John Zorn

1988

Zorn uses a rapid, jump-cut style similar to his Naked City music for this soundtrack. The tracks are short, and very evocative of the action. Performers include Bill Frisell, Marc Ribot, Ikue Mori, Wayne Horvitz, Bobby Previte, and Cyro Baptista.

One of Zorn's heroes is Carl Stalling, who wrote the music for the classic Bugs Bunny cartoons of the 40s and 50s. On this album, he demonstrates his mastery of the form, and updates the sound a little with guitars and plenty of odd sound effects.

Coaster Trip: A rollercoaster ride is portrayed very effectively by Zorn's music. Fun, exciting, scary, tense, crazy...just like a coaster trip.

Scary Moonlight: Zorn pays hommage to Bernard Herrmann on this atmospheric track. Spooky strings and harp highlight a great arrangement. It is surprising that Zorn has never actually done the music to an actual mainstream movie.

Bill Frisell, Carol Emanuel, Wayne Horvitz, David Hofstra, Christian Marclay, Bobby Previte, Cyro Baptista, Rober Quine, Marc Ribot, Arto Lindsay, Jill Jaffe, Ikue Mori, Kermit Driscoll, Peter Scherer, Maxine Neuman, Kiriko Kubo

1989

Surf music, hardcore punk, movie music, country, and just about everythng else is put through the Zorn-grinder on this edgy album. Postmodern rock.

Many of the tunes feature jarring jumps from style to style, and the band holds no punches. Incredible chemistry among players makes this album an exhilirating ride. Watch out for the hardcore tunes.

Batman: Not the series theme, or even the movie theme, but a Zorn-penned original. Fast, edgy, kinetic song that sounds like Peter Gunn meeting X.

You Will Be Shot: Razor sharp, hardcore-punk and Ruins influenced tune. Like many songs here, it will either have you jumping in the aisles, or running for cover.

John Zorn:
alto sax

Bill Frisell:
guitar

Wayne Horvitz:
keyboards

Fred Frith:
bass

Joey Baron:
drums

Yamatsuka Eye:
vocals

1992

Whatever you feel about the subject matter in the movie, this post-soundtrack (the music never actually appeared in a movie) is very evocative. Dark, often intense, awkward.

On only one track does the entire band perform, and only on that track ("Fire and Ice") is any traditionally structured music played.

Sex Games: Group improvisation paints picture of something we were probably never supposed to see, until you realize that is a soundtrack. Challenging listen, as is the rest of the album.

Labyrinth: Last "song" on the album, and the longest. Runs the gamut of gritty, sticky sounds, and leaves a very cold, dark aftertaste. Either the best soundtrack ever made, or the most unlistenable, depending on your idea of what a soundtrack should be.

Zorn, Frisell, Horvitz, Frith, Baron, Eye

1992

The album is divided into three parts: the 17-minute title track, arrangements of classical music, and about 30 or so hardcore punk-influenced tunes. The hardcore tunes from this album, along with the ones from the first album, were anthologized on the album Torture Garden.

The hardcore tunes were originally recorded two years before this album was released. The classical covers show just what a "rock" band is capable of pulling off. Very impressive and unpredictable.

Three Preludes, op. 74 (Scriabin): Arrangements of three piano preludes by Alexander Scriabin. Intensely dark, subtle music that is played with much sympathy by the group. Zorn shines as an arranger, somehow making this music seem like it was meant to be played by this group.

Jazz Snob Eat Shit: Hyper, funky, loud, but never heavy...the last half of this album is made up of short hardcore punk-influenced songs, similar to the ones on the first Naked City album. If you can last all the way through, you're probably ready for combat flight.

Zorn, Frisell, Horvitz, Frith, Baron, Eye

1992

The music of this album is a slow, droning, heavy metal-ish track that sounds a little like Swans. Imagine a hardcore punk song slowed down by 25-times so that each chord lasts about three minutes.

The cover of the album is a picture of someone being slowly cut into 100 pieces, and the music reflects that kind of gruesome mutilation. Not for the faint-hearted, or impatient.

Leng Tch'e: The only track on the album. See above for description. Probably not the best intro to the band.

Zorn, Frisell, Horvitz, Frith, Baron, Eye

1993

In the CD insert, a list of influences and reference points is given for each track. While spotting the influence may be fun for a while, it does invariably remove the element of surprise so prevalent on the other Naked City albums.

The music here is very similar to the first Naked City album, but with a slightly less edgy production. Surf music, punk, jazz, country, rockabilly, metal, avant-classical, cartoon music, and even Klezmer hommages abound.

Terkmani Teepee: Very quirky song that sounds like a cross between Dick Dale, James Bond, and the Atlanta Braves tomahawk chant. Fun.

Shock Corridor: Harcore-influenced tune. This album basically repeats ideas from other Naked City albums. You're not going to find this stuff anywhere else, but you may not need much to reach your fill.

Zorn, Frisell, Horvitz, Frith, Baron, Eye

1993

This album is completely different from the other Naked City albums: there are no "songs" as such, but rather soundscapes. The ambient tag may be misleading, for many of these tracks are not relaxing or soothing at all, but grating and relentless.

Most of the time, individual voices are sacrificed for a group collective to produce the sounds on the album. Often, it is difficult to tell who is actually playing, and what instrument is being played.

Val De Travers: First track on the album, features massed chord-clusters by guitar and bass. Percussion sounds like bells, or a bell tree, and overall mood is one if dispair and dread. Evocative, and definitely gives a good indication of where the album is headed.

Notre Dame De L'Oubli: Dedicated to Olivier Messiaen, this track is an atmospheric piece, foreshadowing later Zorn works such as Redbird and Duras:Duchamp. Hard to tell what instrument(s) is being played here, but music is glacier-speed Debussy, without the tone color or dynamic contrast. Extremely still music, ambient to a fault.

Zorn, Frisell, Horvitz, Frith, Baron

1993

Performers are Marc Ribot, Frank London, Mark Feldman, Anthony Coleman, David Krakauer, and William Winant. This was the first release by Zorn indicating his devotion to Judaism, and a forerunner to his Masada projects.

The music is avant-garde classical. Some passages sound improvised, will others are tightly structured and arranged. The second track, "Never Again," is given a disclaimer by Zorn--he doesn't recommend repeated listens because of the possibility of headaches, nausea, and damage to the listeners' ears.

Shtetl: The first track on the album begins with a Hebrew fanfare from the trumpet, and foreshadows the experience ahead. Remarkable chemistry among players; Zorn usually works with the same core of musicians, and it has really paid off. Dissonant, but exhilirating.

Tikkun: Mark Feldman shines on this movement. Again, turbulent passages alternate with moments of grace to form Zorn's best work. Music is in the tradition of Stravinsky, Schoenberg, Carl Stalling, and Varese.

Mark Feldman, Marc Ribot, Anthony Coleman, Mark Dresser, William Winant, David Krakauer, Frank London

1995

This is possibly Zorn's quietest release. The players are Jim Pugliese, Carol Emanuel, Jill Jaffe, and Erik Friedlander. Zorn conducts.

For those expecting excitement, be prepared for a surprise. There are no tempo, dynamic, or style shifts. Total atmospherics.

Dark River: The first track on the album is written only for four bass drums. Calm, like listening to distant thunder, and an excellent lead-in to the next next (last) track.

Redbird: Harp, viola, cello, and minimal percussion perform this grand ambient work. For over 40 minutes (!), the ensemble strikes soft chords, with an occasional sustained notes from the strings. Trance inducing; a very beautiful sound if you've the time and patience.

Jim Pugliese:
Bass drums, percussion

Carol Emanuel:
Harp

Jill Jaffe:
Viola

Erik Friedlander:
Cello

John Zorn:
Conductor

1994-98

The music is Ornette Coleman-like arrangements of Hebrew-sounding melodies. The band is tight and, after years of playing together, has forged a chemistry extremely rare in contemporary jazz (or any other music for that matter).

Since there are so many albums to choose from, it is easy to get overwhelmed by the quantity of material. Just about any album is a good one to start with. The only drawback is the sameness of the music from album to album.

Tzofeh: from Alef (Masada 1). Fast, driving tune features unison of bass and horns. Relentless drumming from Baron, and group solos with abandon. Quickly establishes the ESP of group members and mastery of Jewish harmony.

Ziphim: from Gimel (Masada 3). Mid-tempo track, features stronger sense of melody than earlier Masada tunes. The third album is probably the easiest one to get into for newcomers.

Jair: from Alef (Masada 1). Ornette-styled free-jazz. About a third of Masada's repertoire is made up of this kind of music. Intense, free, heavily indebted to the late-50s and early 60s recordings of Ornette Coleman's quartet.

Kodashim: from Het (Masada 8). Slow, very melodic tune that is typical of late-period Masada. More complex form than earlier tunes, and relatively subdued solos. Forerunner to the Bar Kokhba and Circle Maker albums.

John Zorn:
Alto sax

Dave Douglas:
Trumpet

Greg Cohen:
Acoustic bass

Joey Baron:
Drums

1996

The overall effect of this album is very somber. Also, many of the performances (especially the ones featuring clarinet) are closer to actual traditional Hebrew music than Zorn's regular Masada quartet.

Nezikin: String trio tackles this Bartok-esque tune. Zorn would later employ this trio on many other Masada tunes, and they even toured by themselves playing this music. Short, fast, aggressive.

Nefesh: Jazz piano trio swings the hell out of this tune. Although many of these tunes appear on Zorn's regular Masada quartet albums, the versions here seem completely different, as if they were written just for the ensembles on this record.

Sheloshim (disc 2): One of two versions of this song on the set. This version features Dave Douglas (who plays in the regular Masada quartet), and is completely different than both the version on the first disc, and the Masada quartet version. Swinging, noir-ish, and uplifting.

Mark Feldman, Erik Friedlander, Greg Cohen, Marc Ribot, Anthony Coleman, David Krakauer, John Medeski, Mark Dresser, Kenny Wollesen, Chris Speed, Dave Douglas

1998

Performers on the first disc are Mark Feldman, Erik Friedlander, and Greg Cohen. Disc 2 features those players, and adds Marc Ribot, Cyro Baptista, and Joey Baron.

The first disc features the Masada string trio. They run through several tunes, and improvise fiercely. The second disc is much lighter, with an almost lounge-y atmosphere. Critics call it Masada-lite.

Hadasha: Fast tune on the first disc. The string trio aggressively tackles this music, taking many more chances than on the second disc. Not the one to play at dinner.

Hazor: From the second disc, this tune conjures up images of cocktail lounges in the Middle East. Could definitely play the entire second disc at an eccentric dinner party. Extremely 'tasty' arrangement.

Mark Feldman, Erik Friedlander, Greg Cohen, Marc Ribot, Cyro Baptista, Joey Baron

Madness, Love and Mysticism

2001

Personnel:

Stephen Drury: piano

Jennifer Choi: violin

Erik Friedlander: cello