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That double CD includes a dynamic, hard-charging recording of 63 Moons of Jupiter recorded in Sao Paulo, Brazil, in 2009 with guest reedist Roscoe Mitchell joined by Mazurek and 13 other players. Mazurek put together ESO for a proposal made by former Department of Cultural Affairs programmer Mike Orlove in 2005—the group made its debut that year as part of the city’s Made in Chicago series. Since then the group has seen its personnel become increasingly fluid, and, in fact, most of Mazurek’s different bands seem to have bled into one another. The Rogue Art recording features Brazilian musicians Mauricio Takara and Guilherme Granado, who first worked with Mazurek in the ongoing Sao Paulo Underground, while just about every small combo led by the cornetist is peopled by musicians who’ve served in ESO at one point or another. Mazurek writes different music for each project, but sometimes material overlaps, and more often, his methodologies do, too.
https://chicagoreader.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/08/1-03_ganymede_and_the_ice_parade.mp3Rob Mazurek Exploding Star Orchestra, “Ganymede and the Ice Parade”
Pixel, Reminder (Cuneiform)Andrew Cyrille & Haitian Fascination, Route de Frères (TUM)Meridian Brothers, Desesperanza (Soundway)Kronos Quartet, Music of Vladimir Martynov (Nonesuch)Rolf Ericson, Miles Away 1950-52 (Dragon)
