Travels - Downbeat

Rob Mazurek OctetSkull SessionsCuneiform 349HHHHChicago cornetist Rob Mazurek has formednumerous ensembles with shared personnel andmusical concepts, retrofitting compositions andstructures for different settings. Skull Sessions,recorded live in São Paulo, Brazil, is billed tothe Rob Mazurek Octet and it deftly demonstratesthis almost modular approach, bringingtogether players from his Chicago-based outfitsStarlicker, Exploding Star Orchestra andSound Is with his South American unit SãoPaulo Underground. Some of the five compositionshere were repurposed from some ofthose other ensembles, but ultimately the materialhas been so reconceived it may as well beall new.Mazurek has become focused on ultra-saturatedcanvases of sound, directing his bandsto create loud, dense, resonant and collision-pronecollages that achieve a cumulativepower, and this configuration brings remarkablefirepower to that concept. The band wasassembled to perform in conjunction with aninteractive art exhibition devoted to MilesDavis called “We Want Miles,” but the cornetisteschews any direct tribute apart from aloose affinity for the trumpeter’s late electricmusic. Most of the pieces are episodic withdiscrete sections emerging in thick masses ofsound—there are passages where one or twoinstrumentalists occupy the front line, such asthe braided flute of Nicole Mitchell and electricguitar of Carlos Issa on “Voodoo And ThePetrified Forest”—but within regular accretionand subtraction all of the musicians areengaged in rigorous improvisation most of thetime. Mazurek’s bright melodic instincts areroutinely scuffed up and darkened by the thick,roiling action, but here and there his love forthe folk-like melodies of Don Cherry can’t besuppressed, as on the opening section of “SkullCaves Of Alderon,” a generous, irresistible lineover a churning synth-fueled groove that opensup in a stomp encrusted with layers of soundlike the external walls of an old building thickin disparate colors of paint. —Peter MargasakSkull Sessions: Galactic Ice Skeleton; Voodoo And The PetrifiedForest; Passing Light Screams; Skull Caves Of Alderon; KeepingThe Light Up. (65:41)Personnel: Rob Mazurek, cornet, ring modulator; Nicole Mitchell,piccolo, flute, voice; John Herndon, drums; Jason Adasiewicz,vibraphone; Mauricio Takara, cavaquinho, percussion; GuilhermeGranado, keyboards, electronics; Thomas Rohrer, rabeca, C melodysaxophone; Carlos Issa, guitar, electronics.Ordering info: cuneiformrecords.comSubscribe877-904-JAZZSean NowellThe Kung-Fu MastersPosi-Tone 8106HHH1/2Sean Nowell is an enterprising tenor saxophonistfrom Birmingham, Ala. Based in New York, thisis Nowell’s fourth Posi-Tone release. It hits with athrilling acid-jazz smackdown on Jimi Hendrix’s“Crosstown Traffic,” although the band prefersthe trendier term “jazztronica.” The initial tastedrums up the Greyboy Allstars or one of KarlDenson’s projects. Nowell’s electrically modifiedtenor quacks out a funky solo before AdamKlipple’s percussive organ. It’s tight and exciting.Subsequent tracks are Nowell originals with thebrass section, and saliently, trombonist MichaelDease, sprouting out from Evan Marien’s suspendedbass groove on “In The Shikshteesh.”The keyboard players jockey between organ,Fender Rhodes and effects, and the vibe percolatesunder call-and-response fanfares beforebreaks that remind fleetingly of the AverageWhite Band’s “Pick Up The Pieces.”Suggested by Nowell’s lotus stance on thecover, the leader is partial to sustaining theequilibrium of the septet’s varied elements.The head to “Mantis Style” is more chop-sy with a deft quote from “Invitation” kickingoff the keyboard solo. Nimble bassist Marienand energetic drummer Djordjevic are integral.The ominous grind and metallic effectsof “The Outside World” are not the stuff of theShaolin Temple. —Michael JacksonThe Kung-Fu Masters: Crosstown Traffic; In The Shikshteesh;For All Intensive Purposes; Mantis Style; The Outside World; Prosperity;The 55th Chamber; Uncrumplable; Song Of The Southland;Can Do Man. (51:24)Personnel: Sean Nowell, tenor saxophone; Brad Mason, trumpet;Michael Dease, trombone; Art Hirahara, keyboards; Adam Klipple,organ and keyboards; Evan Marien, bass; Marko Djordjevic, drums.Ordering info: posi-tone.com84 DOWNBEAT JUNE 2013