Last Monday night, I caught the final of four performances from the New York jazz quartet Sex Mob at the Dakota. I had not heard of this group prior to seeing their name listed on a website, and wasn’t quite sure what to expect. Any expectations I could have had were fulfilled and exceeded with appreciation and enjoyment.

I’d heard of the Dakota before, and now I know why. Located in downtown Minneapolis on Nicollet Mall, this restaurant, bar, and jazz club is an ideal and unique venue. The set-up provided for an intimate performance, and the performers’ most minute actions and facial expressions were clearly visible, as I was seated a few feet away from the stage. The audience wasn’t large; I would guess about thirty people, but it felt just right.

The main reason I enjoyed the show was because Sex Mob, despite their questionable name, turned out to be a group of outrageously terrific musicians. Sex Mob was formed by Steven Bernstein as a means for him to develop a slide-trumpet repertoire. He is one of the only slide-trumpet virtuosos in the world. The remainder of the band consists of Briggan Krauss on alto saxophone, stand-up bassist Tony Scherr, and drummer Kenny Wollesen.

The band started off with swing from Harry “Sweets” Edison. They then went on to play straight through several songs without pausing to break or to tell the audience what they were playing. I do know that they played a song called “I Like It Like That” and a piece by Jerry Garcia. Most of the tunes sounded familiar, but I couldn’t pinpoint what any of them were. Bernstein explained his playlist selections, “At first we played mostly original music but I saw that people were really reacting to the covers we played, so I developed those ideas, adding material from artists like Sly Stone, the Meters, and Smashing Pumpkins.”

Sex Mob chooses to play covers from myriad influences including classic jazz artists such as Count Basie and Duke Ellington as well as contemporary pop musicians like Abba, Prince, The Rolling Stones, and Nirvana.

Sex Mob’s sound is difficult to describe because it’s like nothing I’ve ever heard. It’s definitely not the old standard jazz that my mother listens to, but it’s definitely not the New Age, strange, improv style that I can’t stand. They can range from mellow, wispy, and reminiscent to fast, lively, and loud. More than anything, Sex Mob is improvisational. For one piece, Wollesen played a beat and then the rest of the band responded in unison. They went back and forth like this for an impressively long time. Everyone had a lot of long solos, and there were a surprising amount of bass solos. As I took notes on my little beverage napkin, I scribbled down, “exceptional.” I realize now that this was an excellent word choice.

Sex Mob set off happy vibes, and I kept thinking that they seemed childish in nature. The band members smiled to themselves and each other when they would play something different or amusing during a solo. One could really sense that Sex Mob was happy being on stage playing music and being together. The audience was filled with their energy as well; as I looked around, I saw heads bobbing and necks swaying with the beat.

I would strongly recommend that anyone who enjoys music keep their eyes open for an opportunity to hear Sex Mob. Their newest album is Dime Rhyme Palace (Rope a Dope, 2003), and they have a whole collection of previously-released albums behind them. They’re not corporately sponsored, so I’m not certain how available their album is, but I know I will be on the lookout for it. Innovative, fresh-sounding, artistic bands sometimes seem hard to come by, but bands like Sex Mob keep the horizon optimistic.