Astral Project performs

Astral Project dazzled audiences Tuesday evening at KRC Catering.

Jazz from Bloomington President Monika Herzig described the group as a “fabulous jazz band from New Orleans” and said she was happy to have them play for Jazz from Bloomington’s 10th season of performance.

“They’re the finest jazz group in the world,” author David Lasocki said.

He said he has heard them play many times, and he is writing a book about the band titled “A Higher Fusion: The New Orleans Modern Jazz Group Astral Project at 30.”

“They play a funky kind of New Orleans jazz, but it has a very spiritual basis,” Lasocki said.

The Astral Project is a four-piece jazz band from New Orleans  that features saxophone, guitar, bass and drums.

The group has been together since 1978, and the newest member, Steve Masakowski, joined the band 21 years ago. 

The group has released nine different recordings and contains members from around the United States.

Tony Dagradi, the group’s saxophonist, was raised in New Jersey before moving to New Orleans in 1977, a year before the group was founded.

Steve Masakowski, guitarist, and John Vidacovich, drummer, are both native to New Orleans. Bassist James Singleton grew up in Springfield, Ill.

The band performed in a wide-open area in KRC Catering, faced by a sea of white folding chairs filled with audience members of all ages.

Young jazz players sat in the front row to watch the band, and Herzig said they would be the musicians performing in the near future.

For Ken Grooms, a Bloomington resident, Astral Project was a new experience.

“We saw the drummer backing up piano players in Cincinnati,” Grooms said. “I didn’t know he was the drummer for the Astral Project, so that’s icing on the cake.”