy and spontaneously creating something magical. ~ Paul Simpson
