Greg Aiello

Steven Bernstein – Sexmob: 25th Anniversary Tour

When, a quarter of a century ago, the Sexmob quartet blended Leadbelly, Ellington, Prince, The Cardigans and “Macarena” in one flow of their debut Din of Inequity, jazz received the most vital new impulse since Ornette Coleman's free-whirlwind. Coming out of the legendary New York Knitting Factory club, Steven Bernstein, Briggan Krauss, Tony Scherr and Kenny Wollesen rewrote jazz history. On the next album Solid Sender (2000), they jazzed Elvis, The Stones, Nirvana and ABBA's “Fernando” and deconstructed Ellington. Sir Duke, however, was the main inspiration for their next album Theater & Dance (2000), moving on to tackling James Bond movie themes (Sex Mob Does Bond, 2001), Martin Denny's Exotica (Sexotica, 2006), Fellini and Nino Rota (Sexmob Plays Fellini: Cinema, Circus & Spaghetti, the Music of Nino Rota, 2013). Their tenth album, The Hard Way, will be released this year.

But, Sexmob doesn't not cover songs – they “Sexmob” them, as the band leader Steven Bernstein once said. They feed on ideas from the history of various genres (crossing them with original material) but only to create music that is authentically theirs. And it combines humor, confusion, sorrow and passion, always with a robust and crazy groove. Today, Sexmob is also a set of individuals with successful careers, working with John Zorn, Bill Frisell, Hal Willner, Robert Altman, John Lurie, Tom Waits, Lou Reed, Levon Helm, Norah Jones, Henry Butler, Marianne Faithfull or U2, along with an endless list of the most important avant-garde artists in New York. For the first time in Belgrade and Serbia, the 21st century's most important combo jazz band. Ladies and gentlemen – Sexmob!

https://stevenbernstein.bandcamp.com/