Quin Kirchner Residency concerts

About Quin Kirchner Residency

Quin Kirchner Residency is an August 2026 series led by Chicago drummer, composer, improviser, and DJ Quin Kirchner. The jazz bill earns attention through its changing casts: Fire Horse, Spectral Beings, and an expanded Quin Kirchner Group each bring different Chicago players into Hungry Brain for two-set Thursday programs, giving each date its own personnel and instrumentation.

A Chicago project takes shape

Kirchner grew up in the Chicago area, studied in New Orleans, moved to New York after Hurricane Katrina, and later returned to Chicago. His leader project took public shape in 2018 with The Other Side of Time, a double album credited to Kirchner alongside trombonist Nick Broste, tenor saxophonist and flutist Nate Lepine, bass clarinetist Jason Stein, bassist Matt Ulery, and pianist Ben Boye. That recording serves as the practical formation point for the long-running Kirchner Group, whose personnel shifts according to the music at hand.

Three records map the range

The Other Side of Time arrived in January 2018 through Astral Spirits. Kirchner’s first album as a leader established the approach behind the residency: drums and percussion at the center, a five-piece Chicago ensemble around them, and material that joins his originals with tunes by Andrew Hill, Charles Mingus, Sun Ra, Arthur Verocai, Paul Motian, and Phil Cohran. DownBeat’s report from the release show identifies Broste, Lepine, Stein, and Ulery as the core local faction assembled for the record. The change here was structural: Kirchner moved from a busy sideman’s role into a composer-bandleader format built for longer pieces and varied arrangements.

The Shadows and The Light followed on June 26, 2020 via Astral Spirits and Spacetone Recordings. Its credits broaden the palette with congas, kalimba, sampler, synthesizer, Wurlitzer, electric bass, flute, and several different band configurations. Kirchner described the album as a meeting point for groove and free improvisation, with tributes to Elvin Jones, Phil Cohran, Carla Bley, and Sun Ra beside original compositions. The result retains the earlier ensemble’s horn-and-reed heft while giving individual tracks room for electronics, percussion layers, and smaller-group conversation.

Live at Pro Musica, released March 5, 2021, captures a March 1, 2020 Chicago performance by Kirchner, Greg Ward, Paul Bedal, and Matt Ulery. It changes the focus from studio construction to a quartet working through two Chopin nocturnes, David Murray’s “Flowers for Albert,” Paul Motian’s “Abacus,” Ward’s “We Are Still Here,” and Kirchner’s “Lucid Dream.” The Bandcamp catalog lists it as Kirchner’s latest full-length title, with a 200-copy anniversary CD edition offered in 2026.

The collaborators behind the residency

Kirchner’s leader work draws from a durable network of Chicago collaborators. Broste served as engineer and mixer on both major studio albums; Ulery, Lepine, and Stein recur across the earlier group recordings; Ward anchors the Pro Musica quartet and the August 13 Fire Horse date. Kirchner also works in the trio KVL with Daniel Van Duerm and Matthew Lux, and his calendar documents appearances in projects led by Nick Mazzarella, Matt Gold, Keefe Jackson, and Dee Alexander. The residency extends that collaborative practice through purpose-built lineups.

What the local record says about the show

Expect a focused Chicago club presentation built around live improvisation and changing ensembles. Hungry Brain, at 2319 W. Belmont Avenue, has presented jazz and improvised music since 2001; the venue lists the residency as 9 PM shows, with two sets and a $15 ticket. Kirchner’s own 2026 calendar records 11 Hungry Brain appearances through August 27, including work with Luke Polipnick, Nick Mazzarella, Keefe Jackson, Brian Citro, and his own group. That frequency makes the room a recurring working base, while the August residency concentrates his leader dates into four consecutive Thursdays. A 2021 Constellation presentation of The Shadows and The Light used a full band including Mazzarella, Ward, and Ulery, showing the larger-ensemble version of this material in performance.

This month in Chicago

Kirchner’s latest full-length remains Live at Pro Musica, now also available as a limited 2026 anniversary CD edition. His present schedule is centered on Chicago and nearby regional engagements, with the residency supplying the clearest leader-series run. CrowdMate dates remain at Hungry Brain on Thursday, August 13, 2026; Thursday, August 20, 2026; and Thursday, August 27, 2026. August 13 features Fire Horse with Mark Feldman, Greg Ward, Brandon Harper, and Pete Olynciw; August 20 brings Spectral Beings; August 27 expands the Kirchner Group to seven accompanying musicians.

Start here

Start with “Lucid Dream,” for the composed side of Kirchner’s group writing; “At This Point in Time,” for the ensemble’s horn, Wurlitzer, and percussion blend; and “We Are Still Here,” for the live quartet’s Ward-led momentum.

Sources

1. About — Quin Kirchner — Quin Kirchner
2. The Other Side of Time — Quin Kirchner on Bandcamp
3. The Shadows and The Light — Quin Kirchner on Bandcamp
4. Live at Pro Musica — Quin Kirchner on Bandcamp
5. Kirchner’s Ambitions Displayed at Album Release Show — DownBeat
6. Quin Kirchner — Time Out Chicago
7. Calendar — Quin Kirchner — Quin Kirchner
8. Calendar — Hungry Brain
9. About — Hungry Brain
10. Quin Kirchner — Quin Kirchner