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Rob Mazurek / Exploding Star Orchestra: Dimensional Stardust

By Karl Ackermann
December 10, 2020
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Rob Mazurek / Exploding Star Orchestra: Dimensional Stardust

Composer, multi-instrumentalist, and visual artist

Rob Mazurek

trumpet
b.1965

" data-original-title="" title="">Rob Mazurek has made his Exploding Star Orchestra the centerpiece of his larger groups. In this formation, he finds ample room to channel his disparate influences such as

Sun Ra

piano
1914 - 1993

" data-original-title="" title="">Sun Ra and

Bill Dixon

trumpet
1925 - 2010

" data-original-title="" title="">Bill Dixon, and the distinctions he's absorbed as a global citizen. On Dimensional Stardust Mazurek and a dozen collaborators present an energetic, always changeable, genre-less m谷lange of styles held together by imagination and daring.

The imposing Exploding Star Orchestra includes flautist

Nicole Mitchell

flute
b.1967

" data-original-title="" title="">Nicole Mitchell, cellist

Tomeka Reid

cello

" data-original-title="" title="">Tomeka Reid, trumpeter

Jaimie Branch

trumpet
1983 - 2022

" data-original-title="" title="">Jaimie Branch, pianist

Angelica Sanchez

piano

" data-original-title="" title="">Angelica Sanchez and bassist

Ingebrigt Håker Flaten

bass
b.1971

" data-original-title="" title="">Ingebrigt H?ker Flaten. Mazurek's Chicago Underground collaborators

Chad Taylor

drums
b.1973

" data-original-title="" title="">Chad Taylor and

Jeff Parker

guitar
b.1967

" data-original-title="" title="">Jeff Parker are on hand as well. The Chicago-based poet and sound/visual artist

Damon Locks

composer / conductor

" data-original-title="" title="">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

piano

" data-original-title="" title="">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

composer / conductor
1918 - 2014

" data-original-title="" title="">Gerald Wilson's Orchestra filtered through alien satellite transmissions.

The triple percussionists—Taylor,

Mikel Patrick Avery

drums
b.1982

" data-original-title="" title="">Mikel Patrick Avery, and

John Herndon

percussion

" data-original-title="" title="">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.

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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

Ingebrigt H?ker Flaten

bass

Chad Taylor

drums

Mikel Patrick Avery

drums

John Herndon

percussion

Additional 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

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