Xoinx Pulls the Plug
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Hunsinger and McLoraine, who also play together in the double-reed trio Corvus, had been scheduling experimental and improvised music at Xoinx, 2933 N. Lincoln, on Thursday nights since late December. The series provided valuable opportunities for acoustic musicians interested in exploring the boundaries between free jazz, classical, and improvisation; the great-sounding hardwood-floored back room where it took place, dubbed the Fusion Gallery, attracted not only local improv-scene mainstays like Jim Baker, Fred Lonberg-Holm, and Kent Kessler, but also Chicago sound sculptors like Lou Mallozzi and Steve Barsotti and international artists like violinist Malcolm Goldstein. Hunsinger says attendance at shows fluctuated between 10 and 60.
As pleased as Hunsinger and McLoraine were with the series, after eight months of the grind they decided to take August off. The performance by the Tokyo-based Larner was to be their return to regular scheduling. But Xoinx, which opened in January 1997 and consistently lost money, had been shuttered just days earlier. (Owner Christine Turner, who was understandably brusque on the phone, said she couldn’t remember the exact date.)
Vandermark will spend October and most of November on tour in the U.S. and Europe, but last week he decided to keep the fledgling series going by asking others, including Fred Lonberg-Holm and trombonist Jeb Bishop, to take over while he’s gone. Check Reader listings for updates.
Art accompanying story in printed newspaper (not available in this archive): Robbie Hunsinger, Time McLoraine photo by Nathan Mandell.
