The Squid's Ear Magazine


Mitelli, Gabriele / Rob Mazurek: Star Splitter (Clean Feed)

Referencing the poem "Star-splitter" by Robert Frost, Italian improviser Gabriele Mitelli on cornet, soprano sax & alto flugelhorn, and Chicago improviser Rob Mazurek on piccolo trumpet, both using electronics, objects & voice, create a spiritually rich and warm series, "gazing" at four planets through immersive, unique and authoritative performance; exceptional.
 

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product information:

Personnel:



Gabriele Mitelli-cornet, soprano sax, alto flugelhorn, electronics, objects, voice

Rob Mazurek-piccolo trumpet, electronics, objects, voice


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UPC: 5609063005158

Label: Clean Feed
Catalog ID: CF515
Squidco Product Code: 27579

Format: CD
Condition: New
Released: 2019
Country: Portugal
Packaging: Cardboard Gatefold
Recorded during the Festival Fabbrica Europa, at Leopolda Station, in Florence, Italy, by Marcello Fiore.

Descriptions, Reviews, &c.

"Here is one more example of a musical project inspired in literature. Star Splitter, the duo by the multi-instrumentalists Gabriele Mitelli and Rob Mazurek, makes reference to a poem by Robert Frost, in which this author tells the story of Brad McLaughlin, a farmer who failed to produce agricultural income and decided to burn his house to get the insurance money necessary to buy a telescope and spend the rest of his life contemplating the stars and the planets above - of course, getting a dayjob as a ticket seller to eat and pay his expenses. He christined the telescope as Star Splitter, because "(...) it didn't do a thing but split / A star in two or three the way you split / A globule of quicksilver in your hand / With one stroke of your finger in the middle."

That's exactly what the Italian and the American intervenients do to music. Having the patrimony of Chicago's AACM and the concepts of Sun Ra and Bill Dixon as their main resource, they split, bend and turn inside out the free jazz / creative jazz tradition, using a cornet, a soprano saxophone (Mitelli), a piccolo trumpet (Mazurek), several electronic devices and amplified objects (both), and also their voices. The result is a beautiful jazz extravaganza that will marvel the fans of Chicago Underground, Sao Paulo Underground, Exploding Star Orchestra, Tortoise, Gabriele Mitelli European Quartet and O.N.G Crash. Yes, jazz is turning cosmic again..."-Clean Feed

Also available on vinyl LP.

Artist Biographies

"Rob Mazurek is an American electro-acoustic composer, cornetist, improviser and visual artist living in Chicago, Illinois. As a composer, Rob Mazurek has written over 300 original compositions over the past 30 years, and has released 55 recordings on various labels. He currently leads a number of ensembles, including Exploding Star Orchestra, Pharoah and the Underground (featuring Pharoah Sanders), Chicago Underground, Pulsar Quartet, São Paulo Underground, Skull Sessions, Sound Is Quintet, Starlicker, Mandarin Movie and Throne of the House of Good and Evil, each of which possesses its own distinct musical personality.

He has collaborated with a wide variety of artists, such as Bill Dixon, Pharoah Sanders, Mike Ladd, Roscoe Mitchell, Yusef Lateef, Fred Anderson, Naná Vasconcelos, Mamelo Sound System, Kassin and Marcelo Camelo and others. Additionally, Rob Mazurek works as a visual artist (incorporating sound, painting and video) with numerous international performances, exhibitions and artist residencies."

-Rob Mazurek Website (http://robmazurek.com/)
3/27/2024

Have a better biography or biography source? Please Contact Us so that we can update this biography.


Track Listing:



1. Venus 8:45

2. Mars 15:03

3. Mercury 9:26

4. Uranus 5:13

Related Categories of Interest:


Clean Feed
Improvised Music
Free Improvisation
Electro-Acoustic
Electro-Acoustic Improv
Objects and Home-made Instruments
Chicago Jazz & Improvisation
European Improvisation, Composition and Experimental Forms
Duo Recordings

Search for other titles on the label:
Clean Feed.


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The Squid's Ear Magazine

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