Angel Bat dawid
Chicago has long been a hotbed for forward thinking jazz – think the AACM, the Art Ensemble of Chicago et al. – and the past couple of years have seen local musicians and labels putting the city back in the spotlight.
In 2019, the musician who caught the city's and now the world's attention was undoubtedly the clarinetist and free jazz composer, Angel Bat Dawid. Her album, The Oracle, deservedly made its way onto plenty of best of year lists: its flowing tones at once languorous, biting and jarring.
In a wonderfully spritely conversation, Angel told me about how she spurned a high paying job to pursue a now fruitful career in jazz, the difficulties of making it when you play an instrument like the clarinet, and what to expect from her live performances, which sound like they are as enchanting as she is.