Product of Chicago

One of its members is making avant-garde jazz records with his quartet; another is part of the group The Sea and Cake; another is the founder of a one-man band featuring guest musicians from Yo La Tengo, Calexico and Stereolab; another is out recording solo projects; and yet another is at home creating mutant jam musicals. So how exactly do the members of Tortoise find the time to record their albums, let alone tour together?

“Our scheduling is pretty ridiculous,” said member Dan Bitney. “But it is really special when we are together and we’ve been pretty active in doing these nearby weekend shows. But it’s tricky as far as writing and scheduling is concerned because we are so involved in other things.”

Spanning 10 years, Tortoise is one of those groups that is a bit hard to categorize and that is just fine with Bitney and his fellow members, John McEntire, John Herndon, Jeff Parker and Doug McCombs, who all don’t just stick to one instrument. They play everything from the six-string bass (McCombs) to the baritone saxophone (Bitney).

“It’s a strange band, I don’t know too many other bands where people’s role aren’t defined,” said Bitney. “It gets confusing sometimes during composition. When we write music, we usually have to learn how to play after we’ve made it in the studio, so sometimes that gets a little confusing as to who picks up what voice in the song.”

The Chicago-based group’s latest work is the 2004 “It’s All Around You,” its fifth full-length album. The album, like those of the past, was written in the studio and done so over a year’s time. The group took its time and used McEntire’s Soma Electronic Music Studios, and like in the past, one again produced the work. The electronic equipment available to Tortoise allows it to create lush rhythms, layered tones, orchestrated arrangements and complex melodies.

“There is a lot of building then reconstructing and rebuilding is kind of the simple way to say it,” said Bitney.

The 2004 project follows its 1996 benchmark work, “Millions Now Living Will Never Die,” and the intriguing 2001 release “Standards.”

“One of the things we have going for us is that we can play anything from a jazz festival in Frankfurt, Germany, to an electronic festival in Japan to a rock festival in Austin, Texas. We kind of have that adaptability. That, I think, comes from the diversity of our music,” added Bitney.

Aside from their Tortoise work, McEntire has recorded and mixed the work of bands like Chicago Underground and Neil Michael Hagerty; Herndon completed work on his first solo album; McCombs recently released his third one-man band (Brokebak) project with several guest players; Parker just finished up on a recording session with famed sax man Joshua Redman; and Bitney recently produced a series of home studio jams for the band Spectralina. The group will also be contributing to an original soundtrack for the documentary “Moog” about the life of electronic music pioneer Robert Moog.