DESCRIPTION:
Meet cellist Fred Lonberg-Holm, one of the hardest working musicians in Chicago. Mainly an improvisational jazz musician, Lonberg-Holm organizes/works with numerous musical incarnations including his own Lightbox Orchestra, the Valentine Trio (with Jason Roebke and Frank Rosaly), The Vandermark 5, Joe Mcphee Survival Unit III, The Peter Brotzmann Chicago Tentet, Guillermo Gregorio Trio, Keefe Jackson's Fast Citizens, Jorrit Dijkstra's Flatland Collective, the Boxhead Ensemble and The Friction Brothers.

He has played studio sessions for outfits including Simon Joyner, Wilco, Will Oldham, Daniel Givens, Chris Mills, L'Altra, Califone, Paul Duncan, Freakwater and so on.

In this exclusive Gearwire video, we meet Fred and his cello, learn about how the instrument works, and hear some classical riffs - but don't let that scare you; he tells us how to make it "weird."

Watch for upcoming segments with Lonberg-Holm, where we learn about his amps, his stompboxes, and what the deal is with that carbon-fiber cello.