Dahlgren, Chris & Lexicon

Mystic Maze

Label: Jazzwerkstatt Country: Germany

"The music of Mystic Maze is based upon a selection of written critiques against the music of the great composer Bela Bartok, who lived from 1881-1945. I wanted, in my own way, to vilify some of the very critics who judged Bartok's incredible music so harshly by turning their own words against them- in other words, to turn their words into music. These critiques, to be found in the 'Lexicon of Musical Invective' compiled by Nicolas Slonimsky, form the written material the band plays, via compositional matrix systems. In some cases, I narrate these texts to the music. Ironically, the more familiar these critiques have become to me, the more I've come to enjoy their special vitriolic qualities. In our current time, music seldom inspires such passion and I wax nostalgic about the days when it did. What makes the music of LEXICON jazz- beyond stylistic any considerations- is that the larger part of composed material is extemporaneously initiated, arranged and improvised upon, by the band, differently for each performance. As such, I am greatly indebted to all of the musicians in the band for their unique contributions to this music."-Chris Dahlgren