Chicago Underground Duo

All Music Guide:

Where Tortoise-style indie rock and the Windy City's gradually more youthful jazz scene intersect lie Chicago Underground Duo -- also known as Chicago Underground Orchestra and Chicago Underground Trio with various lineups. The nominal leader, cornetist and keyboard player Rob Mazurek, recorded three albums for Hep from 1994 to 1997. As Chicago's own indie rock sensation Tortoise began leaning closer and closer to the city's improvisational and free jazz forbearers, Mazurek began playing with them and appeared on the group's 1998 album, TNT. The first Chicago Underground Duo album, recorded with drummer/vibraphonist Chad Taylor in 1998, appeared on Tortoise's Thrill Jockey label. The following year, the pair expanded to a trio with the addition of bassist Noel Kupersmith and released Possible Cube, on Delmark.

Wikipedia:

Chicago Underground Duo is an avant-garde jazz duo consisting of cornetist Rob Mazurek and drummer/percussionist Chad Taylor. They formed in 1997, having both been members of Chicago Underground Orchestra. They have released numerous recordings on the Thrill Jockey label.

Rob Mazurek / Chad Taylor

Rob Mazurek was born in Jersey City, New Jersey in 1965, and played trumpet and cornet in high school. After high school he attended the Bloom School of Jazz in Chicago, and began playing gigs with local jazz musicians.

In 1996, Mazurek founded a workshop at Chicago jazz club The Green Mill called Chicago Underground for the performance of avant-garde, improvisatory jazz. By 1998, a new ensemble had formed around this idea, featuring guitarist Jeff Parker, drummer Chad Taylor, bassist Noel Kupersmith, and trombonist Sara Smith. As the Chicago Underground Orchestra, this ensemble released several albums on Chicago's Delmark Records. Mazurek and Taylor continued to form groups under the Chicago Underground umbrella, performing as the Chicago Underground Duo, Chicago Underground Trio and Chicago Underground Quartet.