Recorded beneath Chicago's iconic domed sky, this captivating live album captures Rob Mazurek's Exploding Star Orchestra in their most fitting environment. The veteran cornetist and composer has long been fascinated with cosmic themes, and performing under the simulated universe of the Adler Planetarium creates the perfect backdrop for his expansive musical vision.

The Exploding Star Orchestra represents Mazurek's most ambitious project - a large ensemble that can swell to over a dozen members, featuring an eclectic mix of jazz veterans, electronic musicians, and avant-garde experimentalists. This particular performance showcases the group's ability to move seamlessly between meditative ambient passages and explosive collective improvisation, all while the planetarium's projections create an immersive visual component.

Mazurek's compositional approach here balances written material with extended improvisational sections, allowing individual voices to emerge from the ensemble texture. His cornet work remains central, but the true star is the collective sound - layers of electronics, strings, horns, and percussion that ebb and flow like celestial bodies in motion. The acoustics of the planetarium add natural reverb that enhances the music's otherworldly quality.

This is essential listening for fans of large-ensemble jazz and cosmic music, offering a unique document of experimental music performed in an equally experimental space.