orchestrion

See, for instance, the music room, where a brass-looking, water-spewing elephant trunk fuels the instruments, including an ornate orchestrion.

The orchestrion may not be to all tastes, but its use in these concerts is emblematic of Mr Metheny’s fresh approach to contemporary jazz, which shows no signs of wilting after more than four decades.

The five-man Unity Group could well be the only one on America’s summer concert circuit that peps up its performances with an orchestrion.

There were a couple of twinkling orchestrion interludes before Mr. Metheny stepped to the fore with a serrated tone and a fiery attack.

The biggest moments included four additional musicians, straining mightily, along with a partial reconstruction of Mr. Metheny’s orchestrion, the whiz-bang electromechanical orchestra that he unveiled four years ago and has kept refining since.