Rob Mazurek & Exploding Star Orchestra Release ‘Live at The Adler Planetarium’
PRAISE FOR International Anthem
“Absolutely cosmic, somewhere between Sun Ra and ’70s Miles, with Damon Locks’ poetry and digital manipulations adding a 21st century dimension.”
“This band's creativity is inexhaustible.”
“The Exploding Star Orchestra is Rob Mazurek’s vehicle for blowing minds and reshaping worlds.”
“Mazurek can’t be labeled.”
“The Exploding Star Orchestra…has become so flexible in sound, personnel and production methodologies that a multitude of inputs and orientation towards cosmic transcendence have become its defining qualities.”
TRACKLIST
Dream Sleeper
Black River
White River
Underneath the Star Dome
Spiral Parable 1a
Parable 3000
CREDITS
Rob Mazurek – director, trumpets, bells, voice, compositions
Nicole Mitchell – flute, voice, electronics
Damon Locks – voice, samplers, electronics
Tomeka Reid – cello, electronics
Craig Taborn – wurlitzer electric piano, moog, electronics
Angelica Sanchez – wurlitzer electric piano, moog
Ingebrigt Håker Flaten – bass
Chad Taylor – drums
Gerald Cleaver – drums
Today, International Anthem releases a new live album from interdisciplinary artist, composer, and bandleader Rob Mazurek and a nine-piece iteration of his long-running Exploding Star Orchestra (ESO). Along with the album release, focus track “Parable 3000” (available on all digital music platforms today) touts a funky and grounded groove, exploring the stars while staying deep in the pocket. Stream “Parable 3000” here and purchase Live at the Adler Planetarium on LP, CD, and DD here.
With Mazurek (on trumpet) leading ESO regulars Nicole Mitchell (flute), Damon Locks (vocals), Tomeka Reid (cello), Craig Taborn (keys), Angelica Sanchez (keys), Ingebrigt Håker Flaten (bass), Gerald Cleaver and Chad Taylor (drums), the album captures the ensemble in a special one-off performance underneath the dome of the Grainger Sky Theater in Chicago’s iconic Adler Planetarium.
A staple of Chicago’s downtown lakeshore since 1930, the Adler Planetarium is not only the first and oldest planetarium in the Western Hemisphere, but it has actually played host to a live album recording at least once in the past – notably, Kelan Phil Cohran & Legacy’s legendary 1993 record African Skies. Mazurek and Exploding Star Orchestra join that tradition proudly and potently with this document, which was co-produced by Chicago institutions Experimental Sound Studio and International Anthem.
A full album-length concert film for Live at the Adler Planetarium was also created by director Brian Ashby (known for his work on Charles Stepney: Out of the Shadows) that beautifully captures the spectacle of the event, which featured ESO performing underneath large, kaleidoscopic projections of Mazurek’s abstract visual art on the dome screen of the Grainger Sky Theater.
Ashby’s concert film will premiere at a special screening event on September 28th at the Logan Center in Chicago, as part of this year’s Hyde Park Jazz Festival. The event will feature two screenings of the full 40 minute concert film. In between the screenings, there will be a conversation between Mazurek and Mike Smail of the Adler Planetarium. The event is free and open to the public, with donations kindly requested to support the not-for-profit Hyde Park Jazz Festival.
Live at the Adler Planetarium in physical form comes on deluxe limited edition vinyl LP and CD, inside a shiny, reflective metallic silver foil jacket, with images from the performance taken by Ashby, Alejandro Ayala, and Alex Inglizian. Liner notes included with the package are taken from music writer Bill Meyer’s review of the performance originally published by Magnet Magazine in March of 2023.
ABOUT ROB MAZUREK AND EXPLODING STAR ORCHESTRA
Rob Mazurek is an interdisciplinary artist & abstractivist, with a focus on electro-acoustic composition, improvisation, performance, painting, sculpture, video, film, and installation, who spent much of his creative life in Chicago, and then Brazil. He currently lives and works in Marfa, Texas.
As a composer Mazurek has written over 500 compositions over the past 30 years and has released 80+ recordings on various labels including International Anthem, Nonesuch, Astral Spirits, Corbett vs Dempsey, Cuneiform, CleanFeed, Delmark, El Paraiso, Family Vineyard, Harmonipan, Mego, Northern Spy, Rogue Art, Submarine, Aesthetics, and Thrill Jockey. He has led/co-led many ensembles of various sizes and shapes including Isotope 217, Chicago Underground (Duo, Trio, Quartet, and Orchestra), Alternate Moon Cycles, Alien Flower Sutra, Pharoah and the Underground (featuring Pharoah Sanders), Jeff Parker Duo, São Paulo Underground, and Exploding Star Orchestra.
Originally inspired by a joint commission from the Chicago Cultural Center and Jazz Institute of Chicago, Mazurek founded the Exploding Star Orchestra in 2005 to investigate the city’s avant-garde musical traditions. He brought together a group representing the diversity of the city’s contemporary music scene including musicians from Chicago’s North, West, and South-sides, from the then burgeoning post rock scene to the highly influential AACM and Northside Improvisation Scene. Since the inception the Orchestra has expanded to include musicians from around the world, with an ever-expansive pool of visionaries joining the fray based on the needs of the composition at hand. The group has featured Roscoe Mitchell, Bill Dixon, Fred Anderson, Nicole Mitchell, Damon Locks, Jeff Parker, Chad Taylor, John Herndon, Tomeka Reid, jaimie branch, Joel Ross, Mikel Patrick Avery, Macie Stewart, Joshua Abrams, Angelica Sanchez, Ken Vandermark, Mike Reed, John McEntire, Jason Ajemian, Hamid Drake, Matthew Lux, Matana Roberts, Mauricio Takara, Guilherme Granado, Avreeayl Ra, Dan Bitney, Luke Stewart, and more.
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