Joshua Abrams

Composer, improviser, and multi-instrumentalist Joshua Abrams has been an integral part of Chicago's independent music scene since he relocated from his hometown of Philadelphia (where he was an original member of the Roots). Whether playing in ensembles (Tortoise, Chicago Underground), as a sideman, leading his own group (Natural Information Society), or performing and recording solo, he combines a master musician's expertise with a skilled improviser's creative spontaneity. Playing across genres, he offers a deep, woody tone on bass and uncategorizable fluidity on flutes and stringed and percussion instruments. Following several releases in the 2000s, Abrams released five important records for Eremite between 2010 and 2021: Natural Information, Represencing, Magnetoception, Simultonality, Mandatory Reality, and Descension (Out of Our Constrictions) with Evan Parker. In 2023 they collaborated with Ari Brown on Since Time Is Gravity, followed by Perseverance Flow in 2025. 2026's Music for Pulse Meridian Foliation was a soundtrack for a CalArts exhibit by NIS bandmate Lisa Alvarado.