Mike Stark, left, with Brian Wilson (aka Willie B), in Tzar. Stark's Friday night incarnation of the Orbiting Art Ensemble will include Richie Stearns, Matt Saccuccimorano, and Brian Dozoretz. Photo by Ed Dittenhoefer / Free Air Photo
By Luke Z. Fenchel
Note: This article, in a dramatically different form, originally appeared in a February issue of The Ithaca Journal. Please forgive the slight incongruities in the text.
The local scene in Ithaca, which typically shines in the warmth of the summer sun and spends the chillier months out of sight, has recently reveled itself in a pleasant and luminous alignment of stars.
Ithaca’s best music this winter has come not from a single band, but rather a community of musicians who travel in various trajectories around keyboardist Mike Stark. Catch it at 9:30pm, Friday, February 19, 2010 before it disappears from the night sky.
About the Winter 2009 Residency at The Lost Dog (nee WildFire Lounge)
Called the Orbiting Art Ensemble, this conglomeration of the area’s finest musicians functions both as a residency and a showcase. Each week, since this incarnation’s inaugural performance on November 9, 2009 Stark invites a new group of players to sit in with him for a night of loosely orchestrated improvisation. The result is the restrained chaos of untethered professionals — while it may be careening, it is never aimless.
The cast of characters has included some of the best-known local musicians: J-San (as well as members of his Analogue Sons), Jennie Lowe (Stearns), Mary Lorson, and Hank Roberts; and has been anchored by drummers Zaun Marshburn and Matt Saccuccimorano and bassists Brian Dozoretz and Walt Lorenzut. While many of the names are familiar, the line-ups are sometimes unexpected. However, this mash-up of talents always manages to produce spontaneous and gratifying performances. Artists are often inspired by their peers to leave their niches and ascend to new forms of expression.
Formation and Evolution of the O.A.E. Universe
The Orbiting Art Ensemble began as an well-fated convergence in the area’s musical galaxy. In 1999, Stark invited his friends to join him for a regular night of improvisation, which would simultaneously serve as a testament to the overlapping affiliations of its constituent players and provide an outlet for free-spirited association.
“For a long time it was all improvisational drum and bass, and electronic,” Lorenzut noted, “and each session was 100% improv.”
“That incarnation was a bigger and unwieldy group,” Saccuccimorano noted. “There were always five or six people, and the venue would shift from Castaways to the ABC Café.”
A release, titled O.A.E.:A.B.C. followed in 2001, as Stark made it part of his mission to record the frequent sessions. “I attempted to record whenever we got together,” Stark said. “And I still do. I like to set it up to document and archive it, and whether or not we do something with it, I try to check in with it if I have time.”
Following the success of Stark’s myriad projects— he is an integral member of the Johnny Dowd Band, J-San and the Analogue Sons, Jennie Lowe and the Fire Choir, Wingnut and many others — the O.A.E. took a backseat to recording and touring with other groups to which he contributed. “But we always would try to resurrect the group at least once a year,” Stark was quick to note. This last August, the O.A.E. came together when Willie B — Brian Wilson — returned briefly from his tour with Jamie Lidell.
The winter saw an unusual opening in Stark’s generally busy touring schedule. “Because I wasn’t gigging as much, I decided to take time to record and document my music,” Stark said. “But I also wanted to keep things tight, and to keep us all in our toes.”
“[The] Tuesday gig functions as a residency but Mike has the burden of making each week different,” Saccuccimorano said. “It’s complicated by the idea of making different bands.” Stark added: “Because I was or am in so many different bands, and involved in so many different projects, I thought it would be good for an audience to get a glimpse of the different folks I work with.”
“The common thread is the improvisation,” Lorenzut said. “So there’s quite a different line-up from week to week, but there’s a lot of overlap as well.” Saccuccimorano and Dozoretz are almost as frequent fixtures as Stark, and it is a real pleasure to see such a talented rhythm shine alongside the many other guests. “But Mike is the real thread,” Saccuccimorano, “the rest is more a function of availability.”
Stark’s Gravitational Pull and Spheres of Influence
Though the Orbiting Art Ensemble is clearly the work of collaboration, it’s hard not to see it as Stark’s ideal project. The weekly sessions have demonstrated Stark’s malleability, and his commitment to both his community and his art. His playing emanates self-assuredness; his delicate approach is evident in every phrase and musical idea. His ecumenical musical taste doesn’t undercut his prodigious performances; ultimately the diversity of the rotating cast underscores his vast talent as a soloist, and as a collaborator.
Occasionally the music of the O.A.E. is a little too loud for the room, and all too often — perhaps because of its Tuesday booking — the room is tragically sparse. But for many weeks in its almost three month run, the Ensemble plays to a packed house, and the group bristles with an astounding energy. Even on the rare occasion that the number of performers almost outnumber audience members — on the stellar horns date this week, and during an unfathomably great straight ahead jazz appearance by a re-worked Wingnut performing Hank Roberts’ material without Hank Roberts, the ideas spring forth like comets lighting up the Commons.