February 8, 2013

Friday night live at Transistor: oRSo and Whirlpool. Sound by Jon Monteverde.

oRSo has been the project of Phil Spirito (Rex, Loftus) since 1998. Over the last 12 years there have been many recordings and even more incarnations of the band, both instrumental and with vocals. oRSo has been described as carny folk, weird folk, twisted Americana and, lately, jazz folk. This latest version is vocal-driven with Spirito on guitar and vocals and features Anthony Burton on bass, Joe Adamik on bass clarinet and drums, and Caroline Davis on alto saxophone.

Visit oRSo online.

Whirlpool (Caroline Davis, saxophone; Jeff Swanson, guitar; Charles Rumback, drums) is a beautiful-music ensemble based in Chicago. They use simple melodies and collective improvisation as a guide for new sounds; the result is melodically driven songs with a slight modern edge.

Visit Whirlpool online.