projects

Fast Citizens

The Fast Citizens was formed in 2003 by Keefe Jackson. In 2004 a weekly residency at the Hideout in Chicago helped the group develop their unique sound and method of collaboration. The first album Ready Everyday (2007, Delmark Records) featured Jackson's compositions. Their music has broadened, even redefined the idea of a "cooperative" band: the main composer and leader rotates among the six, while the group approaches the music collectively. Alto saxophonist Aram Shelton's turn came on Two Cities (2009, Delmark Records) and then Gather (2012, Delmark Records) spotlighted cellist Fred Lonberg-Holm's pieces. Josh Berman, cornet, Anton Hatwich, bass, and Frank Rosaly, drums round out the lineup.

[the music is] characterized by a spiritual quest that is often ecstatic, and a structural coherence that is all the more impressive for seeming to result from a quasi-telepathic interaction.
--Dominique Denis, L'express (Toronto)

The band's identity is founded upon a common interest in playing swinging, time-based material that values ensemble coherence and individual freedom.....
--Bill Meyer, DownBeat

poster by Johnathan Crawford