Stein/Smith/Shead at Rozz-Tox -- May 23.
Saturday, May 23, 8 p.m.
Rozz-Tox, 2108 Third Avenue, Rock Island IL
Four sterling independent instrumentalists will share one thrilling night at Rock Island venue Rozz-Tox on May 23, with OUTLETProgramme presenting a collective concert with the Stein/Smith/Shead trio and touring bassoon player Gabi Vanek.
Composed of Jason Stein on bass clarinet, Damon Smith on double bass, and Adam Shead on drums and percussion, Stein/Smith/Shead is a Chicago-rooted improvising trio that formed in late 2021. Over the years since, the group has toured extensively across the Midwest and beyond, becoming a fixture in the creative music circuit and collaborating with influential figures such as Roscoe Mitchell. Their recorded work documents a remarkably productive period, encompassing four releases: Volumes & Surfaces (2022), Hum (2023), spiraling horn with Marilyn Crispell (2024), and Live at the Hungry Brain with Marilyn Crispell (2025). Together, these albums trace the group’s evolution from kinetic, small-ensemble interplay toward expansive collaborations that bridge generations of avant-jazz practice.
Critics have consistently praised Stein/Smith/Shead for their fearless energy and deep listening. All About Jazz described Volumes & Surfaces as “undiluted free jazz with energy as its calling card and attention as its driver,” while The Free Jazz Collective called their collaboration with Marilyn Crispell “stunning” and “full of muscular interplay.” Known for their balance of precision and volatility, Stein/Smith/Shead channel the improvisational lineage of Chicago’s creative music scene into a sound that is at once restless, focused, and alive to the moment.
Described by The Road to Sound as making “shadowy music that prickles on your skin” and “unafraid to be anything at all," Gabi Vanek is a bassoonist who exists in a world of harsh noise and drone/doom. She’s performed as both an ensemble member and soloist at small and large festivals such as the Darmstädter Internationale Ferienkurse, International Double Reed Society, Oh My Ears, and exhibited at the Osaka University of the Arts Electro-Acoustic Music Festival. More likely, you’ll find her making noises in more “unconventional” spaces, like your local dive bar.
Stein/Smith/Shead and Gabi Vakek perform their downtown Rock Island engagement on May 23, admission to the 8 p.m. all-ages concert is $10-15, and more information and tickets are available by calling (309)200-0978 and visiting RozzTox.com.
