The Musical Elitists25 Zorn Albums for Rohit
Bar Kokhba Sextet - Lucifer: Book of Angels Vol. 10 (50th Birthday Series) 2008
Buck Jam Tonic - Buck Jam Tonic 2003
Derek Bailey, George Lewis, John Zorn - Yankees 1983
John Zorn - Alhambra Love Songs 2009
John Zorn - The Big Gundown: John Zorn Plays the Music of Ennio Morricone 1985
John Zorn - The Bribe 1998
John Zorn - The Circle Maker - 1998
John Zorn - Filmworks X - In the Mirror of Maya Deren 2001
John Zorn - Filmworks XIII - Invitation to a Suicide 2002
John Zorn - The Gift 2001
John Zorn - I.A.O. 2002
]John Zorn (Naked City) - Naked City 1989
John Zorn - New Traditions in East Asian Bar Bands 1995
John Zorn - Redbird 1995
John Zorn - Six Litanies for Heliogabalus 2007
John Zorn- Spy Vs. Spy : Music of Ornette Coleman
John Zorn & Dave Douglas- The Stone Issue One
John Zorn & Bobby Previte - Euclid's Nightmare 1997
John Zorn/Electric Masada - At the Mountains of Madness 2004
John Zorn & Fred Frith - The Art of Memory 1994
John Zorn, George Lewis, Bill Frisell - News for Lulu 1988
Masada - Masada Vol. 2: Beit 1995
Pain Killer - Execution Ground 1994
The Sonny Clark Memorial Quartet - Voodoo 1985
Wadada Leo Smith, Susie Ibarra, John Zorn - 50th Birthday Celebration Vol. 8
count =25
Zorn, obviously, is a touchstone for many people interested in expanding the language of what we--in our admittedly limited way--call jazz.
The suggestions here were assembled for our Music Advice Center colleague Rohit, who casually asked for a few suggestions of where to start with the massive catalog of Zorn's recordings. The list above is alphabetic (according to our traditional nomenclature) and the list below is chronological by submission by our contributors: matetoth, trombipulation, djjazzpants, cjcarne, and me, beelzbubba.
Some of the reviews of the albums are personal opinion, and others, including the cover images, are from All Music Guide. Minimal editing to the original posts was provided by beelz. Original posts can be found starting at: http://www.last.fm/group/Music+Advice+Center/forum/40095/_/171367/40#f9767340.
Voodoo is Zorn with his cool-bop best manners on, proving false the canard that avant-garde players can't play. Zorn and collaborators Horvitz, Drummond & Previte roll through 7 Sonny Clark tunes with aplomb. Clark was largely unknown to me before I picked up this album on Black Saint. That didn't hold for long. I have to say I play Zorn's version of Clark as much as I play Sonny himself.
Filmworks X: In the Mirror of Maya Deren is one of the beautiful, lyrical, haunting Filmworks series, and one that I mentioned above. Here Zorn plays piano, with Jamie Saft on organ, Erik Friedlander on cello and Cyro Baptisto on percussion. AMG calls this the most accessible of the Filmworks series and I guess I won't argue. This is a stellar album.
Next a bit of quiet, minimalist Zorn.
You can't get wider extremes in one artist, I don't think. Redbird is a minimalist tribute to the painter Agnes Martin. This is Zorn as 20th century composer, he doesn't play here.
Pain Killer, for most of its brief life, was Zorn plus Bill Laswell and Napalm Death drummer Mick Harris. Execution Ground was their best, imo, and often gets categorized as death metal, but I have to believe most death-metal heads would argue. It definitely has elements of thrash jazz, ala Brotzmann and Laswell's Last Exit.
News For Lulu
Review by Scott Yanow
© 2009 Macrovision Corporation. All Rights Reserved.
Avant-garde altoist John Zorn teams up with trombonist George Lewis and guitarist Bill Frisell to form a unique trio. Without the benefit of piano, bass, or drums, they interpret the hard bop compositions of Kenny Dorham, Hank Mobley, Sonny Clark, and Freddie Redd, generally not even the better-known ones. The performances are quite concise (Dorham's "Windmill" is covered in 40 seconds), respectful to the melodies, and unpredictable. There are hints of the avant-garde here and there, but also plenty of swinging, bop-oriented solos and coherent ensembles. Very intriguing music that is highly recommended to a wide audience of jazz and general listeners.
John Zorn & Fred Frith - The Art of Memory
Simply a great slab of improvisation from two masters of the art.
AMG Review
Based upon the ancient Roman methodology for remembering architectural sites and the meanings built into their structures, guitarist Fred Frith and saxophonist John Zorn pull out all the stops in creating a body of improvisation that does not rely on symbolic invitations or responses, but is instead a collaboration that builds an imposing musical structure from forgotten trends, hidden sonic languages, and metaphorical tonal construction. From the opening moments of "The Combiner," where Frith twines his guitar from the table into a rope with Zorn's microphonics and multivalent scalar invention, you can hear a sort of communication being authored just beyond your reach. That the dynamics of the collaboration match so perfectly, offering glimpses of both restraint and tension before obliterating them with humor and pure aggression, should be no surprise -- the pair sought to do this from the outset. In "The Ladder," Frith moves himself into a corner with funky soul chords and splattered arpeggios that Zorn picks up and transforms into a mutant vanguard swing. The tempo is dizzying as Frith rips open his chords for their found sonic elements and Zorn goes in to shore up the idea, flipping it over and turning it inside out as only a master improviser can do. By the time you reach "The Fountain and the Mirror," the players have switched roles many times, each playing support and leader, turning what were merely notions for collaborating along a certain path into audible bodies with their own pulses, minds, and blood. This is a revelatory album, and a near matchless collaboration.
John Zorn - The Big Gundown
Something completely different from the tough improvised music of the above - this is Zorn showing off his fun side. A veritable plethora of downtown musicians shine on these re-imaginings of Morricone's great scores. I got this when it came out and it was one of my earliest introductions to the 'avant-garde'; it remains a favourite.
AMG Review
On this intriguing concept album, altoist John Zorn (who also "sings" and plays harpsichord, game calls, piano, and musical saw) utilizes an odd assortment of open-minded avant-garde players (with a couple of ringers) on nine themes originally written for Italian films by Ennio Morricone, plus his own "Tre Nel 5000." These often-radical interpretations (which Morricone endorsed) keep the melodies in mind while getting very adventurous. Among the musicians heard on the colorful and very eccentric set (which utilizes different personnel and instrumentation on each track) are guitarists Bill Frisell and Vernon Reid, percussionist Bobby Previte, keyboardist Anthony Coleman, altoist Tim Berne, pianist Wayne Horvitz, organist Big John Patton, and even Toots Thielemans on harmonica and whistling among many others. There are certainly no dull moments on this often-riotous program.
John Zorn - The Circle Maker
This is a two disk set of what might be called chamber jazz. Zorn composes but does not play. The musicians on disk 1 are the Masada String Trio: Cohen, Friedlander, Feldman. On disk 2 is the Bar Kokhba Sextet--the string trio plus Ribot, Baptiste, and drummer Joey Baron. The tunes are from the Masada Songbook. Cohen, Dave Douglas, Baron, and Zorn put out something like 20 Masada quartet disks (Beit / Two is my favorite); by the time of the albums Filmworks VIII and Bar Kokhba, Zorn was reimagining the Masada work performed by other voices. The Circle Maker is as near-perfect a recording as I can imagine.
John Zorn - Six Litanies for Heliogabalus 2007
Let's jump ahead to some newer Zorn, and some that he actually plays on. (I found myself picking some favorites but without the trademark alto.) This is sort of a third in a trilogy, the first two Moonchild and the second Astronome are the trio of Mike Patton, Trevor Dunn, and Joey Baron. For Heliogabus, add Jamie Saft on organ & keyboards, Zorn on Alto, and Ikue Mori on electronics, and then toss a trio of female voices for an otherworldly choir. As the AMG reviewer Thom Jurek tells us, Zorn states in his liner notes to Astronome that his objective was to create "a methodology 'combining the hypnotic intensity of ritual (composition) the spontaneity of magic (improvisation) in a modern musical format (rock).'"
Review
This 1997 duet recording between drumming ace Bobby Previte and saxophonist John Zorn is indicative -- pretty much -- of what Zorn's music was like at the time: There are plenty of hard bop linguistics mixed in with film noir themes and screeching, burning skronk. There are also short, lucid moments of melodic tranquility that prefigure much of Zorn's work from 1999 on. But mostly, this series of duets reveals something else, that two players from similar backgrounds, who have played in the same bands together and can understand each other on an almost symbiotic level, can still approach the same musical problem from two different sides and come up with the same answer. Nowhere is this clearer than on sections ten through 14 (there are 27 sections in all), which total about seven of the CD's 41 minutes. Here, Previte hears Zorn insistently and responds with short, crisp rim shots, rolling tom-toms, and scattershot cymbal runs that tend to stretch out the time, turn it loose from its constraints inside the work, and move forward into whatever frame Zorn chooses next. For his part, Zorn hears the thrumming of the cymbals and decides to speed up the piece in order to match Previte's double time. They both arrive in the pocket at the same time and kick the energy into an overdriven state of chaotic -- yet jubilant -- free improv, where there are no ties to gravity at all until Previte introduces a tom-tom and Zorn responds with a gorgeous angular legato. This is only one of dozens of surprises on Euclid's Nightmare. Zorn fans will be familiar with the level of histrionics employed here, while followers of Previte's more refined work may be put off by the constant atonality of the work.
Buck Jam Tonic is a double album of improvised music by John Zorn, Bill Laswell & Tatsuya Nakamura . The album was released on the Japanese Wilddisc label in 2003 and is comprised of one disc mixed in Tokyo and another mixed in New York City. A vinyl edition was also released containing only the Tokyo mix.
AMG reviewer Stacia Proefrock writes:"Themes of beauty, sexuality, and violence run throughout, the first and last pieces maintaining a narrative quality while "Hwang Chin-Ee" consists of short lyric pieces. The album as a whole is quite moving; it often contains a fragile beauty like a child on the verge of bursting into tears. This is one of John Zorn's greatest achievements to date." That about sums it up. Fred Frith, Bill Frisell, Anthony Coleman and Wayne Horvitz, Zorn, Joey Baron & Samm Bennett.
As far as I'm concerned, get any/all of the 50th Birthday Celebration series, recorded at Tonic in NYC in September 2003. I think I have them all. OK, I'm not really keen on the Masada Guitars 50th Birthday, but maybe you will be. In any case, this one, with Wadada Smith and Susie Ibarra, flat out kills for fans of free improvisation. For the first set, we have a reprise of the Zorn/Previte alto & drum symbiosis. The second set adds Smith's trumpet to the mix. The finale Full Fathom Five is a raucous romp.
I love that Zorn treats a lot of his music/compositions as repertoire, to be replayed and reconfigured for different timbres/voices. Case in point:
Masada, Beit was the first exposure I had to Zorn where I first started to "get it." I'm a huge Ornette fan, but Spy Vs. Spy just hit me wrong. I haven't revisited that one in years--maybe I'd think differently now. But I paid full price for it and it wasn't cheap. Not many places were stocking Zorn in the late 80s. But now it was 1995, and my town has a well known summer art fair, which also serves as an excuse for merchants to have "sidewalk sales." Tower was having a huge sell off of inventory, which meant in those days that a label was getting new distribution and they sold off the old copies from one mfr/distr in anticipation of stock from a new source. DIW--the publisher of my copy--was at that time Japan only, and these imports were astronomically priced, but on that day, DIW were like $5 or $7 apiece. I picked uup some David Murray, Lester Bowie, Butch Morris, and oh yeah, since I really liked Dave Douglas and Joey Baron, I figured I'd give Zorn another chance. This disk, Beit, was the impetus for me to begin to tell any/everyone I knew who was interested in excellent music that Zorn was the shit. No doubts about it. From the opening to the close, Beit grabbed me. This is a perfect quartet in the piano-less post-bop genre. There's obviously the Hebrew folk music influence, klezmer if you will, but filtered through Ornette and Berne and Hemphill. This quartet rocks, swings, blisters, and burns. From that moment, I've been hooked, and I've rarely been disappointed.
Now, 13 years later, Masada, Beit has been translated through the Bar Kokhba Sextet. Remember them? The Masada String Trio plus Ribot, Baron, and Saft? The Book of Angels series is fueled by Zorn's intense interest in Jewish mysticism, and here they take the earlier Masada book two and bring to it a chamber jazz elegance that loses very little in the translation. It worries me a little that some of my favorite Zorn albums are cataloged by AMG as among his most "accessible"--this one is no exception, they say you could play it for your grandmother & she'd get it. I dunno about that, but like Circle Maker, this is a gem.
The compositions on this soundtrack are great. Fantastic motives that crop up repeatedly in differents moods, with different instruments playing the leads. And the men playing those instruments are outstanding. I am not sure who deserves more credit on this recording, the composer or the musicians. Zorn does not play on this one, but 4/5 of the musicians (Marc Ribot-Guitar, Erik Friedlander-Cello, Trevor Dunn-Bass, Kenny Wolleson-Percussion) on it are Tzadik regulars, and the fifth man (Accordionist Rob Burger of the Tin Hat Trio) is fantastic.
Allmusic.com reviews:
For a change, the descriptor insert included in a Tzadik release isn't all hype. Alhambra Love Songs does indeed contain "some of the most beautiful and soothing music Zorn has ever written." This 11-cut set is an eclectic homage of sorts to the San Francisco Bay area and the musicians who have and continue to make it their home. Written for a piano trio consisting of Rob Burger, bassist Greg Cohen (who alternates between upright and electric), and drummer Ben Perowsky, what's most important to remember when popping this into the deck is that these are indeed "songs." They all have direct melodic themes, lyric harmony, and follow a linear trajectory from one place to another. Zorn puts that in the listener's ears on the very first cut, "Mountain View," dedicated to Vince Guaraldi. It doesn't merely nod to the late pianist and composer of the Charlie Brown television themes, it evokes him directly, utilizing his sense of lithe, lyric theme and simple rhythmic sensibility in a hummable melody. It's delightful. "Pacifica," dedicated to mystic Harry Smith, is more elliptical and mysterious in presentation, but just as melodic and accessible. And that's the point. The Tzadik insert also namechecks Ramsey Lewis and Henry Mancini as well as the words "easy listening mode," but these influences aren't all that pronounced. But this doesn't fall into the category of one of Zorn's challenging series of recordings, either. It is simply a set of gorgeous songs with a variety of jazz, television, cinematic, and landscape themes written into their melodies, all dedicated to various musicians, composers, actors, poets, and other persona whom Zorn holds in high regard. Some may wonder initially if this fits in best with The Gift or Dreamers, and it sounds nothing like either recording. These tunes -- be it the tender "Half Moon Bay" dedicated to poet and translator Lyn Hejinian, or "Moraga," scored for Clint Eastwood, which evokes both his cinematic work as an actor and his work as a composer, or the ever so brief and utterly lovely "Miramar," for Terry Riley, which envelope the listener in pulsing rhythmic repetition before whispering itself out on the individual notes of its chords -- all have the same effect: one of complete listening pleasure. These small tunes will get inside your head and remain there, prompting you to listen to this set over and again. Each track is different from the last in theme, mood, and construction, but follows its thematic strategy almost to a fault. The band is fantastic. Burger's percussive touch on the keys is a plus. He never hits too hard, but he's a very rhythmic player. Add to this the brushwork of Perowsky and the always inventive, sensitive, and often subtle work of Cohen, and you have a unit that can swing when the tune calls for it, let a piece breathe, or playfully get inside it. Alhambra Love Songs is a gem, and will literally bring joy to anyone who gives it an honest listen.
John Zorn's Bribe is a continuation and extension of his album Spillane. Like its predecessor, this album features almost the same lineup of extraordinary NYC improvisers including pianist Anthony Coleman, drummer Bobby Previte, organist Wayne Horvitz, turntablist Christian Marclay, and harpists Zeena Parkins and Carol Emanuel. Unlike the fast-spliced pace of Spillane, which functioned as its own narrative, the music on Bribe is allowed to stretch and develop because it was composed as a background for the dialogue in three 30-minute radio plays by Terry O'Reilly (it was later adapted to a stage production). O'Reilly described his creation as "low art; " along the lines of little respected categories such as pulp fiction and B-movies. Zorn then constructed appropriate music, continually switching styles and filling it with pop references. The overall mood of Bribe is also different from Spillane and much of Zorn's work (excluding Film Works, Vol. 7), in that it maintains a light-hearted approach, weaving music box chimes and carnival sounds into the music. A nicer mood pervades this release, yet given its kaleidoscopic and slightly demented tone, it certainly can't be described as relaxed. Then again, maybe "relaxed" isn't too far off, after all -- perhaps by playing a supporting role to the production's cast instead of driving the concept, the musicians were able to enjoy themselves a little more.
This list is showing me (beelz) two or three things, so far.
First, there are still new albums of Zorn's for me to go get. I don't have either of those last two Matetoth recommended. And I want them.
Second, this list is rapidly filling up and there are at least ten more that I think could go on the list (but in the end I think many are at least similar to other ones here and thus the intrepid explorer must go out and discover).
Third, I forget what third was.
So my latest two adds:
I was going to call this review Johnny Zorn meets Psycho-Surf. But let's see what AMG has to say. The review is by Sean Westergaard. He's been a disk jockey at our local free form radio station and used to work at the premier Ann Arbor record store, Schoolkids Records. SEan's a good guy. I believe him. Plus I've got the record and I have to say: Yep...
Review by Sean Westergaard
Shattering expectations has been a hallmark of John Zorn's career, but The Gift might surprise even longtime fans. It's basically Zorn's exotica record; a tribute to the sound made popular by the likes of Martin Denny and Les Baxter. A core band of Downtown heavyweights provide you with an easy-listening sound that conjures images of sand and surf, and warm summer nights. Of course, as conductor and arranger, Zorn is ultimately responsible for the sound, but what you hear is primarily the guitar of Marc Ribot, and the keyboards (mostly Wurlitzer and Farfisa) of Jamie Saft. Trevor Dunn, Joey Baron, and Cyro Baptista are the rhythm section, with Ned Rothenberg joining in on shakuhachi on one track, and another augmented by a string section and the trumpet of Dave Douglas. Zorn has been able to draw from an incredible talent pool for many years now, and always knows how to get fabulous performances out of them, no matter what the context. Although the New York scene is notorious for its noisemaking ability, people should stop being surprised at their ability to turn in beautiful, understated performances; and this recording is a prime example. The tunes have a laid-back beach vibe that cries out for cold beverages in the twilight. They succeed perfectly in creating the feel of classic exotica (à la Denny or Baxter), but still maintain their individual identities as players. Towards the end of the recording, the music takes a slightly spooky Morricone-esque turn (on "Bridge to the Beyond," the only track on which Zorn performs, on theremin and piano), but the reprise of "Makahaa" brings you right back to the islands. The Gift shows another more accessible side to John Zorn (see also Bar Kokhba and The Circle Maker). It might be said that he's mellowing with age, but expect the unexpected from Mr. Zorn. Despite the undeniable beauty of the music, underneath the pretty pink wrapping and bows of the outer slipcase, Zorn has included several paintings of young girls in the cover art that some people might find slightly disturbing, as if to underscore the idea that beauty itself is highly subjective.
Now, I have a video recording of Electric Masada at a jazz festival in Nancy, France. I don't have this recording made at two live dates in Moscow & Ljubljana, but again, I trust Westergaard and I count the DVD of Electric Masada as one of my favorite live albums. So go out on a limb with me here:
Review by Sean Westergaard
John Zorn's At the Mountains of Madness presents two sets (Moscow, Ljubljana) recorded at the end of a lengthy European tour. The band is exactly the same as on The 50th Birthday Celebration, Vol. 4 and many of the same tunes are performed, but the performances actually feel very different. Perhaps there was something of wanting to put on a good show for the Europeans vs. playing comfortably at home in familiar surroundings (at Tonic), but this set is a good deal rowdier than the 50th Birthday Celebration. Certainly, the band is at the top of their game after all the touring, and everyone seems to have kicked up the energy a notch or two. There's a lot more conducted improvisation than on the previous Electric Masada release. Ikue Mori's laptop contributions seem to play a more prominent role, and Marc Ribot does some thoroughly deranged things with a delay (which haven't been heard on an album before). Jamie Saft and Zorn are also in fine form and the rhythm section is amazing, especially the dual drum attack of Kenny Wollesen and Joey Baron. Thanks to their improvisational skills, you hardly notice that the program is much the same on both discs. Score another one for John Zorn and company. At the Mountains of Madness is a winner.
Allmusic.com:
A collective improvisation by Derek Bailey on acoustic and electric guitars, George Lewis on trombone, and John Zorn on alto and soprano saxes, clarinets, and game calls. Subtle, droll, hilarious takes on the trivia of baseball sounds: Lewis speaks through the trombone "ball one, ball one...." There are snippets of a slipping and sliding version of "Take Me out to the Ball Game" and so on. Sections are titled "City City City," "The Legend of Enos Slaughter," "Who's on First," followed by "On Golden Pond," a tongue-in-cheek tone poem of the flora and fauna and mosquitoes. "The Warning Track" is about a very tiny railroad system .
Spy Vs. Spy: Music of Ornette Coleman
Old school jazz fans might very well be horrified at this tribute to Ornette Coleman by saxophonist, experimentalist and musical deconstructionist extraordinaire John Zorn. Coleman's retooling of jazz syntax, his theories of harmolodic structure ... Full Descriptionand, moreover, the tenacity of his radical vision, have clearly had enormous influence on Zorn who, it might be said, has carried his mentor's torch into a chaotic musical universe that includes pop genres and hyperactive collage. Here Zorn applies his Coleman-inspired free-form ballistics to Coleman himself.
SPY VS. SPY features 17 Coleman compositions, sequenced chronologically with tracks ranging from 1958's SOMETHING ELSE to 1987's IN ALL LANGUAGES. But while the music here owes Coleman a debt in conception and attitude, it is far from a straightforward tribute. In fact, Zorn's approach borrows at least as much from hardcore thrash, as the songs are executed at a breakneck pace, with each collapsed to under three minutes of earth shaking drums, rumbling bass and squealing twin saxes. The set should prove of interest to Coleman collectors, Zorn fans and avant-noise enthusiasts.
Goldmine - Highly Recommended "...a masterpiece of mayhem."
Live Recording
-CD Universe Review
The Stone, Issue One
John Zorn / Dave Douglas | Tzadik (2006)
By Brian P. Lonergan
One of the more striking aspects of the playing on The Stone, Issue One, especially the interplay between altoist John Zorn and trumpeter Dave Douglas, is the sense of immediacy and transparency about the music. It's as if you have a clear window into the improvisatory act, witnessing pure, unpremeditated creation as it happens for the very first time.
Recorded at the nascent Alphabet City club known as The Stone, this disc is essentially an untitled suite of alternately serene, grooving and anguished music, with Zorn and Douglas joined by Mike Patton (voice), Rob Burger (organ, electric piano), Bill Laswell (bass) and Ben Perowsky (percussion). The Stone was voted one of AAJ:New York's Best Venues for 2005, and with this special release to benefit the club, it's easy to see why.
The "Introduction" creates a tranquil ambience filled with shimmering organ chords and gentle electric piano tones. But that serenity is soon shattered by “Interlude 1†and a rising, anxious howl that opens up the tormented world of Patton' visceral and spastic extreme vocals. (Picture the cartoon character the Tazmanian Devil in violent death throes and you're about halfway there.)
By "Part One" the third track, the full ensemble finally joins together. Laswell's bass, Perowsky's drums and Burger's organ create a spacey groove above which Zorn's alto and Douglas' trumpet dance in intervals that sound plucked from the Middle East or perhaps North Africa. Some extreme sax technique leads to another brief 'Interlude" where it's often difficult to tell sax from trumpet from voice.
"Part Two" provides another loose framework for the horn players to explore extended, thoughtful and impassioned solos. The climax of the suite comes at the end of this section, with both horns building in an emotional crescendo. And while the remainder of the piece may be denouement, it's still beautiful, especially Douglas' low, muted trumpet phrases throughout the pensive "Postlude."
Track listing: Introduction; Interlude 1; Part One; Interlude 2; Part Two; Interlude 3; Postlude; Coda.
Personnel: John Zorn: alto saxophone; Dave Douglas: trumpet; Mike Patton: voice; Rob Burger: organ, electric piano; Bill Laswell: bass; Ben Perowsky: drums.
For me this album was so obvious I almost forgot about it. I'm never sure whether to call it a Zorn or a Naked City album, but Zorn wrote or arranged all the music, and the band, containing Zorn, is known as Naked City. This album seems to be either greatly liked or disliked by people, and instead of finding professional reviews I want to post two short reviews from Rate Your Music which highlight the two contrasting views I've come across when discussing this album.
"What a bunch of self-indulgent ass-fisting this is. Pretentious 'noise for noise's sake' annoying splattered over boring elevator jazz and the occasional semi-rock bits. Screeching tuneless saxophones that sound like someone getting their balls sliced up in a blender, and vocals by someone in the middle of giving Satan a fucking blowjob. You might be able to scrape together enough decent material off of this to make a decent EP, but as it stands, I can't see a reason for this to exist other than to give smug avant-dickbags something to jizz all over."
"Even if continuously referring to any kind of music known, all blended in fury with reiterate attacks and counterattacks as some ravenous primeval organism of its prey would do, this is someting without memory.
Or with NO past at all."
Reviews are from here.
The final selection is I.A.O.
I picked I.A.O. because it seemed to me to encompass all of the selections in its range and depth, and its similarities yet differences with and from all of those, Finally, I couldn't pick between the Music Romance albums. I prefer #2, but I think it is weaker overall than #1--it just hits some higher highs, for me. We have some representatives of Filmworks already listed. While the casual Zorn explorer will not be happy with all of the FW series, nor perhaps will every one with a larger collectionof Zorn be thrilled with each FW. But 8 is a good 'un and deserves perhaps honorable mention. Pain Killer in the Birthday series replaces Mick Harris with Hamid Drake. It is perhaps Pain Killer's finest moment. But I think we've already pointed our friends in the direction of the 50th Birthday series and to Pain Killer as a group. Madness, Love, and Mysticism is another fine chamber set with trio compositions for violin, piano, and cello and a composition for solo cello. Excellent, but again, well represented in the list above.
What sets I.A.O apart for me is that the musicians are a group who've appeared in many configurations over the years with Zorn. The lineup includes: "Cyro Baptista, Jennifer Charles, Greg Cohen, Beth Hatton, Bill Laswell, Rebecca Moore, Mike Patton, Jim Pugliese, and Jamie Saft. They appear only one, two or three at a time. Each of the seven movements is based on a specific, non-reoccurring instrumentation, and explores a form of meditation, trance or anything possibly leading to spiritual revelation." (Couture, AMG). Most of these solo. duo, trio trance movements are among Zorn's lighter fare, not interms of composition, but perhaps I mean in tone. While there are elements of drone, there's nothing particularly brooding or dour, yet pensive and contemplative are qualities embraced. Then, the penultimate track, "Leviathan," is a palate cleanser of unexpected fury and a sonic assault worthy of the most distilled Naked City or Pain Killer outing. And then, the closer, "Mysteries,{ acts as if none of that happened or mattered at all if it did happen, with a bit of e-piano and percussion.
Like the list above in its entirety, I.A.O. represents a range of Zorn's interests and abilities.
For those who are looking for where to start with Zorn: you know your own interests best, so find a descriptor that lines up with your senses and dive in. Then watch as the ripples go further out and you get more familiar with Zorn's compositions and become less concerned with whether it's jazz or not.
Comments? Sins of (c)omission? Edits needed? Let us know.
Bar Kokhba Sextet - Lucifer: Book of Angels Vol. 10 (50th Birthday Series) 2008
Buck Jam Tonic - Buck Jam Tonic 2003
Derek Bailey, George Lewis, John Zorn - Yankees 1983
John Zorn - Alhambra Love Songs 2009
John Zorn - The Big Gundown: John Zorn Plays the Music of Ennio Morricone 1985
John Zorn - The Bribe 1998
John Zorn - The Circle Maker - 1998
John Zorn - Filmworks X - In the Mirror of Maya Deren 2001
John Zorn - Filmworks XIII - Invitation to a Suicide 2002
John Zorn - The Gift 2001
John Zorn - I.A.O. 2002
]John Zorn (Naked City) - Naked City 1989
John Zorn - New Traditions in East Asian Bar Bands 1995
John Zorn - Redbird 1995
John Zorn - Six Litanies for Heliogabalus 2007
John Zorn- Spy Vs. Spy : Music of Ornette Coleman
John Zorn & Dave Douglas- The Stone Issue One
John Zorn & Bobby Previte - Euclid's Nightmare 1997
John Zorn/Electric Masada - At the Mountains of Madness 2004
John Zorn & Fred Frith - The Art of Memory 1994
John Zorn, George Lewis, Bill Frisell - News for Lulu 1988
Masada - Masada Vol. 2: Beit 1995
Pain Killer - Execution Ground 1994
The Sonny Clark Memorial Quartet - Voodoo 1985
Wadada Leo Smith, Susie Ibarra, John Zorn - 50th Birthday Celebration Vol. 8
count =25
Zorn, obviously, is a touchstone for many people interested in expanding the language of what we--in our admittedly limited way--call jazz.
The suggestions here were assembled for our Music Advice Center colleague Rohit, who casually asked for a few suggestions of where to start with the massive catalog of Zorn's recordings. The list above is alphabetic (according to our traditional nomenclature) and the list below is chronological by submission by our contributors: matetoth, trombipulation, djjazzpants, cjcarne, and me, beelzbubba.
Some of the reviews of the albums are personal opinion, and others, including the cover images, are from All Music Guide. Minimal editing to the original posts was provided by beelz. Original posts can be found starting at: http://www.last.fm/group/Music+Advice+Center/forum/40095/_/171367/40#f9767340.
Voodoo is Zorn with his cool-bop best manners on, proving false the canard that avant-garde players can't play. Zorn and collaborators Horvitz, Drummond & Previte roll through 7 Sonny Clark tunes with aplomb. Clark was largely unknown to me before I picked up this album on Black Saint. That didn't hold for long. I have to say I play Zorn's version of Clark as much as I play Sonny himself.
Filmworks X: In the Mirror of Maya Deren is one of the beautiful, lyrical, haunting Filmworks series, and one that I mentioned above. Here Zorn plays piano, with Jamie Saft on organ, Erik Friedlander on cello and Cyro Baptisto on percussion. AMG calls this the most accessible of the Filmworks series and I guess I won't argue. This is a stellar album.
Next a bit of quiet, minimalist Zorn.
You can't get wider extremes in one artist, I don't think. Redbird is a minimalist tribute to the painter Agnes Martin. This is Zorn as 20th century composer, he doesn't play here.
Pain Killer, for most of its brief life, was Zorn plus Bill Laswell and Napalm Death drummer Mick Harris. Execution Ground was their best, imo, and often gets categorized as death metal, but I have to believe most death-metal heads would argue. It definitely has elements of thrash jazz, ala Brotzmann and Laswell's Last Exit.
News For Lulu
Review by Scott Yanow
© 2009 Macrovision Corporation. All Rights Reserved.
Avant-garde altoist John Zorn teams up with trombonist George Lewis and guitarist Bill Frisell to form a unique trio. Without the benefit of piano, bass, or drums, they interpret the hard bop compositions of Kenny Dorham, Hank Mobley, Sonny Clark, and Freddie Redd, generally not even the better-known ones. The performances are quite concise (Dorham's "Windmill" is covered in 40 seconds), respectful to the melodies, and unpredictable. There are hints of the avant-garde here and there, but also plenty of swinging, bop-oriented solos and coherent ensembles. Very intriguing music that is highly recommended to a wide audience of jazz and general listeners.
John Zorn & Fred Frith - The Art of Memory
Simply a great slab of improvisation from two masters of the art.
AMG Review
Based upon the ancient Roman methodology for remembering architectural sites and the meanings built into their structures, guitarist Fred Frith and saxophonist John Zorn pull out all the stops in creating a body of improvisation that does not rely on symbolic invitations or responses, but is instead a collaboration that builds an imposing musical structure from forgotten trends, hidden sonic languages, and metaphorical tonal construction. From the opening moments of "The Combiner," where Frith twines his guitar from the table into a rope with Zorn's microphonics and multivalent scalar invention, you can hear a sort of communication being authored just beyond your reach. That the dynamics of the collaboration match so perfectly, offering glimpses of both restraint and tension before obliterating them with humor and pure aggression, should be no surprise -- the pair sought to do this from the outset. In "The Ladder," Frith moves himself into a corner with funky soul chords and splattered arpeggios that Zorn picks up and transforms into a mutant vanguard swing. The tempo is dizzying as Frith rips open his chords for their found sonic elements and Zorn goes in to shore up the idea, flipping it over and turning it inside out as only a master improviser can do. By the time you reach "The Fountain and the Mirror," the players have switched roles many times, each playing support and leader, turning what were merely notions for collaborating along a certain path into audible bodies with their own pulses, minds, and blood. This is a revelatory album, and a near matchless collaboration.
John Zorn - The Big Gundown
Something completely different from the tough improvised music of the above - this is Zorn showing off his fun side. A veritable plethora of downtown musicians shine on these re-imaginings of Morricone's great scores. I got this when it came out and it was one of my earliest introductions to the 'avant-garde'; it remains a favourite.
AMG Review
On this intriguing concept album, altoist John Zorn (who also "sings" and plays harpsichord, game calls, piano, and musical saw) utilizes an odd assortment of open-minded avant-garde players (with a couple of ringers) on nine themes originally written for Italian films by Ennio Morricone, plus his own "Tre Nel 5000." These often-radical interpretations (which Morricone endorsed) keep the melodies in mind while getting very adventurous. Among the musicians heard on the colorful and very eccentric set (which utilizes different personnel and instrumentation on each track) are guitarists Bill Frisell and Vernon Reid, percussionist Bobby Previte, keyboardist Anthony Coleman, altoist Tim Berne, pianist Wayne Horvitz, organist Big John Patton, and even Toots Thielemans on harmonica and whistling among many others. There are certainly no dull moments on this often-riotous program.
John Zorn - The Circle Maker
This is a two disk set of what might be called chamber jazz. Zorn composes but does not play. The musicians on disk 1 are the Masada String Trio: Cohen, Friedlander, Feldman. On disk 2 is the Bar Kokhba Sextet--the string trio plus Ribot, Baptiste, and drummer Joey Baron. The tunes are from the Masada Songbook. Cohen, Dave Douglas, Baron, and Zorn put out something like 20 Masada quartet disks (Beit / Two is my favorite); by the time of the albums Filmworks VIII and Bar Kokhba, Zorn was reimagining the Masada work performed by other voices. The Circle Maker is as near-perfect a recording as I can imagine.
John Zorn - Six Litanies for Heliogabalus 2007
Let's jump ahead to some newer Zorn, and some that he actually plays on. (I found myself picking some favorites but without the trademark alto.) This is sort of a third in a trilogy, the first two Moonchild and the second Astronome are the trio of Mike Patton, Trevor Dunn, and Joey Baron. For Heliogabus, add Jamie Saft on organ & keyboards, Zorn on Alto, and Ikue Mori on electronics, and then toss a trio of female voices for an otherworldly choir. As the AMG reviewer Thom Jurek tells us, Zorn states in his liner notes to Astronome that his objective was to create "a methodology 'combining the hypnotic intensity of ritual (composition) the spontaneity of magic (improvisation) in a modern musical format (rock).'"
Review
This 1997 duet recording between drumming ace Bobby Previte and saxophonist John Zorn is indicative -- pretty much -- of what Zorn's music was like at the time: There are plenty of hard bop linguistics mixed in with film noir themes and screeching, burning skronk. There are also short, lucid moments of melodic tranquility that prefigure much of Zorn's work from 1999 on. But mostly, this series of duets reveals something else, that two players from similar backgrounds, who have played in the same bands together and can understand each other on an almost symbiotic level, can still approach the same musical problem from two different sides and come up with the same answer. Nowhere is this clearer than on sections ten through 14 (there are 27 sections in all), which total about seven of the CD's 41 minutes. Here, Previte hears Zorn insistently and responds with short, crisp rim shots, rolling tom-toms, and scattershot cymbal runs that tend to stretch out the time, turn it loose from its constraints inside the work, and move forward into whatever frame Zorn chooses next. For his part, Zorn hears the thrumming of the cymbals and decides to speed up the piece in order to match Previte's double time. They both arrive in the pocket at the same time and kick the energy into an overdriven state of chaotic -- yet jubilant -- free improv, where there are no ties to gravity at all until Previte introduces a tom-tom and Zorn responds with a gorgeous angular legato. This is only one of dozens of surprises on Euclid's Nightmare. Zorn fans will be familiar with the level of histrionics employed here, while followers of Previte's more refined work may be put off by the constant atonality of the work.
Buck Jam Tonic is a double album of improvised music by John Zorn, Bill Laswell & Tatsuya Nakamura . The album was released on the Japanese Wilddisc label in 2003 and is comprised of one disc mixed in Tokyo and another mixed in New York City. A vinyl edition was also released containing only the Tokyo mix.
AMG reviewer Stacia Proefrock writes:"Themes of beauty, sexuality, and violence run throughout, the first and last pieces maintaining a narrative quality while "Hwang Chin-Ee" consists of short lyric pieces. The album as a whole is quite moving; it often contains a fragile beauty like a child on the verge of bursting into tears. This is one of John Zorn's greatest achievements to date." That about sums it up. Fred Frith, Bill Frisell, Anthony Coleman and Wayne Horvitz, Zorn, Joey Baron & Samm Bennett.
As far as I'm concerned, get any/all of the 50th Birthday Celebration series, recorded at Tonic in NYC in September 2003. I think I have them all. OK, I'm not really keen on the Masada Guitars 50th Birthday, but maybe you will be. In any case, this one, with Wadada Smith and Susie Ibarra, flat out kills for fans of free improvisation. For the first set, we have a reprise of the Zorn/Previte alto & drum symbiosis. The second set adds Smith's trumpet to the mix. The finale Full Fathom Five is a raucous romp.
I love that Zorn treats a lot of his music/compositions as repertoire, to be replayed and reconfigured for different timbres/voices. Case in point:
Masada, Beit was the first exposure I had to Zorn where I first started to "get it." I'm a huge Ornette fan, but Spy Vs. Spy just hit me wrong. I haven't revisited that one in years--maybe I'd think differently now. But I paid full price for it and it wasn't cheap. Not many places were stocking Zorn in the late 80s. But now it was 1995, and my town has a well known summer art fair, which also serves as an excuse for merchants to have "sidewalk sales." Tower was having a huge sell off of inventory, which meant in those days that a label was getting new distribution and they sold off the old copies from one mfr/distr in anticipation of stock from a new source. DIW--the publisher of my copy--was at that time Japan only, and these imports were astronomically priced, but on that day, DIW were like $5 or $7 apiece. I picked uup some David Murray, Lester Bowie, Butch Morris, and oh yeah, since I really liked Dave Douglas and Joey Baron, I figured I'd give Zorn another chance. This disk, Beit, was the impetus for me to begin to tell any/everyone I knew who was interested in excellent music that Zorn was the shit. No doubts about it. From the opening to the close, Beit grabbed me. This is a perfect quartet in the piano-less post-bop genre. There's obviously the Hebrew folk music influence, klezmer if you will, but filtered through Ornette and Berne and Hemphill. This quartet rocks, swings, blisters, and burns. From that moment, I've been hooked, and I've rarely been disappointed.
Now, 13 years later, Masada, Beit has been translated through the Bar Kokhba Sextet. Remember them? The Masada String Trio plus Ribot, Baron, and Saft? The Book of Angels series is fueled by Zorn's intense interest in Jewish mysticism, and here they take the earlier Masada book two and bring to it a chamber jazz elegance that loses very little in the translation. It worries me a little that some of my favorite Zorn albums are cataloged by AMG as among his most "accessible"--this one is no exception, they say you could play it for your grandmother & she'd get it. I dunno about that, but like Circle Maker, this is a gem.
The compositions on this soundtrack are great. Fantastic motives that crop up repeatedly in differents moods, with different instruments playing the leads. And the men playing those instruments are outstanding. I am not sure who deserves more credit on this recording, the composer or the musicians. Zorn does not play on this one, but 4/5 of the musicians (Marc Ribot-Guitar, Erik Friedlander-Cello, Trevor Dunn-Bass, Kenny Wolleson-Percussion) on it are Tzadik regulars, and the fifth man (Accordionist Rob Burger of the Tin Hat Trio) is fantastic.
Allmusic.com reviews:
For a change, the descriptor insert included in a Tzadik release isn't all hype. Alhambra Love Songs does indeed contain "some of the most beautiful and soothing music Zorn has ever written." This 11-cut set is an eclectic homage of sorts to the San Francisco Bay area and the musicians who have and continue to make it their home. Written for a piano trio consisting of Rob Burger, bassist Greg Cohen (who alternates between upright and electric), and drummer Ben Perowsky, what's most important to remember when popping this into the deck is that these are indeed "songs." They all have direct melodic themes, lyric harmony, and follow a linear trajectory from one place to another. Zorn puts that in the listener's ears on the very first cut, "Mountain View," dedicated to Vince Guaraldi. It doesn't merely nod to the late pianist and composer of the Charlie Brown television themes, it evokes him directly, utilizing his sense of lithe, lyric theme and simple rhythmic sensibility in a hummable melody. It's delightful. "Pacifica," dedicated to mystic Harry Smith, is more elliptical and mysterious in presentation, but just as melodic and accessible. And that's the point. The Tzadik insert also namechecks Ramsey Lewis and Henry Mancini as well as the words "easy listening mode," but these influences aren't all that pronounced. But this doesn't fall into the category of one of Zorn's challenging series of recordings, either. It is simply a set of gorgeous songs with a variety of jazz, television, cinematic, and landscape themes written into their melodies, all dedicated to various musicians, composers, actors, poets, and other persona whom Zorn holds in high regard. Some may wonder initially if this fits in best with The Gift or Dreamers, and it sounds nothing like either recording. These tunes -- be it the tender "Half Moon Bay" dedicated to poet and translator Lyn Hejinian, or "Moraga," scored for Clint Eastwood, which evokes both his cinematic work as an actor and his work as a composer, or the ever so brief and utterly lovely "Miramar," for Terry Riley, which envelope the listener in pulsing rhythmic repetition before whispering itself out on the individual notes of its chords -- all have the same effect: one of complete listening pleasure. These small tunes will get inside your head and remain there, prompting you to listen to this set over and again. Each track is different from the last in theme, mood, and construction, but follows its thematic strategy almost to a fault. The band is fantastic. Burger's percussive touch on the keys is a plus. He never hits too hard, but he's a very rhythmic player. Add to this the brushwork of Perowsky and the always inventive, sensitive, and often subtle work of Cohen, and you have a unit that can swing when the tune calls for it, let a piece breathe, or playfully get inside it. Alhambra Love Songs is a gem, and will literally bring joy to anyone who gives it an honest listen.
John Zorn's Bribe is a continuation and extension of his album Spillane. Like its predecessor, this album features almost the same lineup of extraordinary NYC improvisers including pianist Anthony Coleman, drummer Bobby Previte, organist Wayne Horvitz, turntablist Christian Marclay, and harpists Zeena Parkins and Carol Emanuel. Unlike the fast-spliced pace of Spillane, which functioned as its own narrative, the music on Bribe is allowed to stretch and develop because it was composed as a background for the dialogue in three 30-minute radio plays by Terry O'Reilly (it was later adapted to a stage production). O'Reilly described his creation as "low art; " along the lines of little respected categories such as pulp fiction and B-movies. Zorn then constructed appropriate music, continually switching styles and filling it with pop references. The overall mood of Bribe is also different from Spillane and much of Zorn's work (excluding Film Works, Vol. 7), in that it maintains a light-hearted approach, weaving music box chimes and carnival sounds into the music. A nicer mood pervades this release, yet given its kaleidoscopic and slightly demented tone, it certainly can't be described as relaxed. Then again, maybe "relaxed" isn't too far off, after all -- perhaps by playing a supporting role to the production's cast instead of driving the concept, the musicians were able to enjoy themselves a little more.
This list is showing me (beelz) two or three things, so far.
First, there are still new albums of Zorn's for me to go get. I don't have either of those last two Matetoth recommended. And I want them.
Second, this list is rapidly filling up and there are at least ten more that I think could go on the list (but in the end I think many are at least similar to other ones here and thus the intrepid explorer must go out and discover).
Third, I forget what third was.
So my latest two adds:
I was going to call this review Johnny Zorn meets Psycho-Surf. But let's see what AMG has to say. The review is by Sean Westergaard. He's been a disk jockey at our local free form radio station and used to work at the premier Ann Arbor record store, Schoolkids Records. SEan's a good guy. I believe him. Plus I've got the record and I have to say: Yep...
Review by Sean Westergaard
Shattering expectations has been a hallmark of John Zorn's career, but The Gift might surprise even longtime fans. It's basically Zorn's exotica record; a tribute to the sound made popular by the likes of Martin Denny and Les Baxter. A core band of Downtown heavyweights provide you with an easy-listening sound that conjures images of sand and surf, and warm summer nights. Of course, as conductor and arranger, Zorn is ultimately responsible for the sound, but what you hear is primarily the guitar of Marc Ribot, and the keyboards (mostly Wurlitzer and Farfisa) of Jamie Saft. Trevor Dunn, Joey Baron, and Cyro Baptista are the rhythm section, with Ned Rothenberg joining in on shakuhachi on one track, and another augmented by a string section and the trumpet of Dave Douglas. Zorn has been able to draw from an incredible talent pool for many years now, and always knows how to get fabulous performances out of them, no matter what the context. Although the New York scene is notorious for its noisemaking ability, people should stop being surprised at their ability to turn in beautiful, understated performances; and this recording is a prime example. The tunes have a laid-back beach vibe that cries out for cold beverages in the twilight. They succeed perfectly in creating the feel of classic exotica (à la Denny or Baxter), but still maintain their individual identities as players. Towards the end of the recording, the music takes a slightly spooky Morricone-esque turn (on "Bridge to the Beyond," the only track on which Zorn performs, on theremin and piano), but the reprise of "Makahaa" brings you right back to the islands. The Gift shows another more accessible side to John Zorn (see also Bar Kokhba and The Circle Maker). It might be said that he's mellowing with age, but expect the unexpected from Mr. Zorn. Despite the undeniable beauty of the music, underneath the pretty pink wrapping and bows of the outer slipcase, Zorn has included several paintings of young girls in the cover art that some people might find slightly disturbing, as if to underscore the idea that beauty itself is highly subjective.
Now, I have a video recording of Electric Masada at a jazz festival in Nancy, France. I don't have this recording made at two live dates in Moscow & Ljubljana, but again, I trust Westergaard and I count the DVD of Electric Masada as one of my favorite live albums. So go out on a limb with me here:
Review by Sean Westergaard
John Zorn's At the Mountains of Madness presents two sets (Moscow, Ljubljana) recorded at the end of a lengthy European tour. The band is exactly the same as on The 50th Birthday Celebration, Vol. 4 and many of the same tunes are performed, but the performances actually feel very different. Perhaps there was something of wanting to put on a good show for the Europeans vs. playing comfortably at home in familiar surroundings (at Tonic), but this set is a good deal rowdier than the 50th Birthday Celebration. Certainly, the band is at the top of their game after all the touring, and everyone seems to have kicked up the energy a notch or two. There's a lot more conducted improvisation than on the previous Electric Masada release. Ikue Mori's laptop contributions seem to play a more prominent role, and Marc Ribot does some thoroughly deranged things with a delay (which haven't been heard on an album before). Jamie Saft and Zorn are also in fine form and the rhythm section is amazing, especially the dual drum attack of Kenny Wollesen and Joey Baron. Thanks to their improvisational skills, you hardly notice that the program is much the same on both discs. Score another one for John Zorn and company. At the Mountains of Madness is a winner.
Allmusic.com:
A collective improvisation by Derek Bailey on acoustic and electric guitars, George Lewis on trombone, and John Zorn on alto and soprano saxes, clarinets, and game calls. Subtle, droll, hilarious takes on the trivia of baseball sounds: Lewis speaks through the trombone "ball one, ball one...." There are snippets of a slipping and sliding version of "Take Me out to the Ball Game" and so on. Sections are titled "City City City," "The Legend of Enos Slaughter," "Who's on First," followed by "On Golden Pond," a tongue-in-cheek tone poem of the flora and fauna and mosquitoes. "The Warning Track" is about a very tiny railroad system .
Spy Vs. Spy: Music of Ornette Coleman
Old school jazz fans might very well be horrified at this tribute to Ornette Coleman by saxophonist, experimentalist and musical deconstructionist extraordinaire John Zorn. Coleman's retooling of jazz syntax, his theories of harmolodic structure ... Full Descriptionand, moreover, the tenacity of his radical vision, have clearly had enormous influence on Zorn who, it might be said, has carried his mentor's torch into a chaotic musical universe that includes pop genres and hyperactive collage. Here Zorn applies his Coleman-inspired free-form ballistics to Coleman himself.
SPY VS. SPY features 17 Coleman compositions, sequenced chronologically with tracks ranging from 1958's SOMETHING ELSE to 1987's IN ALL LANGUAGES. But while the music here owes Coleman a debt in conception and attitude, it is far from a straightforward tribute. In fact, Zorn's approach borrows at least as much from hardcore thrash, as the songs are executed at a breakneck pace, with each collapsed to under three minutes of earth shaking drums, rumbling bass and squealing twin saxes. The set should prove of interest to Coleman collectors, Zorn fans and avant-noise enthusiasts.
Goldmine - Highly Recommended "...a masterpiece of mayhem."
Live Recording
-CD Universe Review
The Stone, Issue One
John Zorn / Dave Douglas | Tzadik (2006)
By Brian P. Lonergan
One of the more striking aspects of the playing on The Stone, Issue One, especially the interplay between altoist John Zorn and trumpeter Dave Douglas, is the sense of immediacy and transparency about the music. It's as if you have a clear window into the improvisatory act, witnessing pure, unpremeditated creation as it happens for the very first time.
Recorded at the nascent Alphabet City club known as The Stone, this disc is essentially an untitled suite of alternately serene, grooving and anguished music, with Zorn and Douglas joined by Mike Patton (voice), Rob Burger (organ, electric piano), Bill Laswell (bass) and Ben Perowsky (percussion). The Stone was voted one of AAJ:New York's Best Venues for 2005, and with this special release to benefit the club, it's easy to see why.
The "Introduction" creates a tranquil ambience filled with shimmering organ chords and gentle electric piano tones. But that serenity is soon shattered by “Interlude 1†and a rising, anxious howl that opens up the tormented world of Patton' visceral and spastic extreme vocals. (Picture the cartoon character the Tazmanian Devil in violent death throes and you're about halfway there.)
By "Part One" the third track, the full ensemble finally joins together. Laswell's bass, Perowsky's drums and Burger's organ create a spacey groove above which Zorn's alto and Douglas' trumpet dance in intervals that sound plucked from the Middle East or perhaps North Africa. Some extreme sax technique leads to another brief 'Interlude" where it's often difficult to tell sax from trumpet from voice.
"Part Two" provides another loose framework for the horn players to explore extended, thoughtful and impassioned solos. The climax of the suite comes at the end of this section, with both horns building in an emotional crescendo. And while the remainder of the piece may be denouement, it's still beautiful, especially Douglas' low, muted trumpet phrases throughout the pensive "Postlude."
Track listing: Introduction; Interlude 1; Part One; Interlude 2; Part Two; Interlude 3; Postlude; Coda.
Personnel: John Zorn: alto saxophone; Dave Douglas: trumpet; Mike Patton: voice; Rob Burger: organ, electric piano; Bill Laswell: bass; Ben Perowsky: drums.
For me this album was so obvious I almost forgot about it. I'm never sure whether to call it a Zorn or a Naked City album, but Zorn wrote or arranged all the music, and the band, containing Zorn, is known as Naked City. This album seems to be either greatly liked or disliked by people, and instead of finding professional reviews I want to post two short reviews from Rate Your Music which highlight the two contrasting views I've come across when discussing this album.
"What a bunch of self-indulgent ass-fisting this is. Pretentious 'noise for noise's sake' annoying splattered over boring elevator jazz and the occasional semi-rock bits. Screeching tuneless saxophones that sound like someone getting their balls sliced up in a blender, and vocals by someone in the middle of giving Satan a fucking blowjob. You might be able to scrape together enough decent material off of this to make a decent EP, but as it stands, I can't see a reason for this to exist other than to give smug avant-dickbags something to jizz all over."
"Even if continuously referring to any kind of music known, all blended in fury with reiterate attacks and counterattacks as some ravenous primeval organism of its prey would do, this is someting without memory.
Or with NO past at all."
Reviews are from here.
The final selection is I.A.O.
I picked I.A.O. because it seemed to me to encompass all of the selections in its range and depth, and its similarities yet differences with and from all of those, Finally, I couldn't pick between the Music Romance albums. I prefer #2, but I think it is weaker overall than #1--it just hits some higher highs, for me. We have some representatives of Filmworks already listed. While the casual Zorn explorer will not be happy with all of the FW series, nor perhaps will every one with a larger collectionof Zorn be thrilled with each FW. But 8 is a good 'un and deserves perhaps honorable mention. Pain Killer in the Birthday series replaces Mick Harris with Hamid Drake. It is perhaps Pain Killer's finest moment. But I think we've already pointed our friends in the direction of the 50th Birthday series and to Pain Killer as a group. Madness, Love, and Mysticism is another fine chamber set with trio compositions for violin, piano, and cello and a composition for solo cello. Excellent, but again, well represented in the list above.
What sets I.A.O apart for me is that the musicians are a group who've appeared in many configurations over the years with Zorn. The lineup includes: "Cyro Baptista, Jennifer Charles, Greg Cohen, Beth Hatton, Bill Laswell, Rebecca Moore, Mike Patton, Jim Pugliese, and Jamie Saft. They appear only one, two or three at a time. Each of the seven movements is based on a specific, non-reoccurring instrumentation, and explores a form of meditation, trance or anything possibly leading to spiritual revelation." (Couture, AMG). Most of these solo. duo, trio trance movements are among Zorn's lighter fare, not interms of composition, but perhaps I mean in tone. While there are elements of drone, there's nothing particularly brooding or dour, yet pensive and contemplative are qualities embraced. Then, the penultimate track, "Leviathan," is a palate cleanser of unexpected fury and a sonic assault worthy of the most distilled Naked City or Pain Killer outing. And then, the closer, "Mysteries,{ acts as if none of that happened or mattered at all if it did happen, with a bit of e-piano and percussion.
Like the list above in its entirety, I.A.O. represents a range of Zorn's interests and abilities.
For those who are looking for where to start with Zorn: you know your own interests best, so find a descriptor that lines up with your senses and dive in. Then watch as the ripples go further out and you get more familiar with Zorn's compositions and become less concerned with whether it's jazz or not.
Comments? Sins of (c)omission? Edits needed? Let us know.
