Heat On - 150 Swirl CD

SKU Rune 552
Edward Wilkerson Jr. - tenor saxophone, alto clarinet, Bb clarinet
Fred Jackson Jr. - alto saxophone and percussion
Nick Macri - upright bass and electric bass
Lily Finnegan - drums

If drummer Lily Finnegan’s acclaimed 2025 debut album Heat On! was a love letter to Chicago’s tight-knit jazz scene, her blazing follow up 150 Swirl is a musical manifesto from an artist who knows the value of consistency. Like her incendiary first, 150 Swirl features the same prodigious cast of players, and is designed to fuel creative flights by legendary Chicago tenor saxophonist Ed Wilkerson Jr., Chi-town alto sax great Fred Jackson Jr., and the highly versatile Nick Macri on upright and electric bass.

An essential player working across several overlapping scenes, including left-field jazz, punk and improvised music, the 28-year-old Finnegan has thrived by seeking out veteran masters.

She doesn’t take her era-spanning relationships for granted, but was recently reminded by a friend visiting from New York that she’s ensconced in a rarefied environment. “She said, ‘It’s so cool you have so many elders in your life. That intergenerational aspect is really lacking in New York,’” Finnegan recalls. “That’s part of what makes me so excited about this band. I enjoy that it’s rough around the edges,” she says. “Also, with this group, I like to write intricate, interlocking parts but also leave room for surprise when we variate from what’s written on the page.”

Working in a wide variety of musical styles, “the variety of projects help me connect with the different sides of myself,” she says. And by connecting to herself, Finnegan has spun a vast web of relationships that fuel her creative evolution. With 150 Swirl she’s fed a roiling cauldron of a quartet that has galvanized her work as a composer, bandleader and player. It’s a bold and enthralling statement that would set her apart in any generation.

  • LabelCuneiform
  • UPC045775055220
Your Price $15.00
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