Home » Jazz Articles » Album Review » Rob Mazurek / Exploding Star Orchestra: Dimensional Stardust
Rob Mazurek / Exploding Star Orchestra: Dimensional Stardust
The imposing Exploding Star Orchestra includes flautist Nicole Mitchell, cellist Tomeka Reid, trumpeter Jaimie Branch, pianist Angelica Sanchez and bassist Ingebrigt Håker Flaten. Mazurek's Chicago Underground collaborators Chad Taylor and Jeff Parker are on hand as well. The Chicago-based poet and sound/visual artist Damon Locks (Black Monument Ensemble) has become an integral part of the Exploding Star Orchestra since joining on Galactic Parables 1 (Cuneiform, 2015).
Dimensional Stardust opens with "Sun Core Tet (Parable 99)"; the opulent strings of Reid and violinist Macie Stewart call to mind an uninhabited region of Mazurek's soundscape. The aura becomes more exotic and complex with "Galaxy 1000" and "Parable of Inclusion," taking a turn for the unearthly on "Abstract Dark Energy (Parable 9)." The concluding piece, the longest on the album, "Autumn Pleiades," is a gorgeous and sophisticated refinement of physical movement; think of Gerald Wilson's Orchestra filtered through alien satellite transmissions.
The triple percussionists—Taylor, Mikel Patrick Avery, and John Herndon—energetically engage with the ensemble, keeping the multi-dimensional music moving flawlessly through some dense passages. When the album's extensive accessories clash with its abstract construction, it is less a jarring effect than one might think. Mazurek knows where he wants to pause the inventive spirit to let the music breathe; it exhales sounds of earth and those beyond.
Track Listing
Sun Core Tet (Parable 99); A Wrinkle In Time Sets Concentric Circles Reeling; Galaxy 1000; The Careening Prism Within (Parable 43); Abstract Dark Energy (Parable 9); Parable of Inclusion; Dimensional Stardust (Parable 33); Minerals Bionic Stereo; Parable 3000 (We All Come From Somewhere Else); Autumn Pleiades.
Personnel
Rob Mazurek
trumpet
Damon Locks
composer / conductor
Nicole Mitchell
flute
Macie Stewart
piano
Tomeka Reid
cello
Joel Ross
vibraphone
Jeff Parker
guitar
Jaimie Branch
trumpet
Angelica Sanchez
piano
Chad Taylor
drums
Mikel Patrick Avery
drums
John Herndon
percussionAdditional Instrumentation
Rob Mazurek: director, composer, electronic renderings, modular synth; Damon Locks: electronics, text; Chad Taylor: percussion; Mikel Patrick Avery: percussion; John Herndon: drum machines.
Album information
Title: Dimensional Stardust | Year Released: 2020 | Record Label: International Anthem/Nonesuch
About Rob Mazurek
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