Avant jazzman Joshua Abrams announces GNARLY solo bass record, Excavations 1, on Feeding Tube Records

Avant jazzman Joshua Abrams announces GNARLY solo bass record, Excavations 1, on Feeding Tube Records
Photo: Filhounico

Joshua Abrams — or, as his fellow, wise Chicagoans know him, “Josh” Abrams — has for years been an indispensable thumbtack on the great bulletin board of Chicago jazz music (but not web design). Passing the last few cycles ‘round the sun as head of the singular Natural Information Society, Abrams’s list of collaborations will boggle the mind and make you feel like you just don’t “get” music anymore. (Nicole Mitchell, Matana Roberts, Rob Muzarek, Hamid Drake, and Bitchin’ Bajas are just a few!)

Now, Abrams is getting down and dirty all by his lonesome on a new record titled Excavations 1, out June 15 on the avant-garde weirdo label Feeding Tube Records. (I say “weirdo” with affection, I promise.) Abrams has never been shy to wander with strange and extraordinary sounds on his various bass instruments, but on this record, he finally allows the instrument to “scream for real,” according to the label’s Byron Coley. Seems like someone got sick of letting soprano sax have all the fun.

Excavations 1, an undeterred step forward (or sideways?) from the prolific bassman, is already available for pre-order. The record is his first solo work since 2012’s phenomenal Represencing. But before you spend that 22 dollars, young grasshoppers, listen to a clip over at Feeding Tube’s website, take a gander at the LP’s cover art, and do a bit of further research with this classic old Josh solo down below.


Excavations 1 by Joshua Abrams

Excavations 1 tracklisting:

01. Unexplain
02. Wager
03. Branches
04. Buzzards
05. Lingo
06. Dag
07. Scratching On It

Most Read



Etc.