Starlicker

In marked contrast towards the wide variety of electro-acoustic compositional and improvisational possibilities natural in his Exploding Superstar Orchestra huge ensemble, Chicago cornetist Rob Mazurek chose a romantic, stripped-down environment for the Starlicker trio, which debuted with Increase Demon in the Delmark label in 2011. Mazurek mixed makes with two Exploding Superstar Orchestra people, vibraphonist Jason Adasiewicz and drummer John Herndon (also of Tortoise), for a completely acoustic date sketching from avant-garde jazz, post-bop, and even more. Starlicker’s bass-less format makes the group people to upend and reinvent specific jazz trio customs (specially the soloist-accompanist jobs between Mazurek and Adasiewicz), necessitating an unconventional method of composing and organizing with parallels in NY trumpeter Dave Douglas’ Tiny Bell Trio from the 1990s (with no Balkan impact and with entirely different atmospherics supplied by Adasiewicz’s vibes). The same 12 months as Twice Demon’s launch, Mazurek hauled Adasiewicz and Herndon (and Exploding Celebrity Orchestra flutist Nicole Mitchell) right down to his second house of São Paulo, Brazil to total the lineup from the Rob Mazurek Octet — referred to as a merger of Starlicker and São Paulo Underground — and record the live recording Skull Classes, released by Cuneiform in 2013.