John Zorn Music

Nothing in modern-era music this ferocious, powerful, utterly beautiful and, ultimately, non-categorizable since Mahavishnu in its '70's prime. Nothing. Check out the 2 live versions of "Metal Tov".

I got into John Zorn and H.P. Lovecraft at about the same time (late 1980's), and have been a huge fan of both ever since. Somehow I missed this title when it first came out, having just found and purchased it a couple of weeks ago while catching up on Zorn's "hermetic" period (IAO, Magick, etc). Although none of the track titles or liner notes refer to Lovecraft by name, it's still mind-blowing to see a Zorn record with a Lovecraft title. Talk about concentric circles!

I can only echo the previous comments about how good a recording this is. I can't remember the last time a piece of NEW electric music got me out of my chair and dancing around, but this one certainly did. The comparisons to Miles' electric period are valid, but this is Miles-electric to factor of 10. Hints of everything from Santana to John Coltrane, even to Tom Scott/Weather Report, reverberate, but Electric Masada is still uniquely Zorn.

Despite the inaccurate Amazon description of only 1 disk (a creeping problem with this site, it seems), 2 live concerts are represented on the 2 x 70+ minute disks, with essentially the same titles on each. Disc I opens with the usual Zorn barrage insanity for 3 or 4 minutes, sort of a call to arms, before settling into an amazing groove of textures, rhythms, extended solos, dynamic arrangements, ethnic influences and just out-of-this world musicality. Man, this is good stuff!! Disk II is not far behind, but not quite to the level of Disc I, in my opinion. Still, it is different enough. Not sure why this just wasn't released as a single disk, but I'm not complaining. Can't get enough of it.

While I am not a Zorn expert by any means, I think this is one of his best recordings since the original Naked City albums. Perhaps a bit retro in it's allusion to 70's hard fusion, it's still great to hear a Zorn electric group stretch out on extended solos AND arrangements, with tons of influences AND original concepts. Just a great recording!

John Zorn's Electric Masada project is one of those bands that carries enormous weight with it-- indeed the label website states that "Electric Masada combines the raw power and manic speed of Naked City, the improvisational edge of Cobra and the spiritual lyricism of the Masada songbook"-- certainly a lofty bill to live up to. As-yet unrecorded in the studio, "At the Mountains of Madness" is the second live release by the band, recorded during two dates on the end of a European tour last year. Like the previous release ("50th Birthday Celebration Volume 4", recorded in September of 2003), this one remarkably lives up to all the hyperbole that the label's description can come up with.

For those who haven't seen this band live (and you really should if you get the opportunity-- the records really only capture a fraction of the power live), a bit about the performance environment. Zorn sits in the middle of the band, part performer, part conductor, indicating solos, moments, noises and so on, encourages solos he enjoys, shifting directions in those he does not, and so on. This leaves a fierceness and edginess reminiscent of the Game Pieces, although with the framework of the piece setting up the "rules", it translates better on album than the Game Pieces did. Zorn assembled for this tour what seems to be his preferred cast for Electric Masada-- the leader on alto sax, Marc Ribot on guitar, Ikue Mori on laptop electronics, Jamie Saft on keyboards, Trevor Dunn on bass, Joey Baron and Kenny Wolleson on drums and Cyro Baptista on percussion. Ribot, Saft and Baptista are in Zorn's direct line of sight in his regular playing position and are most commonly utilized in determining and altering direction of the pieces, whereas Dunn and the drummers are usually more concerned with maintaining the groove and rhythmic figures and Mori is somewhere totally in between all of this, providing an oddity to the music that really quite defies definition. The net result is that the entire performance is under Zorn's control at all times, with direction put forth usually via guitar or keyboard. The members of this band have been in projects together for the better part of twenty years of association with Zorn's downtown scene, however, and they respond to each other in powerful ways-- blending together seamlessly and moving as one voice.

About the music itself-- the two sets are both lengthy (the first disc runs about 80 minutes, the second 77), with eight and seven songs performed, respectively. Six songs are performed in both sets, and all the material except for "Metaltov" comes from the Masada book-- "Metaltov" is a Naked City piece that gets fitting readings in both sets. The performances really cover the range of Zorn's expression, from moody, spacious and lyrical ("Abidan", performed on both sets) to breezy with deep grooves ("Lilin" on the first set after the frantic opening) to explosive and fierce ("Metaltov") and overtly Stalling-influenced ("Hath-Arob"). Along the way, some fantastic playing comes forth from all parties, with the performance nothing short of top notch.

Comparing it to the birthday show, it's fairly similar, but if anything the performances here seem to capture more energy somehow. Five of the seven cuts from the birthday CD receive readings on this one, so you've some expectation of the diversity of material from the Masada songbook.

Bottom line-- this is just as fantastic as that release was-- music this powerful is so rarely performed, the opportunity to hear it on record is extraordinary. Highly recommended.

In its original accoustic incarnation, John Zorn's Masada explored more or less standard bebop (with elements of free jazz) using the compositional techniques of "Jewish" music (i.e. Klezmer) as a starting point. This seemed to represent a kind of coservatism for Zorn, who is renowned for his obsessive, fragmented po-mo sensibility. His (and his band's) work under the name Naked City reveled in throwing together as many different styles as possible, sometimes within a single song. So Masada could be seen as Zorn's longing for the "simpler" ways of tradition. With Electric Masada, Zorn seems to have once again decided to let his id run loose and transform his heritage into music that sounds like nothing less (and even a lot more) than a 21st century update of Miles Davis' electric period. I only wish they'd been around about a century ago when I had my Bar Mitzvah; if these guys had played during the reception, I might not have abandoned religion altogether!

I can picture it now: Zorn acting as a conducter/participant with a band including Marc Ribot on electric guitar, Trevor Dunn on bass and Ikue Mori on laptop electronics. They blast full force into the stormy seas of "Lilin" and instantly the dance floor erupts into a moshing mass of marauding Jews, except for my racist great aunt (c'mon, admit it--every family has one) that nobody really likes, who has a conniption and shrivels into an unconscious ball. The drumming of Joey Baron and Kenny Wollesen is as frenzied as the best hardcore punk even as they trade complex rhythmic patterns, which only eggs on the rest of the band. Zorn's signature saxophone playing, with its rapid high-pitched squealing, causes even more damage, shattering wine glasses all over the hall as waiters are trampled underfoot in their efforts to clean up. When the band launches into Naked City holdover "Metal Tov," not even the Roman army can defeat the crowd. The loud, abrasive guitar playing alone sets the roof on fire, and the Rabbi screams (in Yiddish, no less) "we don't need no water, let the m-----f----- burn!" Just when it seems that anarchy is all but inevitable, they play the relatively calm "Karaim" and we are instantly transformed into Torah scholars, bobbing our head to the bebop as we contemplate the mysteries of G-d. But wait! The frenetic "Hath Arob," which makes us imagine a heavenly fistfight between Miles and (Looney Tunes composer) Carl Stalling finally destroys the place, and the survivors emerge from the rubble as new people. I resolve not to waste my Bar Mitzvah money on college and instead travel the world, bringing news of Radical Jewish Culture to the trad, uncool masses. Soon, there is peace in the middle east and decent bagels in middle America. All because of Electric Masada. Amen.

Anyway, "At The Mountains of Madness," two discs of live recordings from the band's tour of Europe, while not enough to make atheists reconsider, is certainly inspiring enough to make H.P. Lovecraft (from whom the title is borrowed) rise from the dead and dance around like a satanic epileptic. And that ain't bubkis, my friends.

This is as good, if not better, than the 50th Birthday recording.

The boys are even tighter and most of the improvisation unfolds with a newfound ease. Don't worry, there is still plenty of insanity when the percussion gets going. Musically it is as if these guys are pounding on the gates of heaven, demanding a dialoge with G-d.

John Coltrane approached improvisation from a spiritual level - - THIS BAND DOES THE SAME!

My only criticism is the minimal amount of new material. Don't get me wrong, I could listen to them play the same song five times in a row. It's just that the songs off the last album had a rawness that it lost once the musicians get truly comfortable with the piece. Even so, they do amazing things once they are comfortable so I can't fault the material. I just want them to stay fresh and continue making music for 30 years!

A distinct improvement over the previous Masada album (although this is pretty odd since both of them came from the same recording sessions in July of 1995), "vav" is a fine effort by Masada (John Zorn- alto sax, composer, Dave Douglas- trumpet, Greg Cohen- bass, Joey Baron- drums). The four piece improvises over pieces written using the "Jewish scales" with a jazz head structure to the pieces (i.e. intro-head-improv-head) and a unity in performance that is absolutely stunning. The strength of this band, moreso even than the superb material, is their near psychic interaction, and often times, it isn't the soloist who is the highlight during a solo, but rather the supporting voices. The band is also famous for point-counterpoint sort of improvisation with Zorn and Douglas improvising together.

Admittedly, the album starts off much like the other record from this session-- the first couple pieces are decent enough (opener "Debir" features some ferocious improvising from Zorn), but they aren't particularly memorable pieces. It isn't until the nearly soporific "Tiferet" that we get something really interesting-- a mellow piece with Douglas playing muted, it really grabs your attention for something that is so decidingly laid back in form. Similar in mood is the brilliant "Miktav"-- Zorn opens the piece with a keening line, and a sense of haunting and foreboding infuses the playing of all four musicians, particularly Douglas, who is just brilliant in his solo, showing an amazing sense of taste and technique.

But what this album has that the previous record was missing is a couple really great themes that clearly inspire the band-- drum feature "Nevalah" has a great skipping sound and a superb solo from Baron, but the spotlight is really stolen by Cohen, who manages clever interplay while maintaining a nearly hypnotic groove. Also of note is the album standout, "Nashon"-- featuring a fantastic circular theme and superb performances from all four band members (particularly Cohen), this is one of the real greats of the Masada catalog. Cohen continues his amazing playing on the cooled out "Avelut"-- a laid back piece where the bassist just never ceases his inventiveness (Zorn gets in quite a solo too).

There are better Masada pieces, but this is really a quite enjoyable effort. Recommended.

Even if I haven't heard all Masada's records, I can say Vol.6 is a great Jazz album. J. zorn (as), D. Douglas (t), G. Cohen (b), J. Baron (dr) fly from free or blues to klezmer, from Ornette Coleman's influences, to latin innuendos, with an amazing easyness. Zorn and Douglas build from paralel lines to to rich dialogs; Cohen's bass reminds me somme of the C. Haden's richest works for the Ornette's quartet; Baron's drums sound like Baron is dancing in joy. I really enjoy listening to this record first thing in the morning, not because it's easy listening, no, but because it's happy music in all its rich complexity. J.L.

Instantly turned my Honda into a Bentley. John Zorn and the musicians he employs are freaks of nature.

When it comes to John Zorn's music, those interested in dipping their toes in often find themselves sitting there longer than originally intended, staring into an ever expanding, seemingly endless abyss. Many times, new musical ventures are easier to embrace when the discography is modest. With Zorn and his projects, I believe all of us could benefit from a comprehensive discography index book with full explanations and samples. Until then, we're forced to poke around and tilt each album back- seeing if we find something interesting underneath; unless however, you have unlimited funds.
Let me save you some time here. I'm not going to do a frame by frame analysis- I'm sure you'll find plenty of sources turning the review into an overly cerebral appraisal.
You've made it this far, and you deserve to be rewarded for it. Expect a brilliant album. As the name of the band implies, they are a string trio, under the direction of John Zorn and his Masada project. No drums, only a violin, cello, and bass. The terms "alchemy" and "seamless integration of talent" are thrown around a lot. These guys are right on that. Although this is a studio album, you feel the intense mood, joy, and excitement of a live improv performance. The musicianship here is simply stellar. I've rewound parts of this album more times than Slash's solo for Sweet Child o' Mine when I was a kid. Exhilarating. If this is your first Masada experience, I envy you. Enjoy.


Azazel: Book of Angels, Vol. 2
by Masada String Trio

Mark Feldman: violin
Erik Friedlander: cello
Greg Cohen: bass
John Zorn: composer; conductor

Any old genius can write music that startles, challenges the mind or moves the heart. Perhaps only a genius like John Zorn can write something that sounds like middle eastern restaurant muzak and still have his fans barking like trained seals at his cleverness. This is unremarkable world music hash warmed over.

You hear people sometimes say that JZ has stopped to surprise us with his various Masada recordings and that there are "too many" Masada records ...
I could'n disagree more. JZ wrote a new batch of around 300 Masada tunes in a few months time : "The Book of Angels". These tunes will not be played by the acoustic Jazz Quartet "Masada", but by various groups. This CD, the second volume, has the Masada String Trio playing 13 new Masada tunes. They do not cease to amaze me in their quality of composition, arrangements, playing, improvising...
The character of the Masada tunes of Book II is a bit different from the first book : they are as versatile and brilliant as those of book one, but also very refined and sometimes a bit less agressive. (more mature ?)
Some pieces have the theme in pizzicato, like "Uriel" and "Tabaet", which reminds us a bit of the famous "Abidan"-theme, but very pleasing indeed. And then there are the lyrical ones, like "Mastema" and "Garzanal", which has some Klezmer violin-playing influence.
On the CD are some jump/cut cartoon-like pieces that are played brillantly. The improvisation is brilliant and very convincing. You feel and hear that these guys have worked a lot together and are at the top of their playing.

If you have not yet tasted the Masada String Trio, this is a must-have. If you know the MST, buy it and you'll be fascinated by the new roads they take with the Book of Angels.

"Azazel" is the second in the series of releases for John Zorn's Masada Book Two. In the early '90s, Zorn wrote about two hundred pieces for his Masada project-- a songbook of melodies that could serve as springboards for improvisation all written using the "Jewish scales"-- this lent a slight klezmer bent to the music. In the second half of 2004, Zorn took it upon himself to compose a new book of Masada pieces-- all told he composed some three hundred melodies, naming each after an angel and titling the songbook "The Book of Angels". "Azazel" is performed by the Masada String Trio-- violinist Mark Feldman, cellist Eric Friedlander and bassist Greg Cohen.

One thing immediately notable about the pieces is the diversity of moods on them-- it seems as a composer Zorn seemed to also challenge himself to repeat little ground and avoid sounding, for lack of better term, Jewish. The pieces cover such diverse styles as frantic cartoon music ("Mibi", "Gurid"), lush and romantic ("Mastema", "Garzanal"), patient yet foreceful ("Tabaet"), moody ("Symnay"), dramatic ("Bethor") and just plain exciting and fantastic ("Uriel", "Aheil"). Of course, this is all helped by having just purely virtuoso performances-- these guys have been playing together (and playing Zorn's compositions) for nearly a decade and it shows-- they approach the material with an unusual sensitivity and vigor-- really digging deep inside the pieces. At times, each receives a spotlight and performs admirably, but its really the collective play that pans out, whether it be cartoon explosions and frantic improvs ("Mibi") or one outdoing the other as they trade solos ("Symnay", "Azazel", "Garzanal"), it seems that every time you think they've reached a peak, someone brings it just a bit higher.

When I first listened to this, I thought to myself that it really isn't quite as good as the live performances,b ut as I listen to this more critically for this review, truthfully I can't find anything bad to say about it-- this album is just utterly fantastic-- its not so simple as to say it's "chamber music" or "jazz on strings" or any other label, its just fantastic music performed admirably. Highly recommended.

This is a musical feast from well knowns like David Del Tredici
and lesser knowns (who will be better known after hearing this!)
like Andrew Violette. Contemporary classical music is largely
absent from the radio airwaves, so unless you *know* about it, you don't get to hear it. Well, get this CD and get in the know. It's wonderful. There's substance and style here. Great value.

3 1/2

This is amongst the schizophrenic songwriter's more restrained, traditionalist point-of-entries, covering a wide interpretive range from his unique Klezmer-Jazz Masada influences, similar in concept to what I think is the slightly stronger Masada Guitars. By all accounts, I understand the outstanding feedback. It is an impressive, if misleading introduction into Zorn's work in the field, I just think the material usually "looks" better then it truly sounds, where many initial exquisitely postured instrumental re-imaginings end up hollowing out a bit.

Thanks Anazon, after more of one month I did not again received my stuff, instead to ask to me a review of the compact disk, it should be usefull that you ask to me where is it my stuff!!!

This is a beautiful recording. Somewhat more accessible than some John Zorn records. I don't write long reviews. YOU NEED TO OWN THIS!!

"Bar Kokhba" is one of John Zorn's most tirelessly praised and revered albums-- look no further than the reviews here, all of them give the recording five stars. Likewise, every commercial review sings its praises-- "[t]he album consistently impresses" (All Music Guide), "a double album of painfully beautiful music" (omnology.com), "simply excellent music" (Lord Chimp's review here on amazon).... the praise goes on and on. The album is discussed as the kind of Zorn you could play for your friends and family, I even saw one review mention this as dinner music. Zorn? Dinner music? So what's the truth? Is this piece all those things? "Painfully beautiful"? Arresting and engaging? Human and living? A total masterpiece?

You know, it pretty much is. There's few albums that stretch over two hours as this one does that can really hold my interest, but this does so effortlessly. "Bar Kokhba", for those unfamiliar, is effectively billed as chamber ensembles play the Masada songbook. For those unfamiliar, the Masada book is a series of melodies written by Zorn using the "Jewish scales"-- this lends that Middle East meets Eastern European vibe that you get from traditional Jewish musics. Originally performed by a quartet modelled after Ornette Coleman's famed quarter on his Atlantic recordings (alto sax, trumpet, bass and drums), "Bar Kokbha" was the first recording to explore the music in different lights. Featuring violinest Mark Feldman, cellist Erik Friedlander, bassists Greg Cohen and Mark Dresser, guitarist Marc Ribot, pianist/organists Anthony Coleman and John Medeski, clarinetists David Krakauer and Chris Speed, drummer Kenny Wolleson and trumpeter Dave Douglas in various formations, the music is performed with a depth and sensitivity. Alternatingly aggressive (the Masada String Trio on "Sheloshim") and passive (piano and organ duet "Mo'ab"), delicate (downtempo Speed and Medeski duet "Abidan") and explosive (Coleman/Dresser/Wolleson piano trio "Nefesh"), patient (bubbling solo guitar piece "Mochin") and schizophrenic (Cecil Taylorish Medeski solo piano piece "Hath-Arob"), the music never ceases to engage the listener fully.

Still, as wonderful as this recording is, it's not the kind of thing everyone's going to "get" It's still a Zorn piece, and for every easily digestable piece ("Mashav"), there's one that's not so easy to deal with ("Paran"). Both of these are duets between Krakauer and Coleman, but while the former features melancholy clarinet over delicate piano, the latter features swirling, avant-garde organ and dug-in bass clarinet. But it's really this duality that makes the album so successful.

One more note-- the production on this is fairly unique-- it's almost as though Zorn wanted a human feeling to this-- clicking clarinet keys, fingers muting strings, and breathing all are readily apparent, and this serves only to enhance the recording. All in all, an essential entry in Zorn's catalog. Try a straight Masada piece first if you're new to the music (I'd recommend "50th Birthday Celebration Volume 7", a recent live recording for an introduction), but this may be a good second place to look. Highly recommended.

This is quite a set. _Bar Kokhba_ is two hours of small chamber-jazz ensembles playing pieces from John Zorn's Masada songbook. The music stems from traditional Jewish melodies, which are addictive and lovely, but Zorn revisions them as very jazzy and deviously contrapuntal. The instruments used are violin, cello, bass, drums, clarinet, trumpet, piano, organ, and guitar. Certain combinations appear more frequently than others, for instance the Feldman-Friedlander-Cohen string trio and piano trios led by Anthony Coleman or John Medeski. There are also a few piano solo pieces, with one in particular, "Hath-Arob", where Medeski attacks with a 'free' atonal clatter, while still sounding kinda Jewish. Marc Ribot is notably impressive on guitar. No matter what he plays, on this disc or anything else, it is always so compelling. His 13-minute solo piece, "Mochin", is probably the high point of disc 2. This is simply excellent music that will impress many. It would be wise to purchase it.