A residency, a mushroom dish, three good signs

Lia Kohl's July Newsletter

Hi buddies,

I’m home! I’m home and it’s both strawberry and cherry season (I have baskets of both by my computer right now). Chicago in the Summer is the best, and I’m glad to be sticking around for a while, finally. I love this sanctuary city.

I had a wonderful tour in Europe with Macie and Whitney and then jumped right into an equally wonderful mixing session with them, finishing up a trio record which will come out next year, and a couple of tracks that will come sooner than that (!). Playing with them feels like another kind of home; easy and challenging, both in the best way.

Here we are on the last days of tour

This newsletter has a new name! For fun. Because I’m always trying to listen more, to the smallest sounds. And in honor of this little Ed Ruscha zine, which I’m currently responding to in musical form. More on that soon!

A few shows:

Five of these shows comprise my July residency at the Hungry Brain, a beloved Jazz (etc.) club here in Chicago. It was such a pleasure to put together these evenings of established and new collaborations.

poster by Matilde Santiago, who I met in Porto this year

Another exciting show is a new commissioned work for the Renaissance Society, in response to their current exhibition, Germinations, by Ximena Garrido-Lecca.

7.3 Hungry Brain Residency: trio with Zander Raymond and Zachary Good, Honestly Same

7.10 Hungry Brain Residency: Patrick Shiroishi, Lily Finnegan, Norman Long

7.11 Duo with Jeff Kolar, Marmalade, Chicago

7.12 Music for dancer Corinne Imberski: Wilmette, IL

7.13 Gravitations, in response to Ximena Garrido-Lecca’s Germinations: The Renaissance Society

7.17 Hungry Brain Residency: duo with Avreeayl Ra, trio with Whitney Johnson and Macie Stewart

7.18 Heavy Tiny (duo with Nick Meryhew), Elastro Series, Elastic Arts Chicago

7.24 Hungry Brain Residency: duo with Mikel Patrick Avery, trio with Gerrit Hatcher and Sam Wagster

7.30 Whisker Trips Album Release, with Ben Baker Billington, Andrew Scott Young, Norman Long, Chris Corsano: Constellation, Chicago

7.31 Hungry Brain Residency: duo with Nick Meryhew, quartet with Lou Mallozzi, Josh Berman, Nick Meryhew

Tiny recommendations:

1. This poem, by Marie Howe, which came up recently in a conversation about trying to be present.

2. Bakeries: in Charleston, Welton’s Tiny Bakeshop; in Antwerp, Bloemberen

3. In Chicago, we finally went to Mi Tocaya Antojeria. A perfect meal.

4. The Siskel Film Center is running a morning film series in July, including a few favorites and a few new-to-me that I’m excited to check out.

5. This mushroom laab, a lovely veggie version of the fresh and bright Laotian dish. We made it by dry frying the mushrooms on the stove instead of turning on the oven (it’s hot in Chicago). Just season the cut mushrooms with salt and fry them over medium heat (no oil) — the moisture will cook right out.

6. Just a reminder to listen to Luther.

7. The drink of the summer: cold watermelon in cubes, fizzy water.

8. If you live in Illinois, I encourage you to sign up for the Illinois Coalition for Immigrant and Refugee Rights text alerts, to be alerted when there are confirmed ICE sightings in your neighborhood. Let’s keep our eyes out for our neighbors (always, but especially now).

three summer vibe suggestions

Various small noises:

A flock of maybe eight or nine pigeons flying low over my head, the crisp, papery sound of their wings mixing with the sound of high drums turned up in a passing car.

My cat, snoring so so softly in his basket on top of the fridge.

150 seven-year-olds walking through Antwerp Central Station (very tall, very marble), all talking at once like so many small birds.

That’s all, for now,

Lia