Ex Machina is a collaboration between saxophonist/composer Steve Lehman, whom the New York Times has called "a state-of-the-art musical thinker,"and Orchestre National de Jazz (ONJ) that goes far beyond anything attempted before by a jazz big band. Featuring compositions by Lehman and Frederic Maurin, ONJ's artistic director, the work incorporates elements of French spectral harmony into its compositional framework while also integrating live, interactive electronics developed atIRCAM (Institut de Coordination Acoustique Musique) in which abstract electronic sounds react to soloist improvisations in real-time. The new work is inspired by Lehman's Octet, whose groundbreaking work were the first to utilize spectral harmony's complex sonorities within a jazz context. Their critically-lauded releases Mise en Abime (Pi 2014) and Travail, Transformation and Flow (Pi 2009) were voted the #1 album of the year in the NPR Jazz Critics Poll and the #1 jazz album of the year in The New York Times, respectively.
The album's name evokes spectral composer Gerard Grisey's iconic "Tempus Ex Machina" as well as Lehman and Maurin's inspired fusion of electronic sounds with traditional instrumentation. While at many points the computer becomes an improvisation partner for the musicians, it's still the crack soloists of the ONJ along with Lehman and his long-running musical partners Jonathan Finlayson (trumpet) and Chris Dingman (vibraphone) who carry the day. With its otherworldly sonorities, elaborate orchestration, and complex rhythmic propulsion, Ex Machina is a meticulously crafted work that continues to position Lehman at the leading edge of jazz.
