Tropos w/ Stein/Smith/Shead Trio

Name: Tropos w/ Stein/Smith/Shead Trio
Start: 2026-04-03T21:00:00-05:00
Location: 2319 W Belmont Ave Chicago IL 60618

Schedule

Fri, 03 Apr, 2026 at 09:00 pm

UTC-05:00

Location

2319 W Belmont Ave Chicago IL 60618 | Chicago, IL

21+. 9pm.

Tropos is a collective ensemble of improviser-composers featuring four distinctive voices in Brooklyn’s creative music scene: Phillip Golub (piano), Ledah Finck (violin), Yuma Uesaka (clarinets), and Aaron Edgcomb (drums/percussion). Their peculiar instrumentation and collaborative approach are defining characteristics of their work as an ensemble. As recipients of Chamber Music America’s 2023 Ensemble Forward grant, Tropos spent a year developing their forthcoming album Switches (Endectomorph Music) under the mentorship of acclaimed saxophonist and composer Darius Jones. Tropos’ members call their aesthetic “outer-space chamber music” for the way their compositions push the boundaries between new music, jazz, noise, and beyond.

Tropos’ debut album, Axioms // 75ab, was released in May 2020 on Biophilia Records. Featuring an earlier iteration of the ensemble — Phillip Golub (piano), Mario Fabrizio (drums/percussion), Raef Sengupta (alto saxophone), Zach Lavine (bass), and Laila Smith (voice) — Axioms // 75ab paired compositions by Golub, Fabrizio, and Sengupta alongside those of Anthony Braxton. Thom Jurek of AllMusic called Axioms // 75ab “an auspicious debut, filled with exhilarating energy, charisma, and a canny ability to transform the complex and even inscrutable into sophisticated yet joyful noise.” Steve Smith selected Axioms as his album of the week in his Night after Night blog and said that “Tropos plays with assurance, charisma, and infectious enthusiasm,” while Phil Freeman wrote “This is their debut, and they’re making a powerful statement” in StereoGum.

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Jason Stein - bass clarinet
Damon Smith - double bass
Adam Shead - drums, percussion

Stein / Smith / Shead Trio is a long-standing working ensemble featuring Jason Stein (bass clarinet), Damon Smith (double bass), and Adam Shead (drums). The trio is dedicated to extended collective improvisation, long-form development, and a deep commitment to listening, allowing form and structure to emerge organically through duration, density, and group decision-making. Their work has been featured in The Wire, Point of Departure, Free Jazz Collective, All About Jazz, The Chicago Reader, and The New York City Jazz Record.

Across four albums, the trio has developed a sustained practice rooted in continuity rather than isolated projects, cultivating a shared language that privileges risk, restraint, and structural clarity. At the center of the ensemble’s sound is Jason Stein’s bass clarinet, marked by physical engagement with the instrument, an expanded timbral palette, and the ability to sustain narrative over extended durations. Damon Smith and Adam Shead complete the trio with a rhythm section defined by elasticity, precision, and acute responsiveness to subtle shifts in time, texture, and density. Together, the Stein / Smith / Shead Trio creates music that reflects a commitment to exploratory practice, lineage-aware experimentation, and artist-driven music-making.