Chicago Underground Duo

Chicago Underground Duo—this is the name of the long-standing collaborative project between trumpeter, multi-instrumentalist, and electronic music tinkerer Rob Mazurek and drummer and percussionist Chad Taylor. Among other things, Taylor has also served as the beatmaker for Jaimie Branch’s “Fly or Die” and Marshall Allen’s “Ghost Horizons.” In their duo, named after their hometown—where electric blues and jazz once took root—they explore the sonic possibilities of collective improvisation. Here, the piccolo trumpet, live sampling, and modular synthesizers meet virtuosically layered rhythmic textures. “Hyperglyph” is their first album since “Locus” 11 years ago and the eighth by the Chicago-based duo, which formed nearly thirty years ago. The three movements of Mazurek’s “Egyptian Suite” are dedicated to his mentor Bill Dixon, who passed away in 2010. Intense and moving.