“I’m moving in the wrong direction,” laughs veteran drummer Bill Bruford; “we’ve all heard of jazz musicians going rock to make money, but a rock musician going jazz?” As former drummer-laureate for such mega-progressive rock groups as Yes, King Crimson, and Genesis, Bruford sees his recent excursion into jazz with his new quartet, “Bill Bruford’s Earthworks,” as a natural extension of his earlier work.
Best of Chicago voting is live now. Vote for your favorites »
“Since the punk arrogance of the late 70s and 80s, young jazz players in England are now suddenly very good. They don’t consider themselves, nor are they, inferior to their American counterparts, just different. And they like Prince as much as they like Coltrane because no one told them that they were supposed to like one or the other.
Earthworks consists of electronic keyboards (Django Bates), acoustic bass (Mick Hutton), saxophone (Iain Ballamy), and electronic percussion (Bruford), and will be making its Ravinia debut on Tuesday. The group’s debut album, released this year on the Editions EG label, has been hailed by audiences and critics alike for its innovativeness.
“But what I do find sad is that so much of the music we were doing 20 years ago is still saturating the airwaves. That’s sad, because it means that there’s no room on the airwaves for other new stuff. When we formed these groups, their life span was only intended as a couple of years. They were supposed to have been disposable and a brief amusement.
Eafthworks performs Tuesday, June 28, in the Ravinia Festival’s Murray Theatre, 201 Saint Johns, Highland Park, 728-4642 (or R-A-V-I-N-I-A). $15 indoors, $5 lawn.
