Ishmael Ali/Will Greene/Lily Finnegan Trio, Will McGoran/Sam Xiao Cody & Crowmeat Bob/Ian McColm
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Ishmael Ali, Will Greene & Lily Finnegan Trio:
An ensemble defined by restlessness and sonic curiosity, this improbable improvising trio rides the edge between sonorous melodies, atonal outbursts, and tilted grooves — creating music that feels both elemental and unpredictable. Individually, each artist in the trio brings a distinct voice: Will Greene’s saxophone moves effortlessly between melodious phrasing and jagged rupture; Ishmael Ali’s cello oscillates between textural articulations, idiomatic gestures, and rhythmic grooves; and Lily Finnegan’s percussive approach spans pliant, groove‑oriented dialogue to fractured, pointillist soundscapes, providing a platform for both abstraction and lyricism. Together, their interplay coalesces into a dynamic conversation that propels the trio into spaces at once visceral, exploratory, and delightfully capricious.
Ishmael Ali is a dynamic cellist, guitarist, improviser, and composer based out of Chicago. His work centers on exploring sound through improvisation, experimentation, composition, and collaboration, focusing on a wide array of idiomatic approaches in an ever-changing, always-growing list of projects informed by diverse influences.. He is leader or co-leader of a plethora of working projects including Hearsay, Ensemble Ziraph, and Akjai , currently performs with Kahil El Zabar and the Ethnic Heritage Ensemble and has performed and recorded with Avreeayl Ra, Josh Berman, Jim Baker, Fred Jackson, Ed Wilkerson, Angel Bat Dawid, Jason Stein, Tom Skinner, and many more.
Will Greene plays guitar and saxophone and currently resides in Chicago, after spending many years as an active member of various Brooklyn, NY music communities. His musical practice explores time-bending, pitch excursions, and interactive notions. In addition to an active schedule of jazz and improvisation adjacent activities, Will is a member of avant-thrash outfit TRIGGER, italo-prog orchestra TREDICI BACCI, and leads the CHICAGO MICROBES. He is also proud of and grateful for his past and ongoing collaborations that have taken him across the United States and several continents. A woefully abbreviated list of these collaborators: John Zorn, Joe Morris, Raf Vertessen, Elias Stemeseder, Zoe Christiansen, Kenny Wollesen, Max Jaffe, Henry Fraser and Carrie Furniss.
Lily Finnegan is a Chicago-based drummer, composer, improviser, and organizer. She was spotlighted by The Chicago Reader as a “Chicagoan of Note” and included in The Chicago Sun Times “Next Generation of Jazz Musicians.” She leads her own quartet, Heat On, which released their debut album on Cuneiform Records. Other projects include improvisational duo with gabby fluke-mogul and playing in Ken Vandermark’s Edition Redux. Finnegan has collaborated with wide ranging artists including James Brandon Lewis, Macie Stewart, Bill Orcutt, Edward Wilkerson, Nick Dunston, Tashi Dorji, Lia Kohl, Patrick Shiroishi, Brandon Seabrook, and Shanta Nurullah. She is a member of the Catalytic Sound Collective and co-curates the Option Series. In 2026 she became a Next Jazz Legacy awardee.
Sam Xiao Cody & Will McGoran:
Sam Xiao Cody (violin) and Will McGoran (prepared electric guitar) are two parts of Philadelphia-based improvisational trio Suki Mourning Thugg, which they formed with bassist and drummer John Moran. Both musicians additionally play with various Philadelphia-based groups across genres, with Cody primarily performing with folk group Terra Cotta and in an improvisational dance/violin duo with dancer/choreographer Nerissa Tunnessen, and McGoran primarily playing with groups Chemical and Primal Rat Screw. He also runs Noise Songs, an event series and record label.
Crowmeat Bob & Ian McColm duo:
Crowmeat Bob is self- and friend-taught on guitar and reeds, composes for many different kinds of ensembles, and has played in many bands and in improvised or otherwise situations with hundreds of musicians over the years. He once saw Sonny Sharrock play at the old 930 Club.
Ian G. McColm is a multi-instrumentalist, improviser and composer residing in Philadelphia, PA. He has contributed drums, synthesizer, guitar and an array of other instruments to releases by Glasspack, Heart of the Ghost, Elkhorn, Daniel Bachman, Cartoon, and Center. As a member of numerous live ensembles, McColm has performed at Moogfest, Hopscotch Music Festival, Sonic Circuits Festival of Experimental Music, Elastic Arts' Exposure Series, The DC Jazz Festival, Black Mountain College's Interlude AVL Festival, Catalytic Sound Festival, and as a part of Experimental Sound Studio’s The Quarantine Concerts. Ian can be heard on releases from Stoned to Death Records, No Quarter, Feeding Tube Records, bruit direct disques, and Regional Bears (among others).
accessibility: two steps from street to venue.
Please note, entrance is via the side door on Arizona Street.
An ensemble defined by restlessness and sonic curiosity, this improbable improvising trio rides the edge between sonorous melodies, atonal outbursts, and tilted grooves — creating music that feels both elemental and unpredictable. Individually, each artist in the trio brings a distinct voice: Will Greene’s saxophone moves effortlessly between melodious phrasing and jagged rupture; Ishmael Ali’s cello oscillates between textural articulations, idiomatic gestures, and rhythmic grooves; and Lily Finnegan’s percussive approach spans pliant, groove‑oriented dialogue to fractured, pointillist soundscapes, providing a platform for both abstraction and lyricism. Together, their interplay coalesces into a dynamic conversation that propels the trio into spaces at once visceral, exploratory, and delightfully capricious.
Ishmael Ali is a dynamic cellist, guitarist, improviser, and composer based out of Chicago. His work centers on exploring sound through improvisation, experimentation, composition, and collaboration, focusing on a wide array of idiomatic approaches in an ever-changing, always-growing list of projects informed by diverse influences.. He is leader or co-leader of a plethora of working projects including Hearsay, Ensemble Ziraph, and Akjai , currently performs with Kahil El Zabar and the Ethnic Heritage Ensemble and has performed and recorded with Avreeayl Ra, Josh Berman, Jim Baker, Fred Jackson, Ed Wilkerson, Angel Bat Dawid, Jason Stein, Tom Skinner, and many more.
Will Greene plays guitar and saxophone and currently resides in Chicago, after spending many years as an active member of various Brooklyn, NY music communities. His musical practice explores time-bending, pitch excursions, and interactive notions. In addition to an active schedule of jazz and improvisation adjacent activities, Will is a member of avant-thrash outfit TRIGGER, italo-prog orchestra TREDICI BACCI, and leads the CHICAGO MICROBES. He is also proud of and grateful for his past and ongoing collaborations that have taken him across the United States and several continents. A woefully abbreviated list of these collaborators: John Zorn, Joe Morris, Raf Vertessen, Elias Stemeseder, Zoe Christiansen, Kenny Wollesen, Max Jaffe, Henry Fraser and Carrie Furniss.
Lily Finnegan is a Chicago-based drummer, composer, improviser, and organizer. She was spotlighted by The Chicago Reader as a “Chicagoan of Note” and included in The Chicago Sun Times “Next Generation of Jazz Musicians.” She leads her own quartet, Heat On, which released their debut album on Cuneiform Records. Other projects include improvisational duo with gabby fluke-mogul and playing in Ken Vandermark’s Edition Redux. Finnegan has collaborated with wide ranging artists including James Brandon Lewis, Macie Stewart, Bill Orcutt, Edward Wilkerson, Nick Dunston, Tashi Dorji, Lia Kohl, Patrick Shiroishi, Brandon Seabrook, and Shanta Nurullah. She is a member of the Catalytic Sound Collective and co-curates the Option Series. In 2026 she became a Next Jazz Legacy awardee.
Sam Xiao Cody & Will McGoran:
Sam Xiao Cody (violin) and Will McGoran (prepared electric guitar) are two parts of Philadelphia-based improvisational trio Suki Mourning Thugg, which they formed with bassist and drummer John Moran. Both musicians additionally play with various Philadelphia-based groups across genres, with Cody primarily performing with folk group Terra Cotta and in an improvisational dance/violin duo with dancer/choreographer Nerissa Tunnessen, and McGoran primarily playing with groups Chemical and Primal Rat Screw. He also runs Noise Songs, an event series and record label.
Crowmeat Bob & Ian McColm duo:
Crowmeat Bob is self- and friend-taught on guitar and reeds, composes for many different kinds of ensembles, and has played in many bands and in improvised or otherwise situations with hundreds of musicians over the years. He once saw Sonny Sharrock play at the old 930 Club.
Ian G. McColm is a multi-instrumentalist, improviser and composer residing in Philadelphia, PA. He has contributed drums, synthesizer, guitar and an array of other instruments to releases by Glasspack, Heart of the Ghost, Elkhorn, Daniel Bachman, Cartoon, and Center. As a member of numerous live ensembles, McColm has performed at Moogfest, Hopscotch Music Festival, Sonic Circuits Festival of Experimental Music, Elastic Arts' Exposure Series, The DC Jazz Festival, Black Mountain College's Interlude AVL Festival, Catalytic Sound Festival, and as a part of Experimental Sound Studio’s The Quarantine Concerts. Ian can be heard on releases from Stoned to Death Records, No Quarter, Feeding Tube Records, bruit direct disques, and Regional Bears (among others).
accessibility: two steps from street to venue.
Please note, entrance is via the side door on Arizona Street.
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Where is it happening?
The Perch Music & Arts Community , 2321 Emerald St. ,Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States
Event Location & Nearby Stays:
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