Getting in the groove

One of downtown New York City's most popular jazz groups, Sex Mob, led by composer and arranger Steven Bernstein, comes to Prague this weekend accompanied by Brooklyn's finest, DJ Olive.

Sex Mob features Bernstein on slide trumpet, Briggan Krauss on alto saxophone, Tony Scherr on bass and Kenny Wollesen on drums - all long-established players on the NYC downtown scene, co-playing and recording with the likes of Marc Ribot, John Lurie and John Zorn.

The group was formed in 1995, and, following the trend of jazz groups doing cover versions of iconic pop and rock songs, their early sets included songs by Sly Stone, Prince, The Beatles and Smashing Pumpkins. Over time, their repertoire expanded to include music from James Bond soundtracks and sultry, erratic Duke Ellington covers. Their last release, Sexotica (Thirsty Ear Records, 2006), was a tribute to the tiki-lounge music composer Martin Denny.

Sex Mob has also emerged as a fiery avant-garde jazz group with their own songs, mostly rambunctious, improvised affairs, though without any of the overly self-conscious seriousness of most avant-garde jazz. Their team-up with DJ Olive is a perfect match: He's a sly, renowned sampler and producer keen on slow polyrhythmic grooves from Latin jazz (boogaloo), African, funk, dub and dub-step beats.

DJ Olive studied art, painting and photography in college; he began his DJing as sound installations that evolved into gigs as a club DJ only years later. He was adopted, like DJ Spooky, by the lower East Side's indie rock scene led by Thurston Moore of Sonic Youth, mixing ambient sounds, noise and his own dose of polyrhythmic beats for parties, galleries and gigs.

While Sex Mob has never played Prague or the Czech Republic, DJ Olive toured the Czech Republic with the critically acclaimed NYC-based trumpet player Dave Douglas and his quartet Keystone in 2007. Their show in Brno was recorded and later broadcast on late-night Czech TV. A few years before that, he was in Prague with Uri Caine's Bach project, doing the Goldberg Variations.

Every project and performance is unique for DJ Olive, whether solo or with a live group. "It's all different. It's always different," he tells The Prague Post. "Every day is different. If you are an improviser, it is illegal to play the same thing twice," he adds with a laugh.

"Volume also has a big effect on what I can do with electronics and vinyl. If it is quiet, I have many more options. If it is wicked loud, it can be quite hard to use vinyl."

Personal factors also figure in the mix. "My sound changes depending on what I had for dinner, or if I had sex," he confides. "Who I play with is always like a conversation, and I must listen if I want to speak. That said, many of the musicians I work with have some structure and a way to fit me into that structure. This is always unique to every project."

DJ Olive describes Sex Mob's sound as "kinda downtown rock-jazz improv funky." As for where he fits in, he says, "I'm like the wild card and will try to fit in where I can, bringing a sonic and soundscape feeling to their set. There is much real-time live directing on stage, so I'll need to keep on my toes and stay in the moment if I hope to stay with the changes."

For this tour, he's bringing vinyl as well as Ableton Live (sequencer software) with stereo analog delay, a Vestax PMC 55 mixer, two Technics SL1200 turntables and a MIDI controller. "I've also got a mic and a Peruvian bird whistle," he adds, not joking.

Teaming up with Sex Mob is essentially an experiment that can lead anywhere musically. But, with the band's like-minded love of getting everyone in the audience to shake their butts on the dance floor, their show is likely to transform the dinner club Jazz Dock into a funky jazz dance-hall party.

"I can't promise anything," DJ Olive says. "I'm only a side musician in this project. It's their tour, not mine, so I would never dream of taking over their sound. I can say this with all my heart, though: I sure hope that's what happens. Whoot!"

Tony Ozuna can be reached at
features@praguepost.com