Jon Mueller

Drummer Jon Mueller first gained recognition through his role in Pele, the Midwest-based post-rock ensemble from the United States. He also participates in Telecognac, Collections of Colonies of Bees, and Raccoons, each of which features guitarist Chris Rosenau alongside him. His output spans alternative rock and post-rock reminiscent of Tortoise on one side while extending into free improvisation and sound art on the other. The more experimental strand of his work has appeared primarily through Crouton Music, the imprint he founded. Mueller’s approach to the instrument moves between the intensity of fire music and the subtlety of finely wrought textures that diverge sharply from standard drumming practice. Among his cited influences are Univers Zero’s Daniel Denis, improv pioneer Han Bennink, and speed-metal powerhouse Dave Lombardo.

Born in 1970, Mueller has stayed rooted in the Chicago–Milwaukee corridor. Shortly before the 1992 death of avant-garde jazz figure and NRG Ensemble director Hal Russell, he took lessons with the veteran percussionist. That period of study prompted a decisive commitment to music, after which Mueller launched a steady sequence of ensembles. One early project was the longstanding though intermittently active duo Telecognac with Rosenau; the pair issued their initial recording in 1997. At the same time the two musicians rehearsed instrumental post-rock material with bassist Matt Tennessen under the name Tussin. When Scott Schoenbeck joined and the group adopted the name Pele, the project took permanent shape. Following Scott Beschta’s addition in mid-1997, Pele completed its first album, Teaching the History of Teaching Geography, issued in 1998; Beschta and Schoenbeck eventually departed, and Tennessen returned. Pele has remained Mueller’s most widely recognized effort, developing an audience across the country.

Further joint work with Rosenau has taken additional shapes, among them the free-improvisation trio Raccoons that also includes instrument builder Hal Rammel. Mueller has performed with Fred Lonberg-Holm’s Lightbox Orchestra and shared stages with international experimental figures such as Boris Hauf, Asmus Tietchens, and Achim Wollscheid.

In 1999 Mueller established Crouton and released his debut solo recording, Pianobread, a collection of free-improvisation encounters packaged with a novella of his own authorship. The label later expanded to encompass a webzine and an online shop. Mueller maintains these ventures together with his ongoing musical activities and his position as a sales and marketing representative.