The fourth CD in a 12-month period by Zorn’s most powerful new ensemble featuring John Medeski on organ, Ches Smith on congas and voudun drums, Kenny Wollesen on vibes, Kenny Grohowski on drums and Matt Hollenberg on guitar presents nine genre-busting compositions mixing jazz, metal, classical, world music and more.
This time their trademark sound is augmented by the ringing tones of Kenny Wollesen’s vibraphone to create their wildest, most insane CD to date.
Juxtaposing complex atonal lines, driving vamps, heavy metal riffs, improvisational madness, shredding solos and moments of profound lyricism, The Painted Bird is a surreal and expressive new world in sound.
Moonchild meets Nova Express!

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1. Snakeskin
2. Plague
3. Ravens
4. Comet
5. Cinders
6. Nettles
7. Night
8. Spike
9. Missal

There was always a sense that pianist Craig Taborn was more successful as a “super sideman” than as a leader of his own recordings. His contributions to CD offerings by saxophonist Tim Berne, reedman Roscoe Mitchell, saxophonists David Binney and James Carter, and many more, have been critical in crafting dozens of excellent music sets. Then he recorded a solo piano disc for ECM Records, Avenging Angel (2011), followed by a trio set for the label, Chants (2013). These two excellent discs cemented his credibility as an important contemporary voice as a leader.
The ECM discs featured Taborn originals. Now the pianist, exploring John Zorn’s Masada Songbook Two, offers up Book of Angels, Volume 27: Flaga, a set that — along with Chants — establishes…

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…Craig Taborn as a top level leader of the dynamic, modernistic piano trio outings.

John Zorn—record company head (Tzadik Records)/alto saxophonist/composer—is prolific, and generous with his music. He has turned over hundreds of compositions in his Book of Angels series—an exploration of his Jewish roots and Jewish mysticism—to a numerous top level artists: guitarist Pat Metheny, pianists Jamie Saft and Uri Caine, Medeski, Martin and Wood, trumpeter Dave Douglas, tenor sax man Joe Lovano. The results have proven uniformly superb, especially so with Craig Taborn’s contribution to the Book of Angels, Flaga.

Taborn is joined here by bassist Christian McBride and drummer Tyshawn Sorey. They are a free-flying unit that revels in Zorn’s music. They are not careful; they attack the tunes with a joyful fervor, churning out dark turbulence on “Machnia” and “Peliel,” painting complex-yet-approachable melodic portraits underpinned by passionate rhythmic grooves on “Katzfiel,” exploring a Jewish-tinged Cecil Taylor territory on “Rogziel.” Then there is the pure, delicate, mysterious beauty of “Shaftiel.”

Taborn and his band-mates have—in their immersion on John Zorn’s music—crafted a singular trio sound—ruggedly iconoclastic, fresh, fervid, relentlessly off-kilter yet still compellingly melodic, and beautiful, on this splendid recording.

Personnel: Craig Taborn: piano; Chrstian McBride: bass; Tyshawn Sorey: drums.

After 12 years and 28 CDs, the “Book of Angels” project is drawing towards completion! For one of the last installments, John Zorn turns to AutorYno, a wild power trio of three Paris punk rockers and one of the most powerful bands in the French rock scene. Their third CD for Tzadik presents tunes from the classic “Book of Angels” in a heavy rock context. Metal, Punk, Thrash, Dub and Surf come together in this trance-inducing sledge-hammer reading of some of the strongest and strangest pieces out of the Masada repertoire.
As the gate opens, “Flauros” comes out running at full speed with ‘Carcas’ and ‘Saelel.’ As on ‘Uvmiel,’ the sound is often at that crossroads where aggressive rock and metal flirt: think of projects like Queens of the Stone Age and Foo Fighters.

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David Konopnicki’s guitar solo in ‘Adoyahel’ explores psychedelia. On the song, Cyril Grimaud’s performance on the drums has to be heard to be believed. ‘Qaddisin’ strikes with concussive power. The album takes a breather with ‘Shahariel.’ The relaxed psychotropic song features a dub drum echo. While the surf inspired ‘Abrimas’ is only fifty-one seconds, it’s long enough to take your breath away. The cerebral quality of songs like ‘Bethuel’ showcase the project’s progressive rock element. That said, the album also has a jazz feel in that it is instrumental and follows the head > solo > head structure. ‘Achusaton’ explores a rich and colorful sonic landscape. Like March, the project comes in like a lion and leaves like a lamb thanks to ‘Kaniel.’ The beautiful Jewish melody shows the band’s tender side.

John Zorn’s compositions for acappella voice are some of his most sensual and sublime creations.

This CD presents his two books of “Madrigals” scored for six female voices.

Beautifully performed by his long time ensemble the “Sapphites” the music is even more varied and challenging than his previous masterpieces “The Holy Visions” and “Shir Hashirim,” touching upon minimalism, tonal and atonal counterpoint, textural experiments and more.

Inspired by the visionary poetry of 19th century British Romantic Percy Blysse Shelley, a charming lyricism and subtle spirituality rides through the music from first note to last.

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Personnel:
Lisa Bielawa: Voice
Sarah Brailey: Voice
Rachel Calloway: Voice
Mellissa Hughes: Voice
Jane Sheldon: Voice
Kirsten Sollek: Voice

49 Acts of Unspeakable Depravity in the Abominable Life and Times of Gilles de Rais is the fifth CD by Simulacrum, an organ trio of unparalleled power that brings the sounds of heavy metal, blues, funk and jazz together with modern classical music.
Tighter than ever and able to stop and start at breakneck speed, John Medeski, Matt Hollenberg and Kenny Grohowski are at their raging best as they blaze through Zorn’s wildest flights of fancy — a ten-movement suite evoking a sick and decadent descent into madness.
Driven by an intense and powerful fury, this CD contains some of the craziest sounds you are ever likely to hear as genres, noise, instrumental colors and driving rhythms collide head-on.

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Personnel:
John Medeski: Organ
Kenny Grohowski: Drums
Matt Hollenberg: Guitar

A fabulous and multifaceted suite celebrating the vibrant Italian dramatic form Commedia dell’arte that began in the 16th century and flourishes to this day. The classic archetypical characters Harlequin, Colombina, Scaramouch, Pulcinella and Pierrot are evoked in five compositional miniatures for small chamber ensembles: brass quintet, cello quartet, piano trio, vocal quartet and woodwinds.
Premiered at the Guggenheim Museum in early 2016, the music contains some of Zorn’s finest writing and is a delight from first note to last.
Over 20 of New York’s greatest musicians (Christian McBride, Jeff Zeigler, Eric Reed…) are involved in this exciting and varied suite of miniature masterpieces. — Tzadik

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Personnel:
Kyle Armbrust: Viola
Eliza Bagg: Voice
Sarah Braile: Voice
Rachel Calloway: Voice
Jay Campbell: Cello
Claire Chase: Flute
Kevin Cobb: Trumpet
Steve Gosling: Piano
Louis Hanzlik: Trumpet
Rebekah Heller: Bassoon
Mihai Marica: Cello
Christian McBride: Bass
Mike Nicolas: Cello
Michael Powell: Trombone
Eric Reed: Horn
John D. Rojak: Bass Trombone
Josh Rubin: Clarinet, Bass Clarinet
Kirsten Sollek: Voice
Tyshawn Sorey: Drums
Jeff Ziegler: Cello

Drawing upon traditions as varied as Messiaen, Xenakis, Ligeti, Bach, Tournemire, Ives, Korla Pandit and The Phantom of the Opera, John Zorn’s organ improvisations are transcendent, inspiring, ecstatic experiences, offering a direct line to the workings of his rich compositional imagination.

Recorded at midnight on the eve of Halloween on the largest organ in New York City, Zorn approaches this performance as ritual, creating a mysterious mood of contrasts, colors, bells, drones, counterpoint and simultaneity.

This fourth volume documenting Zorn’s legendary organ recitals presents organ improvisation at its most surprising, extreme and sublime.

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1. Bell, Book and Candle (14:15)
2. The Witch’s Sabbath (24:29)

Personnel:
John Zorn: Organ

Saxophonist John Zorn started his “Classic Guide to Strategy” in 1983, slowly releasing volumes up to this 4th, showing the depth of his conceptual underpinnings and superb playing style, technique, and truly unique approach to the saxophone.
After over 40 years there is still no one who plays the sax quite like Zorn. Using the instrument as sound maker, he commands a saxophone language of unmatched versatility. Collected under the enigmatic title of “The Classic Guide to Strategy”, five volumes were planned — “Volume 1” (1983), “Volume 2’ (1986), “Volume 3’ (2003) and now the penultimate “Volume 4” is finally made available on Tzadik. Filled with wit, drama, playfulness and intensity, the composer’s legendary virtuosity and powerful improvisational logic is on full display…

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…in this astonishing release recorded at EMPAC in early 2013. — Tzadik

Sacred Visions presents two Zorn masterpieces touching upon the mediaeval world.
“The Holy Visions” is a Mystery Play in eleven strophes concerning the life, work and philosophy of 12th century composer, healer and visionary mystic Hildegard von Bingen, and is one of Zorn’s most beloved and acclaimed works for voice.
Here it is coupled with Zorn’s latest string quartet “The Remedy of Fortune,” six tableaux depicting the changing fortunes of romantic love, which was inspired by the work of 12th century troubadour Guillaume de Machaut and receives a precise and passionate reading by the brilliant JACK Quartet.
Two wondrous modern compositions drawing on mediaeval spirituality, both sacred and secular!

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Personnel:
Eliza Bagg: Voice
Sarah Brailey: Voice
Rachel Calloway: Voice
Kevin McFarland: Cello
Chris Otto: Violin
John Pickford Richards: Viola
Jane Sheldon
Kirsten Sollek: Voice
Ari Streisfeld: Violin

For millennia the moon has been a subject of deep fascination — a symbol of love, lust, madness and dreams. More than a passive observer, it is a powerful force whose brilliant luminosity exerts an intoxicating effect upon the winds, the tides, our emotions and more.

This dark and moody CD of music inspired by Shakespearian Lunar imagery features ten lyrical compositions evoking the magic of Sister Moon.

Stunningly performedby two of the most fabulous new guitarists working today — Julian Lage and Gyan Riley, this is a beautiful and heartfelt program of music for late night contemplation on a romantic midsummer evening.

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1. Sliver’d in the Moon’s Eclipse (04:56)
2. Moonlight Revels (03:57)
3. The Envious Moon (05:24)
4. By Moonlight at Her Window Sung (03:42)
5. This Lanthorn (03:06)
6. Ill Met by Moonlight (04:14)
7. Moon Take Thy Flight (03:26)
8. And the Wolf Behowls the Moon (03:44)
9. Moonbeams (04:01)
10. Wand’ring Moon (05:42)

This powerful collection of new work inspired by the surrealism of Luis Buñuel and the psychotropic dream world of William Burroughs comprises three remarkable compositions — two stream-of-consciousness tours de force for vibraphone and rhythm section and the sensual piano quintet “Obscure Objects of Desire”, one of Zorn’s most evocative new works.
Performing is the powerful young vibraphonist Sae Hashimoto, along with JACK quartet, Steve Gosling, Shanir Ezra Blumenkranz and Tyshawn Sorey from Zorn’s devoted inner circle.
A colorful and varied program of breathtakingly transcendent compositions conjuring dreams and obsessions both real and imaginary! — Tzadik

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Personnel:
Shanir Ezra Blumenkranz: Bass
Sae Hashimoto: Vibes
Tyshawn Sorey: Drums

Jack Quartet
Jay Campbell: Cello
Stephen Gosling: Piano
Chris Otto: Violin
John Pickford Richards: Viola
Austin Wulliman: Violin

The Garden of Earthly Delights is the sixth album by John Zorn’s Simulacrum, here augmented by bassist Trevor Dunn and vocalist Sara Serpa. The album celebrates the 500th year of the death of Hieronymus Bosch, and is named after one of his triptych paintings – a work which depicts the Garden of Eden on one side, the Last Judgement on the other and a scene in the center with animals, humans and weird plants all seemingly living in a sort of mystical Utopia.
Bosch’s penchant for including surreal scenes, over-sized creatures and oddly at ease monsters interacting with naked humans, set in dark or intensely enlightened landscapes, seems to give permission for the music to follow patterns and fantastical rhythmic changes.

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All of it makes perfect sense in worlds of varying musical journeys: Simulacrum’s music is as fantastical as the pictures. Given John Zorn’s eclectic, diverse and charismatic ideas of what can be garnered under the musical umbrella, it all makes perfect sense.

The Garden of Earthly Delights, issued via Zorn’s Tzadik label, covers any style you can think of almost, and the only thing holding the listener back is the imagination. You don’t have to know it relates to Bosch or that it is loosely based on fantastical beings and possibilities. The music soon speaks for itself. John Zorn is charismatic, hides himself from view and seems to be only accessible by those to whom he gives projects like the Superb Spike Orchestra or this trio. But Zorn is also clever, because that creates a magic around this composer, arranger and musician which is reflected in the music he oversees unleashed under various projects – each with their own identity and musical stamp.

“Angels and Devils” sets off at a speed and intensity which gives anything following a hard time. The driving, heavy, repetitive theme works well as the opener for The Garden of Earthly Delights. “The Infernal Machine” is theme / section / theme, with John Medeski’s keyboard working overtime and the drumming building up and up into overdrive, with a sudden drop into which the repetitive theme intersperses again. “The Dragon Tree” is of a similar vein with a lot of interaction between percussion, keys and guitars. It also features a gorgeous section where each part is in a different time emphasis – very enjoyable. The middle section introduces a series of repeated notes under which the bass works up a complete storm; Trevor Dunn’s bass line itself is worth listening to for its technical work and depth.

“Paean to the Prince of Hell” is sacred sounding initially, like a hymn introduction, before guitar and percussion work out the theme between them, with Dunn’s bass adding its own voice. John Zorn’s Simulacrum offer a pulled-back beat, then the fairground ride and the manic, driving noise when everyone goes for it, hell for leather. A fulsome track and a noise-some one. “Music of the Flesh” starts with Matt Hollenberg’s guitar, as an eerie atmosphere is set before the percussion builds a soft susurration with echoey interventions from the guitar. Then it builds over a different line from guitar, then a pause, then a gentle section and, finally, everyone in John Zorn’s Simulacrum goes tooth and nail – fighting for supremacy with notes ricocheting and cymbals crashing, before a sudden complete silence and a guitar-led finish over soughing from the percussion.

With The Urmuz Epigrams Zorn returns to his roots, using the recording studio as instrument to create an intensely personal suite of compositions in the style of his legendary File Card compositions and Zoetropes.

Dedicated to the visionary Romanian writer Urmuz whose small, scattered body of work predated Dadaism by decades, The Urmuz Epigrams is a suite of surrealistic miniatures more akin to philosophical aphorisms than actual music.

The pieces are presented here in two iterations, as a set of “rare 78rpm records” complete with surface scratches and limited dynamic range, and as a modern reconstruction of same with the full blown studio sound presented in all its perplexing glory.

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Personnel:
Ches Smith: Drums, Percussion, Vibraphone, Glockenspiel, Voice
John Zorn: Saxophone, Piano, Organ, Sound Effects, Guitar, Bass, Game Calls, Percussion, Voice

Insurrection is an intense new instrumental project featuring guitar wizards Julian Lage and Matt Hollenberg with the incredible rhythm section of Trevor Dunn and Kenny Grohowski.
Inspired by some of the greatest experimental novels of the 20th century the music is incredibly varied, combining rock, funk, blues, jazz, classical and more — often in the same song!
Gnarly atonal melodies, bizarre harmonies, astonishing guitar fireworks and telepathic group interaction make this one of Zorn’s most scintillating and adventurous new projects.
…As always Zorn pulls the very best out of the musicians and they play some of the most outrageous solos you have ever heard.

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Personnel:
Trevor Dunn: Bass
Kenny Grohowski: Drums
Matt Hollenberg: Guitar
Julian Lage: Guitar

Throughout his career as musician, producer and collaborative lightning rod, John Zorn has never forgotten the importance of putting pen to paper. This all-chamber program of pieces spanning 2012-2016 speaks deeply to his indefatigable spirit and the obvious care with which he chooses his musicians.
Two brass fanfares, consonant and invigorating, are palate cleansers of a sort. “Antiphonal Fanfare for the Great Hall” commemorates Zorn’s historic 2013 day-in-residence at the Metropolitan Museum of Art. It moves harmonically and with a precision that fortifies its ancient roots. “Il n’y a Plus de Firmament” likewise breathes formidable life into the wind quintet genre. With attentions to texture, rhythm and color rarely heard outside…

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…Edgard Varèse, Zorn provokes each strand of motivic DNA to fullest unraveling.
“Freud” is an enchanting psychoanalytical detour. Violinist Chris Otto and cellists Jay Campbell and Mike Nicola are its breathtaking interpreters, negotiating neuroses and reveries with comparable aplomb. Its wilder moments recall Zorn’s seminal pieces for the Kronos Quartet, but also the chamber music of Henryk Górecki. “Divagations”, inspired by the poetry of Stephane Mallarmé, places a through-composed score at the hands of classical pianist Stephen Gosling, with the interpretive jazz rhythm section of bassist Christian McBride and drummer Tyshawn Sorey, who must make spontaneous decisions along the way. This disc’s crown jewels are its solo pieces. Clarinetist Joshua Rubin performs “The Steppenwolf”on the rarely heard A clarinet, eliciting a dynamic and tonal range as only a master of the reed like Zorn could enable. “Merlin”, for solo trumpet, is even more compelling in the two versions presented here. Peter Evans fills the ears with wonder, his extended breathing providing the most thrilling moments of the program, while Marco Blaauw (on his custom-built double-bell trumpet in C) adds ghostly dimensions. There is so much philosophy packed into this
album, it feels like a living (auto)biography of which we are given a tantalizing synopsis.

The Book Beri’ah is the final 92 compositions from Zorn’s Masada cycle. It’s coming in a limited edition box set of 11 CDs.

CD1: Keter – SOFIA REI
CD2: Chokhma – CLERIC
CD3: Binah – SPIKE ORCHESTRA
CD4: Chesed – JULIAN LAGE & GYAN RILEY
CD5: Gevurah – ABRAXAS
CD6: Tiferet – KLEZMERSON
CD7: Netzach – GNOSTIC TRIO
CD8: Hod – ZION80
CD9: Yesod – BANQUET OF THE SPIRITS
CD10: Malkhut – SECRET CHIEFS 3
CD11: Da’at – CRAIG TABORN & VADIM NESELOVSKYI (bonus CD)

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CD1 Keter – SOFIA REI
compositions #11, 26, 36, 38, 53, 67, 76, 77

1. GE’ULAH
2. SETUMAH
3. KAYAM
4. RACHAMIM
5. PENIMI
6. OROT
7. TIKKUN
8. KETARIM

Sofia Rei – voice
JC Maillard – bass saz

CD2 Chokhma – CLERIC
compositions #17, 27, 31, 49, 51, 56, 58, 63, 66,

1. GADOLOT
2. PANIM
3. KAV
4. NOGAH
5. SEPAR
6. IMMA
7. TA’AMIM
8. LYYUN
9. CHALAL

Matt Hollenberg – guitars and oud
Dan Kennedy – bass
Nick Shellenberger – keyboards, vocals
Larry Kwartowitz – drums and percussion

Guests:
Timba Harris – violins (tracks 3 and 9)
Ludovic Beier – accordion and accordina (track 5)

CD3 Binah – SPIKE ORCHESTRA

compositions #25, 34, 47, 60, 69, 72, 82, 83, 91

1. LEVUSHIM
2. DAMAM
3. SHAMAYIM
4. TEVUNAH
5. TALPIOT
6. POSEKIM
7. KELIM
8. MACHSHAVAH
9. MA’AMAROT

THE SPIKE ORCHESTRA

Mike Wilkins – alto sax/clarinet
Paul Booth – tenor sax/flute
Josephine Davies – tenor/soprano sax
Gemma Moore – baritone sax/bass clarinet

Noel Langley – trumpet/flugelhorn
George Hogg – trumpet/flugelhorn
Yazz Ahmed – trumpet/flugelhorn/FX
Sam Eastmond – trumpet/shofar

Ben Greenslade-Stanton – Trombone/FX
Tim Smart – trombone
Oren Marshall – tuba

Moss Freed – guitar
Elliot Galvin – keyboards
Mike Guy – accordion
Mark Lewandowski – double bass
Will Glaser – drums/percussion

CD4 Chesed – JULIAN LAGE & GYAN RILEY
compositions #16, 32, 40, 45, 48, 54, 55, 62, 78, 85

1. KATANOT
2. ZEIR ANPIN
3. SACHEL
4. TOHU
5. HEKHALOT ZUTARI
6. SHEVIRAH
7. DEVEKUT
8. DIBOR
9. PNIMIYUT
10. BOHU

Julian Lage – guitar
Gyan Riley – guitar

CD5 Gevurah – ABRAXAS
compositions #5, 8, 10, 20, 41, 46, 80, 84, 86,

1. DIN
2. PAGAM
3. TAMIDI
4. DA’AT
5. BITTUL
6. KAVANNOT
7. QIYYUM
8. TZELEM
9. BETZALTZEL

Aram Bajakian – guitars, banjo
Eyal Maoz – guitars, saz
Shanir Ezra Blumenkranz – gimbri, bass, percussion
Kenny Grohowski – drums, percussion

CD6 Tiferet – KLEZMERSON
compositions #22, 23, 35, 43, 52, 59, 70, 75
1. HASHAWAH
2. MIDDOT
3. RESHIMU
4. SAPIR
5. RATZON
6. TOMER
7. NEKEVAH
8. ZIVUGIM

Benjamin Shwartz – viola, piano, keyboards.
Carina Lopez – bass
Gustavo Nandayapa – drums
Maria Emilia Martinez – flute
Federico Schmucler – guitar
Carlos Metta – percussion, jaranas
Mauricio Moro “Osito” – saxophones
Chatran Gonzalez – percussions

Guests:
Jair Alcala – accordion
Jose Paquito Hernandez – bajo sexto
Bernardo Ron – guitar
Alex Otaola – guitar
Tod Clouser – guitar
Misha Marks – horn, latarra
Fausto Palma – oud, sarangi
Dan Zlotnik – saxophone
Edson Ontiveros – violin
Rolando Morejon – violin
Omar Medina – jarana, leona

CD7 Netzach – GNOSTIC TRIO
compositions #2, 7, 9, 12, 13, 14, 19, 24, 33

1. PIRKE AVOT
2. HA-MURGASH
3. ATARAH
4. SHI’UR KOMA
5. SAFRA
6. RE’CHA
7. MERKABA
8. HISPASHUT
9. OLAMOT

Bill Frisell – guitar
Kenny Wollesen – vibraphone
Carol Emanuel – harp

CD8 Hod – ZION80
compositions #4, 39, 50, 57, 71, 74, 89, 90, 92

1. HOD
2. TAKHLIT
3. SHELEMUT
4. SHARAK
5. TAHOR
6. MADREGUT
7. REIAH
8. AKUDIM
9. SHMECHA

Jon Madof – guitar
Frank London – trumpet
Greg Wall – tenor sax
Jessica Lurie – bari sax, alto sax, flute
Zach Mayer – bari sax
Brian Marsella – keyboards
Yoshie Fruchter – guitar
Shanir Blumenkranz – bass
Yuval Lion – drums
Marlon Sobol – percussion

Guest:
John Zorn – sax (track 5)

CD9 Yesod – BANQUET OF THE SPIRITS
compositions #1, 3, 21, 30, 37, 42, 44, 64, 88,

1. IGGULIM
2. NEKUDIM
3. HEKHALOT RABBATI
4. BERUDIM
5. YESHUT
6. NISCHONO
7. TEHIRU
8. DIM YONI
9. TESHUVAH

Cyro Baptista – percussion
Brian Marsella – piano, vibraphone
Shanir Blumenkranz – acoustic bass
Tim Keiper – drum set

CD10 Malkhut – SECRET CHIEFS 3
compositions #6, 15, 18, 28, 29, 61, 65, 68, 73, 79, 81, 87

1. SITRA ACHRA
2. CHITZONUYUT
3. SHADIM
4. NETZOKIM
5. YEKINAH
6. NETZACH
7. SAPAR
8. MISHKAN
9. MAKIF
10. ATZMUT
11. AYIN
12. SHEMOT

Trey Spruance – guitar
Jason Schimmel – guitar
Eyvind Kang – violin
Matt Lebofsky – keyboards
Shanir Blumenkranz – bass
Ches Smith – percussion
Kenny Grohowski – drums

CD11 Da’at – CRAIG TABORN & VADIM NESELOVSKYI
compositions #11, 26, 36, 38, 53, 55, 67, 76, 77

1. PENIMI (take 1)
2. SETUMAH
3. BOHU (take 1)
4. KAYAM (take 1)
5. PENIMI (take 2)
6. KETARIM
7. GE’ULAH
8. RACHAMIM
9. OROT
10. TIKKUN
11. BOHU (take 2)
12. KAYAM (take 2)
13. PENIMI (take 3)

Craig Taborn – piano (1, 2, 3, 4, 9)
Vadim Neselovskyi – piano (3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8)

Most of John Zorn’s output these days comes as a composer or facilitator, so it is always exciting to hear him pick up his alto saxophone and blow in an unfettered and free environment. His playing has lost nothing of the bracing power that has been a guiding force in his music, but wisdom and experience have taught him to temper the howls of raw emotion with moments of grace and humility. He also adds some fender rhodes electric piano textures to the album which finds him in excellent company with Ikue Mori on electronics and Ches Smith on Haitian tanbou, bells and cymbals.
The first track is an exploratory eighteen minute improvisation called “Veve,” that opens…

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…with meditative percussion and electronic soundscapes providing further textures to frame Zorn’s unique and biting saxophone tone. He rips out peals of raw and rending sound that fit in well with the unusual percussive accompaniment and the unpredictable electronic flourishes. Their collective improvisation is free and unfettered with Zorn’s nimble saxophone at the center of the maelstrom punctuating his longer runs with sharp squeals and bellows. The tanbou produces an natural, elastic sound that works well in this configuration, adding an ever shifting rhythmic center for the saxophone and electronics to orbit. Zorn is just ripping through his solos with great gusto, and the sound is harsh and mesmerizing, primal, yet fully controlled. Mori is the wild card in this setting, adding swoops and swirls of sound that amplify and uplift the improvisational setting, leading to a viscerally satisfying trio sound that achieves a unique identity.

“Through a Glass, Darkly” moves in a more atmospheric direction, with electric piano chords setting the tone, ringing out in space with accents of gentle percussion. When Zorn moves to saxophone it is in a more reflective and melancholy vein, and his playing is melodic and quite beautiful. The music is moody and cinematic, analogous to a late night film noir, as the music develops a haunted elegiac tone, with restrained sadness at its core. Smith’s rhythmically charged percussion turns ever faster, against the languid saxophone and electronic sounds creating a rich ebb and flow between the music, providing a catalyst for further exploration.

Zorn’s saxophone returns to it’s piercing, laserlike quality on “Le Tourbillon” in conjunction with insistent percussion that develops a hypnotic rhythm, perfectly suited for Zorn’s long foghorn like blasts of sound and fast flutters of notes. The incantation like nature of the performance is furthered by the manner in which Mori can produce sounds from her instruments, adding just the right touch to this bubbling caldron of sound.

This group creates an unusual amalgam of free jazz, experiential electronica and world rhythms that is very successful. Each of the musicians has a relentlessly inquisitive nature, and by combining their efforts they create riveting and very successful results. — jazzandblues.blogspot.com

Recognized as a major influential figure in contemporary jazz and the avant-garde, the American composer John Zorn is characterized by his refusal of stereotypes and his radical musical experiments. His chamber music is the focus of the latest recording by the award-winning Molinari Quartet.
There is no better introduction to the so-called classical music of American composer John Zorn (b. 1953) than the whimsical Cat O’Nine Tails, written in 1988. Humor and tragedy; alternating sonorities, by turns sparkling or gritty; virtuoso improvisations; musical allusions; harmonic sequences and sonic mash-ups – all these components freely combine in this dazzling, disconcerting, and droll work.

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Cat O’Nine Tails is a collage of more than 60 short, contrasting, and unrelated segments. Some contrib-ute wit and others drama to the narrative through-line of this single-movement work. Thanks to contrasts and unexpected juxtapositions, Zorn’s work brings to the fore the music’s visual aspects. This string quartet can be compared to a comic book with vividly colored panels, multiple characters, unusual situations, and unexpected upsets. To some segments Zorn has given titles which suggest illustrations or composers: cat and dog fight, cartoon trade, whipping scene, Tyson hits Spinks, lullaby, hockey, Paganini, Xenakis, Ives, etc.Cat O’Nine Tails is probably the most frequently played of all Zorn’s works.

Zorn suggests considering the 13 ‘specimens’ or movements of The Dead Man (1990) as like the sound track of a sordid and sadomasochist film set in a gloomy New York or Tokyo basement.The 13 movements of The Dead Man are tightly organized in structure, with repeating motives, repeats of several measures, and thematic reprises. Systematically, in every other movement, the players use practice mutes (which dampens harmonics even more than do regular mutes) to produce a weak but tense sonority. The wide range of effects used in the quartet — Zorn’s instructions to the players include scratch, scrape, crunch — adds almost unbearable tension. In 11 of the 13 parts of the work a passage of virtuoso improvisation marked crazy, insane, or wild bowing interrupts the discourse. Zorn has fun giving ironic titles to the movements. Thus the last movement is called Prelude, the most violent called Romance, and the one with the most static sections called Fanfare!

Memento Mori — the composer’s emotional autobiography, composed in 1992 — is distinguished from the previous quartets by its length, interiority, and emotional charge. According to Zorn it is of hermetic complexity and difficult to access for the general public. During 27 minutes, Memento Mori plunges us into the abysses of lost love and loneliness. The work begins in a mood of intense unease. While the first violin and the viola, playing with mutes, harmonize in quarter tones, the other instruments delicately tune, creating a microtonal sonic back-ground. As in Zorn’s other quartets, the sections are sharply distinct. In Memento Mori, however, their duration can vary from a few seconds to several minutes. As well as playing as a quartet, the musicians are also called upon to play solos, duos, and trios. The work constantly calls for virtuosity and the use of extreme registers. By using silences that last as long as eight seconds, the composer creates moments of meditative repose or of extraordinary tension. With Memento Mori, Zorn manages to suggest that the flow of time is more or less elastic. The dramatic sections are short and of extreme intensity, while the composer takes pleasure in drawing out the slower and often very austere sections. Everything is allowed in this quartet. Listening to it you must let yourself be overwhelmed by its emotions. For example, after a very lively section, Zorn brusquely halts the action with an eight-second long silence. Then, in bar 178, there rises a despairing funeral cry: a wailing E-major chord with an added seventh (Emaj7) which lasts for almost a minute.Memento Mori, subtitled Ignotium per Ignotius (the unknown by way of the more unknown) is dedicated to the composer Ikue Mori, a long-time collaborator with Zorn.

In polar opposition to John Zorn’s first three string quartets, Kol Nidre — which he says he wrote in a single 30-minute burst of inspiration — uses music stripped of all impure sonorities to reveal a world of inner peace.The contrast between the deep abysses of Memento Mori and the purity and simplicity of Kol Nidre is striking. Other than its spiritual and meditative character, and some intervals, Zorn’s Kol Nidre has no connection with the liturgical text that Jews chant on Yom Kippur, the holiest day of the Hebrew calendar. The two outer voices sustain a pedal point on E almost throughout the piece while the interior voices weaving in parallel fourths follow contours shaped by conjoined notes. A short, more intense, and more dramatic central section briefly shakes listeners out of their trance-like states before the peace-ful and spiritual initial music returns.

The Hermetic Organ Vol 6: For Edgar Allan Poe. In these two spectacular performances Zorn literally “pulls out all the stops” in paying tribute to one of his favorite writers, the legendary Edgar Allan Poe, whose fantastical creations continue to capture the imagination of those interested in the dark side.
Calling upon the Angels in two extended improvisations inspired by the haunting and frightening imagery of one of the world’s masters of fantasy and the imagination, the music features some of the strangest sounds you have ever heard come out of the instrument. This is organ improvisation at its most outrageous and macabre.
One of the coolest entries in the “hermetic organ” series from John Zorn – a set that features two long improvisations on pipe organ, both dedicated…

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…to Edgar Allan Poe – and with an eerie sound that feels as if it would have been the perfect accompaniment to some Hammer Horror version of one of Poe’s tales! The two long tracks are each about half an hour long – titled “The Masque Of The Red Death” and “The Fall Of The House Of Usher” – and Zorn’s talents on the organ continue to evolve wonderfully, at a level that’s so different than anything we might have expected during his early years – or even during some of his broader sonic experiments of the 90s.