Artist

John Lurie National Orchestra

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Parallel to the final version of the Lounge Lizards in the early 1990s, John Lurie formed a smaller group, the John Lurie National Orchestra, with Lurie on alto and soprano saxes, Grant Calvin Weston on drums, and Billy Martin on congas, timbales, kalimba, and other small percussion. Unlike the tightly-arranged music of the Lounge Lizards, the Orchestra's music was heavily improvised and compositions were credited to all three musicians. They released an album (Men With Sticks, Crammed Discs 1993) and recorded music for the Fishing With John TV series.
In February 2014 the Orchestra released The Invention of Animals, a collection of out-of-print studio tracks and unreleased live recordings from the '90s. Columnist Mel Minter wrote:
"This new release may require a reassessment of Lurie the saxophonist because the playing is engagingly fluid, inventive, and visceral—and well worth revisiting. . . . The emotional immediacy of Lurie's playing – and that of his partners – makes for riveting stuff. Think of his sax not so much as a musical instrument, but instead, as a window with a clear view of his soul."
Jeff Jackson of Jazziz added, "The resulting music is delicate, primal and utterly gorgeous."

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