Jim O'Rourke

• Genre: Baroque Pop
• Hometown: Chicago

About

Whether you like him or not, Jim O'Rourke exemplifies the modern composer. Involved in virtually every facet of music you can think of, O'Rourke has made huge splashes in the worlds of rock, electronics, free improvisation, composition, performance and production. If the term "band whore" applies to the avant world, O'Rourke is most certainly that. He has been a full-time or part-time member of many groups, including Post-Rock darlings Gastr del Sol and, more recently, Sonic Youth. His guitar work is remarkable not only for its virtuosity and relentless creativity, but also for its flexibility. A highly respected improviser, the man has lent his skill and taut instincts to collaborations with Mats Gustaffson and Fred Lonberg-Holm, as well as fellow guitar experimentalists K.K. Null, Raphael Toral and Derek Bailey. But perhaps most impressive are his solo compositions: ambitious, sprawling and relentlessly exact, his works blur the boundaries of avant composition, seamlessly incorporating Musique Concrete, traditional classical instrumentation and even folk-influenced acoustic guitar work.

- Doug Russell