Chimera arose from the vision of a musical gathering whose generative impulse would be the music itself. Nothing planned. No forethought of how it should sound, no strategies for what form it will take. Nothing is pre-composed — it composes itself spontaneously. There is no conversation about the music. The music is the conversation.
The artists in this collective ensemble are all master musicians, innovators, composers, and improvisors. They have deeply immersed themselves in streams of avant-garde jazz, Indian raga, Moravian folk music, overtone singing, as well as early and modern European classical, American folk, and other genres and styles.
Individually they have performed with a stunning array of influential creative artists, such as Fred Frith, Bang-on-a-Can All-Stars, ETHEL, Paul Winter, Jack DeJohnette, Paul Simon, David Hykes, Pauline Oliveros, Bill Frisell, Matthew Shipp, Tani Tabbal, and Joe McPhee, to name but a few.
All this they leave at the door as they enter the shared space to meet in the moment, sharing a deep respect of each other’s experience and perspective, anticipating fresh expressions of deep feeling, awestruck beauty, and sheer delight. Together they explore new territory to create music that defies description.
