Rempis/Daisy Duo

ABOUT

Dave Rempis and Tim Daisy are two musicians whose work has helped to define an entire generation of Chicago improvisers. Having performed together since they both hit the Chicago scene in the fall of 1997, these two have played literally hundreds of concerts together with groups including Triage, The Engines, The Rempis Percussion Quartet, The Vandermark Five, and countless other ad hoc groupings.  Their duo grouping has a similarly long history and capitalizes on these many joint performances to produce an almost telepathic interaction. Focusing on both compositions and free-improvisation, the duo has a wide sonic range upon which to draw. Never willing to settle into comfortable territory, though, the two continue to push each other into new sonic realms. In September of 2005, after years of focusing on other groups and recording projects, they finally released a duo cd entitled Back To The Circle on the Okkadisk label.  In 2013, the duo did a short midwestern U.S. tour in preparation for a second recording titled Second Spring that was released in January 2014 on Rempis’ Aerophonic Records imprint,  and did a thirteen-concert European tour in support of that release in early March of 2014.  In 2018, the duo celebrated their 20th anniversary in this pairing, with a new release on Aerophonic titled Dodecahedron featuring six special guests including Jason Adasiewicz, Jim Baker, Fred Lonberg-Holm, Steve Swell, Katie Young, and Aaron Zarzutzki. The two continue to explore this pairing on a regular basis to this day.

LISTEN

PHOTOS

RECORDINGS

VIDEOS

PRESS

Guitarist Derek Bailey often discussed the way improvisers tend to resort to favorite tricks and licks when they play together often, but Rempis and Daisy demonstrate that such familiarity can be an asset too: their quicksilver reactions and practiced intuition allow them to make spontaneous music while seemingly anticipating each other's next moves.  -Peter Margasak, Chicago Reader

It's easy to tell that Rempis and Daisy have a strong, well-honed musical connection that makes undertaking a project that no mere mortals can pull off convincingly seem like a walk in the park.  -S. Victor Aaron, Something Else

Second Spring has the sound and feel of a classic BYG/Actuel duo blowout and is one helluva wild ride.   -Tom Burris, The Free Jazz Blog

Second Spring has a lot of groove and muscle to it, at times recalling Fred Anderson's almost symbiotic teaming with Hamid Drake. Given the minimal instrumentation, the two men are forced to be imaginative to keep things compelling for an hour, and they definitely do that. For example, while the opening track, Impasto, is blustery and hard-driving, the piece that follows, Numbers Lost, plays with space and quiet the way the first used volume and impact. Sometimes Second Spring swings, sometimes it simmers, and sometimes it rocks.  -Phil Freeman, Burning Ambulance

Second Spring is one of two concurrent releases for Chicago reedman Dave Rempis’ young Aerophonic Records label…Here, Rempis aligns with longtime kindred spirit, drummer Tim Daisy, for a rather aggressive, high-impact duo framework. At times Daisy’s busy and highly active drumming patterns could easily be mistaken for two drummers laying out the grooves in simultaneous fashion. Therefore, the duo sports a large, hustling and bustling soundstage, where they push and prod each other while also switching gears along the way. -Glenn Astarita, AllAboutJazz

Dave Rempis and Tim Daisy have played together so many times during the past eight years–both in ad hoc combos and in long-running bands like Triage and the Vandermark 5–that you might expect them to be all out of ideas. But they sound not just inspired but thrilled by each other’s company on this year’s Back to the Circle (Okka Disk), their first CD as a duo. On the title track Rempis, playing alto saxophone, positively sprints through Daisy’s vibrant polyrhythmic matrix, as though he can’t wait to see how the drummer’s festive accents will transform his next melody. And on “Alexandria” the two men take their time and savor every gesture, building gradually from a melancholy tenor solo to a boiling climax.  -Bill Meyer, Chicago Reader