Joined together in holy matrimony, rock music and classical composition have generally produced lumpy mismatches that end in messy and embarrassing divorce. Songwriters coming to rock from classical backgrounds are too geeky to arrive at anything hard-edged enough to work. Rock musicians who turn to classical composition wind up affixing weighty muzak onto a structure that can't hold it, sinking the entire operation. Where the Corners Meet by the Jason Seed Elixir Ensemble manages to avoid both deal-breakers through commingling, instead of simply annexing idioms. Although some of the group divides their time between the Ensemble and the Chicago Milwaukee Symphonies, they are not session players for hire — these are all band members in good standing. On pieces like “Strung Theory” and “The Debate,” this commitment is most in evidence. The composition is played with all the precision of an orchestral section and all of the force of a working rock band.

In Seed's writing, there's a strange variety of influences: The Average White Band, Lou Reed, Donald Fagen, Bela Bartok, Frank Zappa and maybe even ,James Chance's band the Contortions.They cohere because Seed brings so much intelligence to the compositions. He's also a canny,… read more »