.Rob Mazurek

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• .Pigments:2
• .Multimedias:3
• .Words:4
• .Bio:5
• .Contacts:6
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LED by cornetist and electronic soundist Rob Mazurek, Chicago Underground Trio have long occupied a zealously-carved space somewhere between liberated, high energy jazz and the surreal computer-generated landscapes of contemporary avantists like Autechre, Coil, Tortoise and Aphex Twin. Mazurek describes Slon as their "anti-war" record and it carries a dedication to "all the people who have lost their lives at the hands of US imperialism". It kicks off with Protest, with drummer Chad Taylor and bassist Noel Kupersmith laying down a bobbing, elastic rhythm that's as tactile as anything from Charlie Haden and Ed Blackwell while Mazurek really stretches out on his horn, bending the brass into fantastic vocal tones. Reflecting Mazurek's background in the visual arts, the bulk of Slon has the feel of a soundtrack, jump ing between scenes of civil unrest and close-up shots of truncheons impacting on skulls via the evocative placement of electronic tones and treated field recordings. Both Mazurek and Kupersmith have developed their individual voices to the point that their laptop work is as idiosyncratic and identifiable as their cornet and bass stylings, with the result that Slon never feels like the kind of Frankenstein many lesser fusions resemble. Rather, it feels like a whole new sonic blueprint for future jazz.

- David Keenan 23 November 2003