Ex Machina
"Rather than trying to reproduce what humans already do, I prefer to give the machine things that humans can't do, like managing harmonic spectrums as they interact with a soloist." So says Frédéric Maurin, Artistic Director of the Orchestre National de Jazz, regarding this exceptional adventure first performed at Radio France's Festival Présences in 2022. The talented musicians of the ONJ have embarked Steve Lehmann, a saxophonist who follows in the footsteps of pioneers like Eric Dolphy and Steve Coleman.
L'Orchestre National de Jazz © S. Gripoix
Resulting from a collaboration with the Musical Representations team at IRCAM, and the Reach project, Ex Machina explores the possibilities of interaction between instrumentalists and the machine within a large jazz orchestra. Using the Dicy2 environment designed by Jérôme Nika, the computer becomes, in turn, a generator of electronic orchestrations and an improvisation partner for the musicians.
Orchestre National de Jazz
Frédéric Maurin artistic director
Jérôme Nika creation of generative electronics and artistic collaboration
Serge Lemouton IRCAM electronis
Steve Lehman, Frédéric Maurin compositions
