2014 release ** "On his second octet release, Mise en Abime, Lehman continues his pioneering amalgamation of spectral harmony and jazz improvisation. Lehman’s music is that rare thing: experimental and avant-garde but also accessible. There’s a lot of academic information which flows beneath Lehman’s musical productions, but in simplified form, he composes microtonal music with ample harmonic movement. This is a unique kind of fusion, where a chord based on a harmonic spectrum can be easily modulated to another tonal center. Lehman founded a virtuosic group with a large horn section: Lehman on alto sax; Jonathan Finlayson on trumpet; Mark Shim on tenor sax; Tim Albright on trombone; and Jose Davila on tuba. Chris Dingman is on a custom-built vibraphone with alternate tunings; Drew Gress is on bass; and Tyshawn Sorey is on drums. The octet spent plenty of time on stage practicing and reconfiguring the eight pieces on Mise en Abime previous to booking a studio, and the performances show the band’s attention to detail. On “Segregated and Sequential,” the music has a forceful physicality. The symmetrical “13 Colors” offers two sets of spectral chord changes during Lehman’s honed alto sax solo, and the track concludes in a surging ensemble harmony. Lehman supplies two interesting cuts which he describes as transcriptions. First there is “Glass Enclosure Transcription,” where the octet produces music which seemingly bounds and rebounds and the configuration adjusts contour and texture in a liberating attitude. “Parisian Thoroughfare Transcription” thoroughly remodels three Bud Powell works into a cutting-edge conception. Lehman takes Powell’s harmonic framework and recasts Powell’s ideas with laced electronics, found sounds, phantom voices and ghostly instrumentation. Cameroonian drummer Brice Wassy gets an homage during “Codes: Brice Wassy,” where Lehman and Dingman nip at a motif or main theme, but just a trace or two. This tune has a slightly obstinate ambiance, as if the players are gesturing in various directions at the same time but manipulating the same road map. One of Lehman’s underpinnings is a constant use of understated electronics. These sounds are frequently eclipsed by more dominate brass, drums and bass elements, but electronics are more aggressive on “Chimera/Luchini.” The first half includes a soundscape populated by Dingman’s vibraphone mingled with Lehman’s shadowy, digital reinforcement. The second half— a fascinating segment built from a hip-hop song—launches as Sorey’s drums escalate. On Mise en Abime, Lehman has an analytical but also intuitive methodology to composition and unfastened group dynamics. He makes honestly challenging music which is also engaging and balanced. This is music halfway alien but also strangely welcoming, like an embrace from a visitor from a different dimension."