The Separatist Party

Here comes an exceptional group fusing the current Chicago sound, a hybrid sound blending a wide range of styles and influences into a groove-oriented expression of communion. We can find in The Separatist Party traces of Don Cherry’s Organic Music, the ecstatic fire of Pharoah Sanders, the cyclical minimalism of Terry Riley, the motorized rhythms of krautrock, the exploratory sounds of Sun Ra and the monologues of street preachers.

Drummer Mike Reed was joined by saxophonist Rob Frye, guitarist Cooper Crain, synthesizer Dan Quinlivan (three musicians forming Bitchin Bajas), cornetist Ben LaMar Gay, and vocalist Marvin Tate – for this project that focuses on the emotional nuances of an isolated life, a state of existence that ranges from somber to celebratory, all of it intense and heartfelt.