Steve Lehman, Orchestre National de Jazz – Ex Machina (2023) [Official Digital Download 24bit/96kHz]

Steve Lehman, Orchestre National de Jazz – Ex Machina (2023)
FLAC (tracks) 24 bit/96 kHz | Time – 01:11:01 minutes | 1,34 GB | Genre: Contemporary Jazz, Jazz
Studio Masters, Official Digital Download | Front Cover | © ONJ Records

Ex Machina is a collaboration between saxophonist/composerSteve Lehman, whom the New York Times has called “a state-of-the-art musical thinker,”and Orchestre National de Jazz (ONJ) that goes far beyond anything attempted before by a jazz big band. Featuring compositions by Lehman and Frederic Maurin, ONJ’s artistic director, the work incorporates elements of French spectral harmony into its compositional framework while also integrating live, interactive electronics developed atIRCAM (Institut de Coordination Acoustique Musique) in which abstract electronic sounds react to soloist improvisations in real-time. The new work is inspired by Lehman’s Octet, whose groundbreaking work were the first to utilize spectral harmony’s complex sonorities within a jazz context. Their critically-lauded releases Mise en Abime (Pi 2014) and Travail, Transformation and Flow (Pi 2009) were voted the #1 album of the year in the NPR Jazz Critics Poll and the #1 jazz album of the year in The New York Times, respectively.

The album’s name evokes spectral composer Gerard Grisey’s iconic “Tempus Ex Machina” as well as Lehman and Maurin’s inspired fusion of electronic sounds with traditional instrumentation. While at many points the computer becomes an improvisation partner for the musicians, it’s still the crack soloists of the ONJ along with Lehman and his long-running musical partners Jonathan Finlayson (trumpet) and Chris Dingman (vibraphone) who carry the day. With its otherworldly sonorities, elaborate orchestration, and complex rhythmic propulsion, Ex Machina is a meticulously crafted work that continues to position Lehman at the leading edge of jazz.

There’s a lot happening on Ex Machina, a collaboration between American alto saxophonist and composer Steve Lehman and the Orchestra National de Jazz, a large, French ensemble led by Frédéric Maurin. The album features compositions by Lehman and Maurin that incorporate the strange, often eerie sonorities of the late-twentieth century classical music movement known as spectralism, and also utilize electronics courtesy of IRCAM (Institute for Research and Coordination in Acoustics and Music), the Paris-based center of electro-acoustic innovation. Additionally, AI comes into play, as does microtonality.

The result is certainly heady stuff, but it’s also visceral. The Lehman-penned “Los Angeles Imaginary” is a case in point. Drummer Rafaël Koerner plays a jumpy pattern as slower moving instrumental forces are added to the dense arrangement; Sarah Murcia’s bass line contributes to the off-kilter sense of forward motion. Tenor saxophonist Julien Soro, trumpeter Jonathan Finlayson, and Lehman (on alto) engage in tag team soloing that plays off the arrangement—and each other—with great finesse.

Lehman’s “Alchimie,” Ex Machina’s shortest piece, thrills with its contrasting timbres and rhythms. The composition, which is influenced by the work of spectral composer Tristan Murail, hums with mystery and tension. Clattering drums, syncopated bass, pinging vibraphone, and other elements are part of a sonic swirl that seems to rush and move slowly at the same time.

The two-part “Le Seuil,” written by Maurin, is also influenced by Murail. Its first section features deft integration of big band and spectral moves, as well as the work of melodic-percussionists Stéphan Caracci and Chris Dingman. Trombonist Daniel Zimmermann solos in the second section, which includes darting winds, woozy vibraphone, and glassy, string-like tones. Everything is undergirded by crisp drums; Koerner’s playing shines throughout this compelling album. – Fred Cisterna

Tracklist:
1-1. Steve Lehman – 39 (08:02)
1-2. Steve Lehman – Los Angeles Imaginary (05:43)
1-3. Steve Lehman – Chimera (06:09)
1-4. Steve Lehman – Alchimie (03:02)
1-5. Steve Lehman – Ode to akLaff (06:23)
1-6. Steve Lehman – Jeux d’Anches (05:00)
1-7. Steve Lehman – Les Treize Soleils (05:36)
1-8. Steve Lehman – Speed-Freeze, Pt. 1 (09:49)
1-9. Steve Lehman – Speed-Freeze, Pt. 2 (08:43)
1-10. Steve Lehman – Le seuil, Pt. 1 (07:58)
1-11. Steve Lehman – Le seuil, Pt. 2 (04:30)

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