Ex Machina

Album review

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/Qobuz