The Steve Lehman octet is comprised of an all-star assemblage of performer/improvisers who represent the absolute state-of-the-art on their respective instruments.
The octet's debut recording Travail, Transformation & Flow (Pi, 2009), was called the #1 Jazz/Pop CD of 2009 by The New York Times and described as "a breathtaking accomplishment, a blast of urban futurism at once hypnotic, kinetic and kaleidoscopic. And funky."
The album was called one of the "Top 10 CDs of 2009" by over 30 publications, including ArtForum, Newsweek, and The Village Voice.
The octet has received an abundance of critical acclaim for its synthesis of spectral harmony and improvisation.