Hell Yes to Yeah No

Chris Speed's incredible band revs up the engine again

A reunited Yeah No — Cuong Vu, Skúli Sverrisson, Chris Speed, Jim Black — at Solar Myth in Philadelphia, April 11, 2026. (The Gig)

Chris Speed’s Yeah No sounded like nothing else when they first formed 30 years ago. The members of the band — Speed on tenor saxophone and clarinet, Cuong Vu on trumpet and electronics, Skúli Sverrisson on electric bass, Jim Black on drums — formed a tight-knit yet loose-limbed unit inspired by sources as varied as Joe Maneri, Squarepusher, and Bulgarian clarinet maestro Ivo Papazov.

The band put out its self-titled debut in 1997, followed by Deviantics in ‘99 and Emit in 2000 (all on Songlines Records). Later came Swell Henry, with special guests, on Speed’s own Skirl Records. Each album advanced a hybrid style that could only have emerged from this generational cohort, at this transitional time. Yeah No was an eclectic Downtown band but not in a jump-cut way; its synthesis ran too deep. Above all these musicians were bent on chasing revelation, using all the tools at hand.

That much remains true, as they proved with a thrilling reunion tour this spring. Their first stop was at Solar Myth in Philadelphia, and from the first downbeat it vibrated with an intensity that rang familiar, without feeling at all like a retread.

Before the show, I conducted an onstage interview with Speed, who now lives in Los Angeles, and Black, who’s based in Bern, Switzerland. We had a fantastic conversation that can now be heard on the latest episode of The Late Set from WRTI.

Solar Myth is the venue home of Ars Nova Workshop, which has some formative history with Yeah No. The band played the first-ever show presented by Mark Christman and ANW in March of 2000. I previewed that gig with a feature in the Philadelphia City Paper, and then drove down from New York to see it. So this marked a return in more than one sense, as we acknowledged at the top of the interview.

There’s a lot more in the conversation, including a look back at the climate for creative music near the turn of the century, thoughts about how it feels to reactivate this group dynamic, and observations about how different it is to be an improvising twentysomething in this day and age (something they’re all close to as educators). Even if you don’t already know Yeah No, I think this one will speak to you. Listen on your player of choice, including Spotify and Apple Podcasts.

Now here’s a bonus: footage of “Suggestible,” a song from the Emit era, shot with my iPhone in the front row. The band is simply cooking.

When I reached out to Speed to ask his permission to post this video, he hit me back with some good news: “the whole tour was incredible, and we got 6 new songs recorded we’re working on now, but first show in Philly was special!” I’ll say.

P.S.

• As I briefly mention in the interview, I spent a lot of time in the late ‘90s chasing Speed and Black around in Tim Berne’s Bloodcount, a band that looms large in my listening history. There have been a few semi-recent archival releases on Screwgun Records, the most recent of which is 5, released in 2021 (rec. in ‘97).

• Before Bloodcount, Black and Speed forged a preexisting rapport in Human Feel, also featuring multi-reedist Andrew D’Angelo and guitarist Kurt Rosenwinkel; they reunited several years ago for an album on Intakt. And speaking of Rosenwinkel reunions, you may be interested in my review of a 2024 Village Vanguard engagement featuring his Y2K quartet.

• Finally, on the subject of Solar Myth and The Late Set: this Friday, June 12, I’ll do an pre-show interview with trombonist and vocalist Kalia Vandever, whose deeply enchanting new album for International Anthem, Mana, drops on the same day. The talk is free and open to all, even if you don’t have a ticket for the show (which is close to selling out). Of course, it’ll eventually be in your podcast feed. But if you’re in the area and feel like dropping by, I’d love to see ya!

Thanks as always for reading The Gig. See you out there!