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LP
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KRXN 036LP
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Rob Mazurek graces the Keroxen Records waves with a genre defying album of field recordings, modular electronics, trumpet harmonies and spirit call chants. An unstoppable force since his first recordings in the early '90s, Rob Mazurek has been at the forefront of experimentation and adventurous improvised music for most of the last four decades. The American composer, cornetist, and visual artist has been developing his own style of improvisational music with a myriad of collaborators, too many to list but amongst them true giants of the 20th and 21st century music cannon like Bill Dixon, Pharoah Sanders, Jeff Parker, Roscoe Mitchell, Yusef Lateef, and Naná Vasconcelos amongst many many others. Nestor's Nest is yet another addition to Mazurek's mammoth catalogue of cosmic unity, coming like a spur of the moment whilst staying at Nestor and Pura's house in Tenerife during the Keroxen Festival edition of 2023. Dead time doesn't exist for the American cornetist and whilst hanging at the organizers house Mazurek decided to record and interact with his colorful tropical surroundings. Mangos, Papayas and Star Fruits all make an appearance here as does the quietness of an idyllic garden juxtaposed with Mazurek's stormy interferences, unleashing his modular synths and other acoustic paraphernalia into an ecstatic mix of pure celestial energy. As he beautifully states on the albums back cover: "Fruit from the trees of life, Stop All War. Stop the Killing, Open the senses, Breath. Listen. Feel!" Made from field recordings in and around the Keroxen Tanque and the House of Nestor and Pura in Tenerife, Canary Islands. Final mix at Marfa Experimental Studio, Marfa Texas. Mastered by Daniel Baez.
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CD
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ROG 116CD
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"We hear Mazurek's movements, the sounds of his body and breath, the way Mazurek responds to those sounds. As he breathes, he listens. Rob Mazurek (piccolo trumpet)."
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CD
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CVSD 013CD
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2014 release. In July 2013, a few months after the passing of his mother, cornetist Rob Mazurek performed solo at the Corbett Vs. Dempsey gallery in Chicago. Mazurek is one of the highest profile figures in contemporary creative music, leading bands like the Exploding Star Orchestra, Skull Sessions Octet, and Starlicker. On this occasion, he brought a box filled with various implements -- his cornet, naturally, but flutes, bells, books, maracas, apples, and little electronics. This box became an inexhaustible resource as he pulled new soundmakers from it and performed a profoundly intense dedication to his mom, culminating in a durational event that found him shaking the remaining contents of the box over his head until he could no longer hold his arms aloft. It was one of the most moving musical happenings that anyone at the gallery could remember, and Corbett Vs. Dempsey have taken the opportunity to release it as a CD. Often, such potent live events don't translate to a recording, but on Mother Ode, the emotional impact of Mazurek's dedication appear just as vividly, a deep mourning of death rubbing elbows with a joyous celebration of life.
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CD
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BBOY 022CD
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"New solo album from this Chicago Underground musician after albums on Moikai, Walking Road, Delmark and Mego. This is a one long 40-minute composition made for one of his own installations which is travelling the world at the moment. Far away from his delicate cornet-playing, this album is a loud trip through his electronic endeavours. Noisy and mesmeric, this is another great example of this musician's need and talent in taking many different directions in his music."
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CD
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MEGO 074CD
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"Rob Mazurek you ask? Words come by way of response -- words such as Chicago, abstractivist, cornetist, improviser and composer.... even hyphenated words like: multi-media, hard-bop, avant-jazz and dare we say it post-rock. More words of relevance, those which make for identity include: Jim O'Rourke, Stereolab, Tortoise, Gastr del Sol, Brokeback, Pan American, Sam Prekop and even the oh so wordy God Speed You Black Emperor! So many words and we haven't even really started yet... Let's roll on shall we? So, by now we all know this guy has some pedigree, it's true, we knew this already which is why we approached him for this full length. And yes we were most pleased with the results. Sweet and Vicious like Frankenstein is a multi-shifting work. Two tracks comprise. Throughout the journey that is Frankenstein, the considered listener is exposed to a cross section of the audio spectrum: From the small and subtle to more dense, dramatic and fast shifting events. A wide range of acoustic and electronic variables are at play creating a variety of mood's and texture's. Sources range from field recordings (macro + micro), electronics' (ana + digi) and sounds that are simply quite hard to locate/identify. A focus on the obscure within the audio realm seems somewhat intentional. Although abstract in nature, there is certainly emotional intent within Rob's creation, one which build's in momentum and intensity throughout the span of the two track's on offer. A narrative is open for the listener to decipher and as is the nature of this creation repeated listens are rewarded. Compositionally this temperamental little sucker straddle's the line between 'music' and 'sound' -- no philosophical argument's here please. We are making a rash statement for all intents and purposes. And yes we have the nerve to take it for granted that you, dear reader dig -- coolio? We thought so. File under: Frankenstein."
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