Steve Lehman & Orchestre National de Jazz: Ex Machina

Does Ex Machina settle the long-standing debate about whether saxophonist Steve Lehman is human or a replicant. Lehman and his approach to music may remind one of Rick Deckard, played by Harrison Ford in Blade Runner (1982) a movie adaptation of Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep? by Philip K. Dick; Deckard was tasked with hunting and destroying humanoid replicants i.e. robots. The film never answers the question viewers might have as to whether Deckard is actually a replicant himself.

This recording and the compositions from Lehman and Frédéric Maurin, the artistic director of the Orchestre National de JazzJ), may leave one wondering which parts are human constructions and which are generated by Artificial Intelligence (AI). That is because the recording makes use of real-time interactive electronics developed at IRCAM (Institut de Coordination Acoustique Musique). AI improvisations percolate through the music, both in rhythm and meter. Maurin's "39" finds Lehman soloing over a deluge of computer effects which blend in with a small ensemble. Parsing the pieces, human or AI, can be a challenge here. Lehman's "Chimera" opens with a duet between vibraphonist Chris Dingman and his replicant percussive counterpart. How does this ghost in a machine operate? Maybe only someone with an advance degree in software modeling could understand. Nonetheless, the sounds are very identifiable as Steve Lehman music. His "Ode to AkLaff" (for Pheeroan AkLaff) opens with what might be best described as computer generated whale songs in duo with Lehman's alto saxophone. That is, a real-time improvisation in response to Lehman's horn. Think about this for a moment.

The recording is infused with sounds generated from this software interwoven and interacting with an entire orchestra as in Maurin's "Le Seuil (Part 1)" and "Le Seuil (Part 2)." The AI on no account detracts from the performances; it does, in fact, add substance to each composition. There are plenty of excellent soloes to be found in each track. Besides Lehman, considerable space is provided for Dingman, trumpeter Jonathan Finlayson and individual members of the ONJ to solo, improvise, and interact with some very responsive AI software.

Comments