FFO: Arthur Russell, Ben Lamar Gay, Okkyung Lee, Art Ensemble of Chicago Ishmael Ali is a dynamic cellist, guitarist, improviser, and composer based out of Chicago. His work centers on exploring sound through improvisation, experimentation, composition, and collaboration, focusing on a wide array of idiomatic approaches in an ever-changing, always-growing list of projects informed by diverse influences. He currently performs with Kahil El Zabar and the Ethnic Heritage Ensemble and has performed and recorded with Avreeayl Ra, Josh Berman, Jim Baker, Fred Jackson, Ed Wilkerson, Angel Bat Dawid, Jason Stein, Tom Skinner, and many more. Ishmael Ali’s debut solo album, Burn the Plastic, Sell the Copper is an expansive exploration of improvisation, electronics, and song. Across ten tracks, Ali moves seamlessly between raw solo cello, oblique beats, intimate duos, and multi-generational ensemble interplay, producing a record that is both daring and deeply personal. Line up : **Ishmael Ali** \- cello, vocals, electronics **Chelsea Carmichael** - Sax **Matt Carroll** \- Drums