482 MUSIC TO RELEASE MIKE REED'S LOOSE ASSEMBLY with ROSCOE MITCHELL: EMPATHETIC PARTS

NEW YORK, NY -- On October 19th, 482 Music will release Empathetic Parts, a very special recording by Loose Assembly, one of the two working groups headed by Chicago drummer / composer Mike Reed. This album features the legendary Roscoe Mitchell, a founding member of both the AACM and the Art Ensemble of Chicago. Loose Assembly is the six-year old ensemble featuring alto saxophonist Greg Ward, vibraphonist Jason Adasiewicz, cellist Tomeka Reid and bassist Joshua Abrams.

For this record, Reed was "thinking about putting together a group that could engage in what he calls 'collective arranging', an approach in which the structural development, harmony, and shape of a piece of particular music was created spontaneously by the entire band," writes Peter Margasak in the liner notes. "Yet as Reed considered potential musicians for this new band he realized the perfect players were right under his nose." Reed says: "From the moment of telling someone my concept to actually playing and having someone understand your language, that made me realize it was for this group."

Empathetic Parts consists primarily of one long piece of the same name, conceived for six musicians, which would require a special guest to augment the Loose Assembly lineup. From the beginning, Reed wanted a master improviser. Good fortune made Mitchell available to perform the piece - live, after only a quick read-through of instructions on his flight to Chicago and a single run-through on the afternoon of the gig - at the 2009 Umbrella Music Festival.

While previous Loose Assembly records have primarily featured shorter Reed compositions, "Empathetic Parts" is accompanied by an appropriately compatible selection, Steve McCall's "I'll Be Right Here Waiting" from the 1978 album Air Time, by the free-improv group Air, arranged here by Reed and Adasiewicz.

Mike Reed has been part of the vibrant Chicago jazz and improvised music community since 1997. He has performed regularly with local luminaries such as Fred Anderson, David Boykin, Nicole Mitchell, Jeff Parker, Josh Abrams, Jim Baker, and Rob Mazurek, as well as Chicago Jazz legends Ira Sullivan, Julian Priester and Art Hoyle. As a performer he tours extensively in Europe and South America. While performing in a variety of projects locally, nationally and internationally, Reed also leads two widely acclaimed groups, Loose Assembly and People, Places & Things. Reed was named Chicagoan of the Year for Jazz (2008) by the Chicago Tribune and in the 57th annualDownbeat critics poll was distinguished as "Rising Jazz Star". (People, Places & Things also named as "Rising Jazz Group".) Reed has also established himself as a leading producer of musical performances and advocate for the performing arts. He is one of the main organizers for Umbrella Music, a five member team presenting weekly Jazz and Improvised music at various Chicago venues (approximating 280 sets of music per year as well as an accompanying festival). A fresh addition to the historical collective known as the AACM, Reed was named Vice Chairman in the spring of 2009.

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