Adam Shead

Born: January, 1993

Adam Shead is an accomplished percussionist, composer, improviser, and performance curator based in Chicago. He frequently performs with the Stein/Smith/Shead trio, microplastique, and Cellular Chaos, and is a sought-after percussionist in the Chicago jazz and improvised music scene. For nearly a decade, Shead has curated performances at notable Chicago art galleries such as Slate Arts & Performance and Comfort Station, where he helps promote both emerging and established artists, enriching the local cultural landscape.

Shead has collaborated with prominent figures such as Marilyn Crispell, Roscoe Mitchell, Jason Stein, Damon Smith, John Dikeman, Angel Bat Dawid, Mary Oliver, and Molly Jones, amongst others. He has released music through various record labels, including Amalgam, Ears & Eyes, Scripts, Balance Point Acoustics, Shifting Paradigm, and Irritable Mystic. Shead is the founder and composer of the Adiaphora Orchestra, microplastique, and Adam Shead Quintet and works regularly as a sideman in such groups as Ben Zucker’s Fifth Season, the Jake Wark Quartet, and Undisclosed Sims. From 2018 to 2020 Shead curated and hosted the impro jam, a bi-weekly multi-disciplinary free improvisation jam session, at Slate Arts and Performance - from 2021 to 2022 the impro jam took place at Cafe Mustache.

Stinger

By Keefe Jackson

Label: Irritable Mystic Records
Released: 2025
Track listing: Regent; Stinger; 12345; She; Easy; Gun Shy; Oles Anders; God Of The Fickle.

Keefe Jackson / Jakob Heinemann / Adam Shead: Stinger

by Mark Corroto
August 1, 2025

Stinger marks the debut release from the trio of saxophonist Keefe Jackson, bassist Jakob Heinemann and drummer Adam Shead. Yet, from the cohesion and interplay captured on this recording, it is clear these three musicians have collaborated extensively. The group exemplifies the Chicago ethos of collective creation--both in compositional approach and improvisational execution. Jackson and Heinemann ...

New Music from Weiss, Flying Sutra, Jackson Heinemann and Shead, & More

by Bob Osborne
July 10, 2025

Perhaps the most fascinating and rewarding gift from jazz music is its' unpredictability. On this show the selection of new releases continue to demonstrate that the music never fails to surprise and excite. As well as new material there is further exploration of Ivo Perelman's back catalogue on Leo Records and the recent reissue of the ...

Overs��ez, Roscoe Mitchell, Marco Eneidi & Gulliver

by Maurice Hogue
July 7, 2025

Featured music in this episode begins with German pianist Sandro Sáez and his trio Overs��ez. What an exciting and original trio! Their ablum Abstract Emotions is filled with mystery, unexpected twists and turns, power and subtlety. Definitely worth checking out. Then you might want to listen to One Head Four People, featuring the enduring master,Roscoe Mitchell, ...

Armageddon Flower, Felix Henkelhausen Quintet & Darrifourcq/Hermia/Ceccaldi

by Maurice Hogue
June 24, 2025

It seems like everyone is talking or writing about Armageddon Flower, the excellent new album by Ivo Perelman and Matthew Shipp's String Trio. It may well be the pinnacle of the Perelman/Shipp musical relationship, and it will no doubt be one of the more highly regarded albums of 2025. But can I throw a little light ...

Jason Stein: Anchors

by Giuseppe Segala
May 26, 2025

Il clarinetto basso vanta nel jazz contemporaneo una rosa di solisti eccellenti, a partire da Eric Dolphy, che ha letteralmente inventato un modo di interpretare lo strumento, di valorizzarne colori e incisivit�� espressiva. Per�� la sua frequentazione, con lo stesso Dolphy e con personalit�� quali Michel Portal, John Surman, Vinny Golia, Marty Ehrlich, Don Byron, si ...

Marilyn Crispell: Fearless, Deeply Sensitive and Shaping the Moment

by Dean Nardi
April 30, 2025

As Marilyn Crispell talked about her multitude of recent recordings, either solo or with this trio or that quartet, she mentioned needing to pack her bags before going out on tour. She has lived in Woodstock, New York since 1977 and is comfortable there. “When I'm at home, not out recording, I look out in the ...

Blare Blow Bloom!

By Adam Shead

Label: Irritable Mystic Records
Released: 2024
Track listing: Blare; Blow; Turn; Yearning; Bloom!; Walk On Kedzie; Native Ants; Reprise; Bells For Four; March For Mr. A.

spi?-?raling horn

By Jason Stein

Label: Irritable Mystic Records
Released: 2024
Track listing: A Song Paid by Singing; A Universe of Otherwise; The Ground Laid Open; Saturant Moon Water; So Close It Cut My Ribs; Back and Back Out; A Rusted Bell's Clank.