Mob Rules

For jazz rock vets Sex Mob, the whole world is Downtown.

by Shaun Brady

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Published: Nov 27, 2007

RELEASE THE STARS: Sex Mob will play at Johnny Brenda's on Tuesday, their first Philly gig in nearly five years. (CLICK IMAGE FOR LARGER VERSION)

When the nine-year-old NYC club Tonic closed its doors in April, many saw it as the last gasp of the Downtown Scene. With the Knitting Factory long ago having abandoned its more experimental roots, the distinctive brand of rock-tinged jazz that had flourished in the area for more than 25 years was left effectively homeless. Even CBGB's is gone. Besides, Brooklyn has been crowned the new Village and John Zorn has been officially designated a Genius. So is the Downtown Scene a museum piece?

Slide trumpeter/bandleader Steven Bernstein had been there since before the beginning, but sees these developments from a more optimistic perspective. "When I joined the Lounge Lizards," Bernstein recalls, "I realized that what we do is as related to Andy Warhol as it is to Ornette Coleman and Mingus and the Art Ensemble. Downtown had occasioned that sensibility, and that sensibility is now from another era. But we're infiltrating the world slowly. It's such a slow creep that some people don't even realize it, but it's getting out there in a small, subversive way. We don't have a center anymore, but I feel like we've disseminated into the world."

That's especially true for Bernstein, who's one of the busiest musicians on any scene these days. It's hard to avoid his presence if you're in any way observant of pop culture. His relationship with ubiquitous and eclectic producer Hal Willner has led to his creating the period-recreation soundtrack for Robert Altman's Kansas City, and serving as musical director for the documentary/ concert film Leonard Cohen: I'm Your Man, as well as tributes to Doc Pomus and Harold Arlen.

He and other members of his quartet Sex Mob, who will be playing their first Philly gig in nearly five years this week, are the musicians for the title track on Rufus Wainwright's Release the Stars. He's written horn arrangements for Lou Reed and Elton John and has been performing with Levon Helm since 2004. And he's grooming a whole new generation of fans with the Baby Loves Jazz CD, conceived with Andy Hurwitz of Ropeadope Records, and by performing on the soundtrack to the Nick Jr. series The Backyardigans, with music co-written by Bernstein's former Lounge Lizards bandmate Evan Lurie.

Bernstein still considers Sex Mob, his 12-year-old quartet with saxophonist Briggan Krauss, bassist Tony Scherr and drummer Kenny Wollesen, to be home base. He claims that the group has stuck together "for love or money," which has meant lucrative European festival gigs or relaxed, regular hometown shows at Tonic. With the club closed and no imminent replacement in the offing, however, Bernstein had to find a venue when the busy foursome's schedules finally aligned. Hence this Ars Nova-produced show, which also features saxophonist Andrew D'Angelo's trio with drummer Mike Pride and until-recently-Philly-based bassist Evan Lipson; and the percussion duo of Philly's G. Calvin Weston and MMW drummer Billy Martin, both of whom are also Lounge Lizards alumni.

The key to Sex Mob's sound has been its wide-ranging take on music history, which has lent their very specific approach to music by Nirvana, Little Richard, John Barry and Duke Ellington, among countless others — there's even a version of "The Macarena." But despite the band's often smart-ass sense of humor, there's nothing the least bit mocking about their approach to the material.

"We've managed to create our own language, and very few bands get to do that," Bernstein says, pointing out that Sex Mob's humor and individuality has grown naturally out of the personalities involved. "That's just who we are as people. It's every musician's responsibility to re-create the music in their own image."

Bernstein takes an attitude hewn by involvement in '60s and '70s rock, but casts its sneering respect backward and forward along the history of jazz music. "When I got into 12th grade, I really discovered Duke Ellington in a major way," he recalls. "It was that kind of light turning on inside your head kind of thing, and I basically became a religious fanatic. I was on this dual path of leading my own life as a human being, but my music tastes were really classic."

Purists and traditionalists, who run rampant in the jazz community, may scoff at the Sex Mob take on the music, but Bernstein points out that older jazz fans often react strongly to Sex Mob, recognizing the obscure musical references. He doesn't see himself as being at odds with those sorts of traditionalists. "I'm a traditionalist," he insists, "I just have a different rhythm inside of me. And I always felt like I wanted to make music in my own rhythm."

(s_brady@citypaper.net)

Sex Mob plays Tue., Dec. 4, 8 p.m., with Martin/Weston Duo and Andrew D'Angelo Trio, $15, Johnny Brenda's, 1201 N. Frankford Ave., 215-739-9684, arsnovaworkshop.com.

 

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