Since 2015, Experimental Sound Studio has been intermittently hosting a weekly music salon called Option, where a who’s who of musicians and composers from Chicago and abroad—among them William Parker, Magda Mayas, Angel Bat Dawid, Paul Lytton, and Zeena Parkins—perform live and then sit for interviews with series curators Ken Vandermark, Tim Daisy, and Andrew Clinkman. ESS has long maintained an extensive archive of Option sets and conversations on its YouTube page, and it swiftly adapted to COVID-19 by moving the series online—each event is streamed, often live, and then added to the archive. Option has been paused since October, but on Monday, March 1, it kicks off its spring 2021 season with a performance by former Chicagoan Jim O’Rourke, who’s now based in Japan; afterward he’ll talk with Vandermark. Upcoming guests include New York improviser and composer Gabby Fluke-Mogul (March 15) and Massachusetts musician and sound artist Adam Kohl, aka ARKM Foam (March 22). Option is free to watch via Twitch and YouTube, but ESS strongly encourages a donation of at least $5—all money goes to the performers.
