Rob Mazurek
Rob Mazurek is an American cornetist, composer and multidisciplinary artist, and one of the leading figures in avant-garde jazz and contemporary experimental music. His career has been shaped by sonic exploration and the intersection of free jazz, electronics, improvisation, contemporary composition and visual arts.
Closely connected to Chicago’s creative scene from the beginning of his career, in the 1990s he launched projects such as Chicago Underground and Isotope 217, which helped expand the boundaries between jazz, experimentation and post-rock. His later period in Brazil opened up new directions in his musical language, incorporating rhythms and sounds that he further developed in projects such as São Paulo Underground and Black Cube SP.
One of the central projects of his career is the Exploding Star Orchestra, an ensemble founded in 2005 and conceived as an open and constantly evolving formation. Through it, Mazurek has brought together key figures in improvisation and experimental music, including Roscoe Mitchell, Pharoah Sanders and Bill Dixon, around compositions that combine orchestral structures, improvisation and sonic exploration.
His work also extends beyond music. Mazurek works with painting, installations, video and audiovisual projects that engage in dialogue with his compositions and live performances. His projects have been presented at major international venues and events, including the Venice Biennale, the Art Institute of Chicago and the Banlieues Bleues festival in Paris.
