Album Notes

Called "one of Chicago's most sublime Jazz outfits" by Time Out Chicago, Loose Assembly features alto saxophonist Greg Ward, vibraphonist Jason Adasiewicz, cellist Tomeka Reid and bassist Josh Abrams. Last Year's Ghost documents aural poems Reed created based on the compositional ideas and freeform playing of his band mates, linked by the common theme of what he calls "the traces of people and places past."

Musicians: Josh Abrams (bass), Jason Adasiewicz (vibes), Mike Reed (drums), Tomeka Reid (cello), Greg Ward (alto saxophone)



"...a well-designed collection of hook-filled tunes and atmospheric interludes... a few more recordings like Last Year’s Ghost and Mike Reed will in the first rank of living American bandleaders." — Bill Shoemaker, Point of Departure




"... a perfect balance between unfettered creativity and formal aesthetics... merges the austere reverence of chamber music with the scalding intensity of Chicago's historically ebullient free jazz, making a case for the re-evaluation of commonly held geographic prejudices. Although conventional wisdom dictates New York as the center of the jazz world, documents like this beg to differ." — Troy Collins, All About Jazz