Chicago Underground Trio
Galactic Parables: Volume 1
Composer, cornetist, electronic & acoustic sound specialist and musical director Rob Mazurek leads his largest regular ensemble, the Exploding Star Orchestra through one of his most ambitious recordings. While Galactic Parables: Volume 1 is a self-contained cosmos, marked by colliding melodic lines and startlingly beautiful passages, as the title indicates, it’s part of a larger work. Ever since Exploding Star Orchestra’s debut recording, Mazurek has been gradually building an epic science ficti…
Return The Tides: Ascension Suite And Holy Ghost
"I have always thought of the idea of passing as a beautiful thing, in which the soul or life force of the individual is somehow transferred to the immensity and brilliance of the entirety. The idea of Heaven and Hell (and everything inbetween) has always been a hallmark within the limited spectrum of what we humans can come up with and the idea of God or Gods has, for some, been an interesting way of putting a life and circumstances into some kind of mysterious belief system that can at times b…
Alternate Moon Cycles
The first half of the decade has seen cornet virtuoso and composer Rob Mazurek through significant achievements and personal losses, often linked inextricably through his creative processes. In and around the passing of his mentor and colleague, the trumpeter Bill Dixon in 2010 and his mother in 2013, Mazurek has found inspirations that are unique even for an innovator of his caliber. Mazurek and Dixon worked closely in achieving a deeper understanding of the pure tone of the trumpet (or cornet,…
Objects In Mirror Are Closer Then They Appear
"Objects in mirror are closer than they appear" starts from field recording session made by Attilio Novellino and Saverio Rosi in August of 2013 at the woolen mill “Lanificio Leo”, the oldest textile factory active in Calabria, founded in 1873 in Soveria Mannelli (Cz), currently one of the most signifcant cases of company-museum in Italy and winner of Guggenheim Management Culture Prize in 2011.The sounds produced by machines from the late 19th century, with their distinctive timbres and unusua…
A Way A Land Of Life
Bassist Jason Ajemian composed these 8 works performed with the Chicago/NY band of Tony Malaby on tenor sax, Rob Mazurek on cornet & electronics, and Chad Taylor on drums, a dynamic set of music that varies through a spectrum of styles while staying true to its jazz roots."Jason Ajemian can always be counted on to offer up way more than just the usual set of avant and improvised music – and as with some of his other recent albums, this set shows a range of imagination that just seems to be…
Stellar Pulsations
Originally schooled in the foundations of hard bop, cornetist Rob Mazurek, quickly surpassed the form's conventional limitations; his multihued electro-acoustic work over the past two decades has subsequently drawn inspiration from numerous genres besides jazz. Mazurek's unfettered creativity and stalwart leadership skills have thereby cemented his reputation as a key figure in the Chicago scene—primarily as organizer of the venerable Chicago Underground Collective and several other innovative e…
Sound Is
"Sound Is, is delightfully not what I had expected when this fine disc arrived, a beautiful soundscape, awash with more layerings and hypnotic cinematic virtues than I would ever hope to find. Though while saying that, I would be remiss if I didn’t mention the ultra fine hazy jazz that both effortlessly, and rambunctiously flows through this release, and stands not starkly in juxtaposition to the soundscape, but gives it the vibrant life necessary to keep you quietly swinging at 4 in the mornin…
Music for shattered light box and 7 posters
Getting a grip on the chaos that surrounds us: for American artist and trumpet/cornet player Rob Mazurek the time has come to make a statement. Every right-minded lover of modern music knows his jazz and post-rock explorations with bands such as Chicago underground duo Isotope 217 and Tortoise. Nevertheless, inside this vintage improviser there also lurks a passionate multimedia artist who likes to speak his mind, especially in a time when his home country is starting to reveal the darkest and m…