In Thomas Pynchon’s novel Gravity’s Rainbow, the Kenosha Kid is a maddeningly ambiguous figure: it might be a cowboy, or a dance, or a Sodium Amytal-induced hallucination (or all of the above). Guitarist/composer Dan Nettles (who, by the way, has never been to Kenosha, WI) conceived his namesake band with similarly uncategorizable intentions. This Kenosha Kid might be an indie rock band, could be a modernist jazz ensemble, can probably be considered a jam band, and most definitely is all of the above. All of those different identities emerge at different times (and, very often, several at once) on Kenosha Kid’s new album, Outside Choices, companion to 2015's Inside Voices. “We’re kind of a family band,” Nettles says. “I tell everybody, ‘Do your thing and we’re going to showcase that.’ It’s always a joy to be with these guys, and it always knocks me out that they want to come play.” As celebratory as much of the music sounds, it was also born out of its share of hard times. Nettles’ mother passed away after an 18-month battle, and when he thought about recording again it was with one question in mind: “What would make my mom happy?” The answer was to create music in ideal circumstances with some of Nettles’ favorite collaborators. Gathering his core triomates, bassist Robby Handley and drummer Marlon Patton, and a trio of horn players who he met through the Banff Workshop in Jazz & Creative Music – Mexico City trumpeter Jacob Wick, Berlin-based alto saxophonist Peter Van Huffel, and Seattle tenor/baritone saxophonist Greg Sinibaldi – Nettles arranged for a six-night residency at Hendershot’s Coffee that allowed the band to gig by night and record by day. The arrangement allowed Kenosha Kid to enjoy the best of both worlds – stretching out with lengthy improvisations and experiments each evening, boiling the results down to concise, focused statements the next afternoon. The former are evident in a number of live recordings available on Nettles’ website, while the latter make up Inside Voices and its upcoming companion piece. “We have this wild, sprawling performance thing,” Nettles explains, “but the studio is an instrument. I knew the players that I was writing for could really craft something for a five-minute window that would be interesting to listen to all the way through but at the same time have moments of wild improvisation that work within those compositional ideas.”