The Los Angeles Improvisation Ensemble shatters norms and transcends genres with their debut album: “Insubordinate Lunar Transgressions.” This collection is less a conventional album than a daring experiment in sound and collective intuition.
Released on Denouement Records, this release brings together four virtuosic players: Robert Hardt on woodwinds, Louis Stewart on piano, Andrew Shulman on cello, and Michael Valerio on bass. for a series of spontaneous creations that defy easy categorization.
– https://www.amazon.com/Angeles-Improvisation-Ensemble-Insubordinate-Transgressions/dp/B0F8PPW2HY
There are no charts, no arrangements, and no creative directors to constrain the group; what unfolds across these 13 tracks is pure improvisation, a vivid dialogue that slips effortlessly between jazz, classical, avant-garde, and even world music idioms.
What makes the record so arresting is the way these musicians channel freedom into cohesion. Despite the absence of structure, their interplay never feels chaotic. Instead, there’s a remarkable unity in how they listen and respond to one another, weaving lines that often sound composed in the moment.
The range of themes covered here is so wide that you’ve got to listen to it to understand just how broad the subject matter is. Pieces like “Sergei’s Diabolical Circus” and “Igor’s Infernal Rite to Sacrificial Square Dancing” take inspiration from classical music, paying homage to the pioneers of dissonance; Stravinsky and Prokofiev.
https://www.last.fm/music/Los+Angeles+Improvisation+Ensemble/Insubordinate+Lunar+Transgressions
Similar influences are apparent throughout the album, with pieces hinting at the works of Mingus and Copland. Even the titular track appears to be inspired by Schoenberg. But don’t tie these nods to the great with a lack of originality, as there’s no shortage of innovation on the lighthearted pieces like “Solar Voyage” and “When Johnny Comes Running Home”
The result is a body of work that’s at once unpredictable and deeply satisfying, filled with textures that are rich, elastic, and consistently engaging. The sequencing keeps the listener off guard but never alienated, moving seamlessly from humor to intensity, from airy chamber-like passages to dense collisions of sound.
Overall, Insubordinate Lunar Transgressions is an incredibly rewarding album, with fresh discoveries at every turn. For those willing to surrender to its unpredictability, it offers a transportive experience: sometimes whimsical, sometimes dissonant, but always alive.