Big Apple pt 1
* Masada String Trio: Intro (3.0 mb) | Tahah (7.0 mb)
* Bar Kokhba Sextet: Jachin (9.0 mb)
* Masada: Paran (9.0 mb)
From Warsaw Summer Jazz Days : Jun 25, 1999 : Warsaw, Poland
I’m so excited I can hardly stand it because this weekend I’ll be heading to the Big Apple for a little, but much needed, vay-cay. Work has been such a drag because I’ve been working with some partners that I can’t really stand. If I worked in an office, it would be a little different because at least there’s a cubicle to hide in or other people to talk to. But since I work in a vehicle with one other person for 13 hours, the day is so incredibly long if you don’t like your partner.
At any rate, that’s more than enough about work. And since I’m going to the City I decided to bookend the weekend with posts about the musician that I think most exemplifies New York City, John Zorn (jazz saxophone player, owner of the Tzadik label and all around instigator of all things musical)
I first heard about John Zorn back in 1997 when I was getting into the experimental musics. His name was almost always mentioned when I talked to others about my listening explorations. So I tracked down a couple of his releases, but couldn’t get into them. They were too much of everything for me at the time…especially too experimental and too noisy. And then a friend suggested that I give a listen to his Masada records. When I finally got a chance to listen to them (they were only available as expensive and hard to find imports) I had finally found something that I really liked. I thought that they were absolutely incredible. They somehow were able to merge Jewish musical styles with be-bop and experimental jazz. What an incredible concept. One of his goals was to write a songbook, similar to the jazz fakebooks, that could be used by any grouping of musicians. He’s put together a number of different groupings of musicians (quartet, sextet, string trios, etc) that have provided different interpretations of pieces from that songbook.
The tracks above are all from the Warsaw Summer Jazz Days and provide a good sampler of what the different groupings sound like. I’ve also included the introduction to the show which is funny as hell.
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bill said,
June 7, 2005 @ 6:01 am
great post! these are classic sets… tough to find good Zorn live music… the Birthday Series on Tzadik has been fantastic (still, the FilmWorks series hits the mark EVERY TIME) but is plagued by Zorn’s penchant for overblowing. i wonder if his buds call him “squeaky”.
not that that stuff is all bad, but it gets a little ingratiating. this is what i dig about Bar Kokhba, the String Trio, etc. not too much excess. it works for Naked City, and at times for Masada, but the consistent souring point of most of the Improv sets on the Birthday Series releases is all the honking and skronking. my girlfriend insists that’s all he can do, and i can see her point. Hemophiliac? Locus Solus? Duet vs. eYe? Trio w/Ibarra and Leo Smith…. rarely did his sax blow a discernable melody. the allure of those releases is to hear the OTHER participants’ contributions.
i suggest fans seek out a live Naked City set feat. Mike Patton that’s been online several times. it’s absolutely scathing.
the of mirror eye » Karaoke Vomit said,
August 30, 2006 @ 12:09 pm
[...] Sometimes I feel fairly schizophrenic with my listening habits, transitioning from the soul music, to the psychedelic music, to the karaoke vomit, like this group composed of Dekoboko Hajime aka John Zorn (look here and here) and Yamantaka Eye of perennial favorites, the Boredoms (look here). As you can imagine, with a lineage like that, this music is wild and crazy. Going from sweet saxophone to noise and back, often all in the same song. The finest in ambient screams, hardcore surf, erotic Indian psychedelic, moronic samples, industrial monster movies and karaoke vomit. (Tzadik description) [...]
the of mirror eye » Zorn Education said,
January 22, 2007 @ 6:38 pm
[...] Of course, I always associate the New York City with free jazz, both the fire breathing of William Parker/Test/Susie Ibarra/et al, and the avant-genre hopping of John Zorn/et al. The last time I visited New York, I posted a bunch of songs by John Zorn (look here and here). [...]