Spiral Mercury cover
Released

In August 2013, cornet player and bandleader Rob Mazurek combined two of his groups, Chicago Underground and São Paulo Underground, into one and added a magical third element, the saxophone of Pharoah Sanders. The group included Mazurek on cornet and flute, Guilherme Granado on synths and percussion, Matthew Lux on electric bass, Mauricio Takara on percussion, and Chad Taylor on drums and mbira. The music pulls from Mazurek’s catalog, but also feels fully improvised; it sounds like you’re wandering through a jungle of sound, like a dubby take on the more atmospheric work of Miles Davis’s 1970s septet. Pharoah roams the sonic landscape like a tiger, never exploding but always stalking, making his presence known as he slips smoothly between the other players. (There’s a companion vinyl-only release, Primative Jupiter, with more music from the same concert.)

Phil Freeman

Recommended by

Suggestions
Live in Seattle cover

Live in Seattle

John Coltrane, Pharoah Sanders
Halo cover

Halo

Bill Laswell, Andy Hawkins, Azonic
Exit! cover

Exit!

Fire! Orchestra
12 Comp (ZIM) 2017 cover

12 Comp (ZIM) 2017

Anthony Braxton
Painter's Spring cover

Painter's Spring

William Parker
Lifelong Ambitions cover

Lifelong Ambitions

Muhal Richard Abrams, Leroy Jenkins
SuperBigmouth cover

SuperBigmouth

Chris Lightcap
Live at Firehouse 12 cover

Live at Firehouse 12

Gerald Cleaver, Violet Hour
Wired cover

Wired

Jeff Beck
Funky Donkey, Vols. 1 & 2 cover

Funky Donkey, Vols. 1 & 2

Luther Thomas, Saint Louis Creative Ensemble, Human Arts Ensemble