{"product_id":"rob-mazurek-exploding-star-orchestra-live-at-the-adler-planetarium","title":"Rob Mazurek Exploding Star Orchestra - Live at the Adler Planetarium","description":"\u003cdiv class=\"tralbumData tralbum-about\"\u003eThe Exploding Star Orchestra is Rob Mazurek’s vehicle for blowing minds and reshaping worlds. For more than a decade and a half, the multi-instrumentalist has guided the variably configured big band through appearances on three continents. Its first performance in his former hometown of Chicago in more than five years determined to be more than just a concert. With support from the city’s Experimental Sound Studio and International Anthem, the Exploding Star Orchestra not only played music from the new Lightning Dreamers LP, but Mazurek and Co. also showed the processes behind its creation.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eThe event took place under the dome of Adler Planetarium, which provided a suitably cosmic surface upon which to project Mazurek’s visuals. A painter, sculptor and digital artist as well as a musician, he spends a typical day at his home studio in Marfa, Texas, improvising electronic music, whose signals he translates into visuals, whose digital information is then fed back into the music. Some of this work might eventually manifest as pure sound, flickering light or compositions for one of Mazurek’s bands; in this setting, he could finally unleash the whole shebang.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eA digital projection flashed an ever-changing stream of vividly colored, abstract shapes derived from his paintings and\u003cspan class=\"bcTruncateMore\"\u003e\u003cspan\u003e \u003c\/span\u003eanimations over the audience’s heads, while the Orchestra, which on this night numbered eight musicians besides its leader, transformed the stylistically disparate pieces from Lightning Dreamers into an enveloping maelstrom. Electric pianists Angelica Sanchez and Craig Taborn pushed layers of plush texture back and forth over the intricate, tripartite grooves of bassist Ingebrigt Håker Flaten and two drummers, Chad Taylor and Gerald Cleaver. Mazurek’s trumpets and wordless cries, Tomeka Reid’s cello and Nicole Mitchell’s flute and voice periodically surfaced out of the flow, issuing sharp, energetic statements, while Damon Locks’ proclamations flickered in and out of the mix like an erratic signal from some interstellar radio announcer. Together, they reimagined the brooding sound of Miles Davis’ Bitches Brew as a force for transcendent uplift.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eThe concert’s climactic moment was a visual one. At one point, Mitchell put down her flute, spoke into Mazurek’s ear and pointed up to toward the dome. As he looked up, his own horn came down, and for a moment, the two of them gazed with undisguised awe at the spectacle that the Orchestra had unleashed. In a time when so many forces conspire to bring people down, this concert was an invitation to look up and out past the\u003cbr\u003ehorizon.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e— review by Bill Meyer; originally published in Magnet Magazine, April 2023\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan\u003e \u003ca\u003e\u003c\/a\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\n\u003c\/div\u003e\n\u003ch3 class=\"credits-label\"\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/h3\u003e\n\u003cdiv class=\"tralbumData tralbum-credits\"\u003ereleased September 27, 2024\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eRob Mazurek - director, trumpets, bells, voice, compositions\u003cbr\u003eNicole Mitchell - flute, voice, electronics\u003cbr\u003eDamon Locks - voice, samplers, electronics\u003cbr\u003eTomeka Reid - cello, electronics\u003cbr\u003eCraig Taborn - wurlitzer electric piano, moog, electronics\u003cbr\u003eAngelica Sanchez - wurlitzer electric piano, moog\u003cbr\u003eIngebrigt Håker Flaten - bass\u003cbr\u003eChad Taylor- drums\u003cbr\u003eGerald Cleaver- drums\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eRecorded Live in the Grainger Sky Theater of Adler Planetarium, Chicago, March 24th, 2023.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eAll music by Rob Mazurek (OLHO, ASCAP).\u003cbr\u003eWords by Damon Locks.\u003cbr\u003eRecorded by Elliot Dicks, Alex Inglizian and Dave Vettraino.\u003cbr\u003eMixed by Dave Vettraino.\u003cbr\u003eMastered by David Allen\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eVideo images by Rob Mazurek with technical assistance from Mathieu Constans and Brian Ashby.\u003cbr\u003eFront \u0026amp; Back Cover Photos by Alejandro Ayala.\u003cbr\u003eGatefold Photo by Brian Ashby.\u003cbr\u003eInsert Photo by Alex Inglizian.\u003cbr\u003eDesign by Craig Hansen.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eProduced by Experimental Sound Studio \u0026amp; International Anthem.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eSpecial Thanks to Olivia Junell, Adam Vida, and Alex Inglizian of ESS; Mike Smail, Ann Grant, Sarah Sarka, and everyone at the Adler Planetarium; The Robert D. Bielecki Foundation; and our special Anonymous Donor for essential contributions.\u003c\/div\u003e\n\u003ch3 class=\"license-label\"\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/h3\u003e\n\u003cdiv id=\"license\" class=\"info license\"\u003e\n\u003cspan class=\"cc-icons commercial\"\u003e\u003c\/span\u003eall rights reserved\u003c\/div\u003e","brand":"International Anthem","offers":[{"title":"IARC0087 Limited Edition Black vinyl","offer_id":52121008505106,"sku":"IARC0087LP","price":25.95,"currency_code":"EUR","in_stock":false},{"title":"IARC0087 Limited Edition CD","offer_id":52121008537874,"sku":"IARC0087CD","price":16.95,"currency_code":"EUR","in_stock":true},{"title":"IARC0087 Digital Download","offer_id":52121008570642,"sku":"IARC0087","price":8.95,"currency_code":"EUR","in_stock":false},{"title":"IARC0087 Test Pressing","offer_id":52121008603410,"sku":"IARC0087LP-1","price":44.95,"currency_code":"EUR","in_stock":false}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0751\/6989\/0578\/files\/a1774559027_10.jpg?v=1773615379","url":"https:\/\/shop.intlanthem.com\/products\/rob-mazurek-exploding-star-orchestra-live-at-the-adler-planetarium","provider":"International Anthem","version":"1.0","type":"link"}