Sex Mob

Sex Mob began merely as a setting to feature the slide trumpet of leader Steven Bernstein, but has grown into a band with a much larger mission: to put the fun back in jazz music. After assembling the band (Bernstein, slide trumpet; Briggan Krauss, alto sax; Tony Scherr, bass; Kenny Wollesen, drums), Sex Mob began a residency at the Knitting Factory, playing predominantly originals written by Bernstein. During a special evening of film music, the crowd went crazy for the "James Bond Theme," and Bernstein realized that the audience was much more attuned to their playing when they recognized the tune. The band started to expand their songbook, but not to the same old, tired jazz standards. Songs by Prince, the Grateful Dead, the Rolling Stones, and even the "Macarena" could find their way into a Sex Mob set, the only rule being that the song had to have such a strong melody that it could withstand serious deconstruction. Bernstein said in Jazz Asylum, "I realize that's what jazz musicians have always done. That's how Lester Young got popular; its how Charlie Parker got popular; it's how Miles Davis got popular; that's how John Coltrane got popular. They played the songs that everyone knew and because they could recognize the song, then that invited them into their style." Word of mouth began to spread about their live shows, with Bernstein's on-stage antics and the band's amazing musicianship as the focal points. Bernstein is one of the more active bandleaders out there, constantly dictating arrangements to the other musicians, and letting them have it when they don't deliver what he wants. They never rehearse and they never have a set list, which keeps things constantly fresh. Their weekly gigs eventually got them voted as New York City's best band in 2000. Sex Mob's...