Steven Bernstein's Sexmob

About

Trumpeter Steven Bernstein ’s week with his long-running band Sexmob kicks off with two nights devoted to the Bay Area's explosive psychedelic rock of the 1960s with guest guitarist Liberty Ellman , known for his work with Henry Threadgill, Wadada Leo Smith, and Myra Melford. Nights three and four explore classic Latin Soul music of the 1960s and 1970 with guest percussionist John Santos . The quartet has honed a singular sound over two decades marked by high-energy, protean group improvisation and rollicking grooves unlike any other band on the planet. Originally formed for a weekly residency at New York’s Knitting Factory, they’ve earned a rabid fan base with boisterous deconstructions of tunes by a shaggy menagerie of pop acts, from Abba and James Brown to Prince and Elvis Presley, and subversively re-imagined film music of Nino Rota and John Barry. They’ve released ten superlative albums for the Ropeadope, Columbia, Rex, Thirsty Ear, and Royal Potato labels. A master of the previously obscure slide trumpet, Berkeley-born Steven Bernstein is a fearless improviser, composer and arranger whose résumé includes collaboration with Bill Frisell, Levon Helm, Lou Reed, Linda Ronstadt, Henry Butler, Leonard Cohen, and Allen Toussaint. He leads the cinematically inspired band Sexmob, the Millennial Territory Orchestra – an ensemble rooted in the territory bands of the 1920s and 30s, and the Butler-Bernstein Hot 9 devoted to the early jazz of Fats Waller and Jelly Roll Morton.