John Zorn Music

Previous viewers have unfortunately overlooked this record's role as a film score. It's ultimate purpose is to accompany a film and is therefore very much tied to a film's mood and content. While not necesarilly as radical as Zorn's other work, it is beautifully descriptive and engaging, which is further evidence of the composer's gift for creating unique music.

John Zorn's soundtrack work in the past decade and particularly the past few years has been dominated by Jewish subjects-- unsurprising given his place in "Radical Jewish Culture" music and the Masada songbook, having dominated his work since the mid-90s. "Filmworks XI", erroneously titled "Under the Wing" (including on the label's website) is the soundtrack for the documentary "Secret Lives", about Jewish children hidden during the Holocaust. For the film, Zorn assembled the Masada String Trio-- Mark Feldman on violin, Erik Friedlander on cello and Greg Cohen on bass, augmenting them by vocalist Vanessa Saft on two tracks and pianist Jamie Saft on one, for a mix of Masada and other pieces.

The soundtrack is remarkably varied-- while the core of it is four Masada pieces (all previously unreleased), these are mixed with a handful of moody pieces that've got that incidental tension feel to them and one downright ecstatic swing piece. Throughout, the playing is superlative-- of particular note is the way the trio captures a range of moods, be it mournful ("Chazel", "Shabbos Noir"), optimistic ("B'rachos"), dramatic (the aptly titled "Drama") or frightening ("The Trap"). Invariably, the piece works out nicely and stands on its own-- Zorn's done better soundtrack work, but this one's worth a listen. Recommended.

For those that would like some info on new Zorn releases other than the tiny bits found on Amazon, hope this helps. First off, Filmworks XI is NOT for Under The Wing. It is listed on the CD like this: 2002 Volume One - Secret Lives Featuring the Masada String Trio. (Though Under The Wing may have been the original title of the film.)

It's the last three words there that are key. The string ensemble that plays Masada songs produces some of the most beautiful of Zorn's works. See for example the Circle Maker and Bar Kokhba which are each double CDs of Masada string work.

The 21 tracks here played by Mark Feldman on violin, Erik Friedlander on cello and Greg Cohen on bass take the traditional Jewish music that John Zorn has written for his Masada Songbook and turn it into achingly sad, melancholic - and powerful - stuff.

The film these tracks are from is Secret Lives: Hidden Children and their Rescuers During WWII, directed by Aviva Slesin.
It may not be quite as strong as Bar Kokhba, but it's great to hear new stuff from the group, and it is a very beautiful piece.

This one is a little boring for a hardcore Zorn fan, but it's a great place to start if you are a Zorn virgin. So it's hard to rate. Let's say it's three-and-a-half stars for me, five stars for you. If you haven't heard Zorn before and you don't think you'll like his noisy, chaotic music, pick this one up. It's peaceful and dramatic, with LOTS of strings.

If you like BAR KOKHBA and THE CIRCLE MAKER, you'll *love* this.

I should also mention that the packaging is very good. Zorn and the filmmakers have a pair of brief essays about the music and the film.

This is a good place as any to start with a Filmworks release if need be. The musicians, the performances, the recordings, and the compositions are all stellar. Good stuff. Much better than Filmworks 14 thats certain. Skip that one, please...

John Zorn's soundtrack to "Invitation to a Suicide" is a unique, multilayered, and brilliant piece within his catalog. As the movie is (evidentally, I've not seen) a black comedy, Zorn has done his best to match the mood by composing a soundtrack of haunting, yet almost bouncy pieces, reprising themes repeatedly and allowing his band (Marc Ribot- guitar, Rob Burger- accordian, Erik Friedlander- cello, Trevor Dunn- bass, Kenny Wolleson- vibes, marimba, drums), in particular Ribot, to really stretch. One thing that Zorn historically excels at is getting the best possible performance out of his musicians, and this one is no exception. Zorn as a composer this time makes subtle reference to horror soundtracks, Morricone, and Sonny Rollins amongst others in this fantastic record. Between these touchstones and the endless reprising of themes on the record, the music develops a familiar and somewhat timeless quality.

Nowhere is this more apparent than in the main theme, dark and haunting, building layer upon layer with superb interplay between the cello (as lead voice) and the other instruments. Zorn has captured from what I'd read the intended feel of the movie and reprises the theme several times, with subtle differences in mood and feel.

But this is a record of musicians performing to their peak, with many fantastic moments, in particular from Ribot-- his soloing on such pieces as "Shifting Sands", "Suicide Blues Part 1", and "Lonely Are the Dumb" is nothing short of stunning. This shouldn't discount great playing from Friedlander ("The Suicide Kid"), Burger ("Suicide Waltz") or the others in the band, the great performances throughout are what makes this record stand out.

If you're curious about Zorn as soundtrack composer, this is probably a great place to start. Recommended.

John Zorn wrote about ten songs for this movie, then he wrote a few more arrangements for each one. It takes a while before you notice the repetition. "Getting Suicidal," for example, is a guitar version of "Suicide Blues."

"Suicide Waltz," "The Suicide Kid," "Lonely Are the Dumb," and "Bugsy's Jazztet" are all the same song in different arrangements - accordion-led jazz ensemble, cello-led jazz ensemble, "country" guitar, and rock/jazz fusion (respectively).

This approach unifies the feel of the album without giving you the impression that you're hearing the same thing over and over. It helps that the musicians play so well --- rather than approach each new arrangement as an alternate take, they play like it's a whole new song. It's an amazing thing to hear.

Even if you're not into Zorn, you'll love this.

Zorn writes in the liner notes that this session was a 'pivotal moment.' He compares it to the other highpoints of his career.

At first, I wasn't feeling it. Track one treats one of the main themes in a repetitive manner, and to me it was more Penguin Cafe Orchestra-repetitive than Steve Reich-goosebumps-inducing repetitive. In fact, track one may be my least favorite track on this very good album (though I like it more now that I've placed it at the end of the program).

So I let it sit for awhile, then came back to it to see if I would hear it any different. I rearranged the track order (the better part of an hour, trial-and-error), and now I love it. I'll only add that Ribot is understated and most excellent as always, and my track order probably reflects my Ribot jones to a certain extent. I agree with the comments of the earlier reviewer, that the unity of players, instrumentation, and to an extent, style (there is enough variation to keep things interesting, but this is definitely not jump-cutting music a la Naked City) make this a pretty outstanding disc.
The track order I settled upon is this: 3, 8, 6, 10, 5, 13, 2, 11, 17, 16, 15, 14, 12, 9, 4, 18, 7, 1. I also put a little more silence between the tracks to give them some breathing room.

Yes, I am a music nerd.

This film score is for just one film (as opposed to so many of these film work discs which feature cuts from a few films). In addition, all cuts feature just one band with no cutting back and forth between innumerable styles of music, and groups. What transpires is not just well-crafted music played exceedingly well - that is typical of Zorn outings (and expected!) - but a band gelling to create some very inspired music. Regulars Ribot, Friedlander, Cohen, and Wolleson join forces with Rob Burger on accordion to create some well textured tunes that tackle a variety of settings, but carries an overall theme and coherence. It's great stuff. Will definitely draw the listener in - even newbies to Zorn.

More valuable in a sense for its historical value than anything else, this CD is the first issuing of John Zorn's earliest records, from 1973 and 1974, at the ages of 19 and 20, fully predating his first release by five years (1978's "Lacrosse"), what's perhaps most frightening is how fully formed John Zorn, as both a musician and a composer, is at this point. Admittedly, his composition are a bit less coherent-- Zorn, known for his arranging prowess but these pieces are somewhat uneven in that category, and his saxaphone technique is not quite as fully formed as it would be either, and the influence of both Anthony Braxton and Pharoah Sanders looms heavily on his playing, but nonetheless, the music on this is interesting, unique, and fully John Zorn.

The opening suite, "Mikhail Zoetrope", Zorn describes as his most bizarre compositon-- largely overdubbed reed playing over samples, voices, groans and grunts (in some ways almost presaging Mike Patton's work with him), the piece as an extended composition works remarkably well. It does get a little repetitive here and there, and it loses some of its momentum midway through and starts to fall apart, but as a historical entity, its very clear where this would lead.

As odd as "Mikhail Zoetrope" is, "Conquest of Mexico" may be even moreso-- largely an electronic composition, built around loops, feedback, and samples, occasionally puncuated by mood drum hits and piano bursts, this one is a dense work of minimalist noise and generally an extraordinarily difficult listen at nearly 15 minutes for the entire suite. In many ways, zorn was ahead of his time, with looped samples and feedback-oriented music, but its a tough listen.

The remainder of the material is not organized into suites-- "Wind Ko/La" sounds like an attempt at an almost pop piece-- mostly guitar performed rhythmic figures with occasional goofy vocals is largely forgettable, but "Automata of Al-Jazari" is stunning-- at just over a minute, its the clear precursor (as zorn points out) to Naked City, specifically "Speedfreaks", every couple seconds it switches but remains largely coherent. The album closer, "Variations on a Theme by Albert Ayler", features samples from telephones off the hook, rushing wind, percussive figures, squealing saxaphone incoherently stating the "Ghosts" theme. It works remarkably better than one would suspect, given how primitive it is.

This is not a good place to start with Zorn, but as a historical document, its a fascinating look at his development. If you're a fan, check it out, its not likely to reach your heavy listening rotation, but it is certainly intriguing.

I've got about 30 Zorn albums, but sold this one. I love the many sides of John Zorn, but this is definitely of the Listen-Proof genre that he gets into on some albums. There's not a lot of 'musical' content here. But if you like the listenproof stuff, go ahead. Otherwise, if you're a newbie pick any of the Filmworks albums for a good cross-section of his work.

If this record was any less loco I would give it three stars but it isn't, so I won't. A very amusing record, but more in a sound-experimental way than in a musical way. I'm of course not saying that this isn't music, don't get me wrong. The longest piece on the record is three-act "Mikhail Zoetrope" (from 1974 and about 47 minutes long) which takes you through a very interesting journey of sounds from various instruments, kitchen tools, mouth sounds etc. If you wan't something extremly experimental and daring, then buy John Zorn's "First recordings 1973".

"From Silence to Sorcery" presents three compositions by John Zorn from the last decade-- 2002's "Goetia" for solo violin, 2000's "Gris-Gris" for 13 tuned drums and kick drum and 1997's "Shibboleth" for string trio augmented by clavichord and percussion.

"Goetia" is the highlight here for me. In the time I've listened to Zorn's composition, his string works have really been something I've been attracted to, in particular when Jennifer Choi was featured on violin. "Goetia" is a solo piece for her and Zorn really puts her through the paces-- before I heard it, I have to confess I was expecting technical wizardry as Choi is one of the most phenomenal violinists I've ever heard, but Zorn instead chooses subtlety and technique, allowing Choi to be at the same time expressive and impressive, showing a staggering array of technique and at the same time being evocative. It proves to be a fine addition to Zorn's catalog.

Nearly as interesting is "Gris-Gris". It reminds me a bit of "Dark River" from "Redbird" in that it grabs your attention and has a similar pulse-like feel to that piece, but unlike "Dark River", this one is audible and assertive. Performed by William Winant who manages to capture a great circular feel, the pieec feels as though it could hold your attention for hours and that it ends too quickly after just under ten minutes.

"Shibboleth" features a set of Zorn regulars-- string trio fo Choi on violin, Lois Martin on viola and Fred Sherry on cello augmented by Steve Drury on the clavichord and William Winant on percussion. This piece, composed in 1997, seems to fit better with "Redbird" then with anything else in Zorn's catalog. The piece is one that emphasizes a delicate nature, it is quiet, almost disturbingly so, and in being so demands your attention. But ultimately unlike the other pair of pieces, I don't get much from it. It's a fine listen, but nothing that I find a desire to come back.

Nonetheless, with two great performances and one that's pretty good, "From Silence to Sorcery" is a great record. Recommended.

I have over 100 Zorn cd's and this one surprised me at it's short length. only about 36 minutes or so. The only reason i bring it up is that certain groups are great at pricing their cd's accordingly as EP's but to pay full price for half a cd filled with music....maybe it's just me. Tzadik as usual made a great package this time using Salvador Dali tarot cards (which i own a set!) as the front cover pic which is very fitting. Zorn describes the way the music was constructed and its meaning towards magik and sorcery but I have certainly felt more moved by some of his other pieces. He writes that the drum piece at times makes it sound like an octopus is playing but this release is very quiet and muted. Not really any aggressive playing just a "less is more" approach this time around. If you like some of his quiter works I would certainly try this one out.
I myself prefer his more daring and noisy compostions :)

"Ganryu Island" is a recording that, along with The Big Gundown: John Zorn Plays the Music of Ennio Morricone, would set the stage for much of the next 20+ years of John Zorn's career. While The Big Gundown: John Zorn Plays the Music of Ennio Morricone shows Zorn as arranger and genre bender, "Ganryu Island" shows Zorn the performer, Zorn the improviser, and Zorn the fearless, where the structured free improvisation of the Game Pieces recess into the background and a more responsive and associative performance comes to the fore.

A duet with Sato Michihiro on shamisen (a plucked, 3-stringed, Japanese instrument), the recording, made in late 1984, consists of the original record plus five bonus tracks, all pretty much in the same vein. Sato lays down a backdrop, usually of a gently strummed and propulsive rhythm over which Zorn squaks, grunts, and occasionally riffs on his sax and various game calls. None of the pieces really grab me, but it's all a reasonable listen. I think, however, that with the addition of five further tracks, the recording's sameness of form starts to drag and after 70+ minutes of listening, my interest started to wane.

That said, the recording has its weight in the historical narrative of Zorn's work, and is in many ways a missing link from the likes of Archery and Yankees, where Zorn was either providing structure in the case of the former or somewhat recessed in the case of the latter, to a point where Zorn as a personality of performer is up front.

This cd consists of the shamisen (the Japanese instrument with a twangy sound) and weird reed noises as only John Zorn could bring them. Ganryu Island is a must for anyone wanting to expand their musical boundaries.

"Ganryu Island" is a recording that, along with The Big Gundown: John Zorn Plays the Music of Ennio Morricone, would set the stage for much of the next 20+ years of John Zorn's career. While The Big Gundown: John Zorn Plays the Music of Ennio Morricone shows Zorn as arranger and genre bender, "Ganryu Island" shows Zorn the performer, Zorn the improviser, and Zorn the fearless, where the structured free improvisation of the Game Pieces recess into the background and a more responsive and associative performance comes to the fore.

A duet with Sato Michihiro on shamisen (a plucked, 3-stringed, Japanese instrument), the recording, made in late 1984, consists of the original record plus five bonus tracks, all pretty much in the same vein. Sato lays down a backdrop, usually of a gently strummed and propulsive rhythm over which Zorn squaks, grunts, and occasionally riffs on his sax and various game calls. None of the pieces really grab me, but it's all a reasonable listen. I think, however, that with the addition of five further tracks, the recording's sameness of form starts to drag and after 70+ minutes of listening, my interest started to wane.

That said, the recording has its weight in the historical narrative of Zorn's work, and is in many ways a missing link from the likes of Archery and Yankees, where Zorn was either providing structure in the case of the former or somewhat recessed in the case of the latter, to a point where Zorn as a personality of performer is up front.

This cd consists of the shamisen (the Japanese instrument with a twangy sound) and weird reed noises as only John Zorn could bring them. Ganryu Island is a must for anyone wanting to expand their musical boundaries.