This is not an album, but a treasure with the characteristic of a dynamite: it will explode right in your face in the very moment when you will push play.
Although there is a solid line-up of gifted singers such as Jesse Harris or Sofia Rei, the crown belongs to the genius of Mike Patton. He’s really something and he is brilliant, sparkling and unique each and every time, with each song he reveals another shade or dimension of his unlimited possibilities to approach and perform a song. It’s both admirable and completely disarming.
But the release feature a whole army of outstanding musicians conducted by the man who put all this “atoms” and “elements’ to work, the Magus John Zorn. Marc Ribot – Guitar; Trevor Dunn – Bass; John Medeski – Organ, Piano, Fender Rhodes; Kenny Wollesen – Vibes, Joey Baron – Drums and Cyro Baptista – Percussion are the solid foundation of these sonic buildings. Read more John Zorn – The Song Project Vinyl Singles Edition (2014)
Life and Living
John Zorn
John Zorn (Moonchild) – The Last Judgement (2014)
This seems to be the last piece of the mystical-musical puzzle started by Zorn. I’m still in love with the insanely brilliant “Ipsissimus” released in 2010, followed by “Templars-In Sacred Blood” in 2012.
Zorn formed in 2006 the hardcore voice/bass/drums trio of Mike Patton, Trevor Dunn, and Joey Baron which became known as the Moonchild Trio.
Moonchild is the title of a novel written by Aleister Crowley in 1917. Its plot involves a magical war between a group of white magicians, led by Simon Iff, and a group of black magicians over an unborn child. In the novel, numerous acquaintances of Crowley appear as thinly disguised fictional characters. Crowley portrays MacGregor Mathers as the primary villain, including him as a character named SRMD, using the abbreviation of Mathers’ magical name. Arthur Edward Waite appears as a villain named Arthwaite, and the unseen head of the Inner Circle of which SRMD was a member, “A.B.” is theosophist Annie Besant.
Same year two albums of Zorn’s compositions performed by the trio were released: “Moonchild: Songs Without Words” and “Astronome”. Read more John Zorn (Moonchild) – The Last Judgement (2014)
John Zorn – In The Hall Of Mirrors (2014)
Under the John Zorn moniker a lot of quite different records are released regularly. He write classic music, chamber music and all sort of experimental jazz sometimes with roots back to Jewish traditional music, sometimes tripping over the frontiers of our average perception. “In The Hall Of Mirrors” features three extraordinary talented musicians, a rhythm section made of bassist Greg Cohen and drummer Tyshawn Sorey, and the virtuoso pianist Stephen Gosling. We’ve got 48.46 minutes of sparkling, refreshing, intense, still extremely enjoyable experimental (jazz) music.
Blending classical and jazz music, this is a breathtaking and intense album throughout, reveling new dimensions and sounds, introducing the listeners to a limitless open space full of flavors and surprises. The performance of Stephen Gosling it’s fascinating and very inspired, while the dynamic rhythm section of Cohen and Sorey offers a breathtaking and solid groundwork. Simply splendid! Read more John Zorn – In The Hall Of Mirrors (2014)
John Zorn – Psychomagia (2014)
“Psychomagia” is the new album by the fabulous quartet of Abraxas, the follow up of the 2012’s “Abraxas: Book of Angels Volume 19”, the debut album by led by Shanir Ezra Blumenkranz performing compositions from John Zorn’s second Masada book, “The Book of Angels”.
Now they perform a complex new suite of music written expressly for them by Downtown alchemist John Zorn in the same vivid manner of tribal rock. Drawing inspiration from the magical writings of Giordano Bruno, Alejandro Jodorowski and others, Zorn has written a bold collection of compositions that challenging the musicians and exploring the limits.
This new volume in Zorn’s mystic series matches the intensity and power of Moonchild, PainKiller and Naked City. Fans will devour it, but also those who are sometimes scared away bt Zorn’s abstract (astral?) journeys, may try and enjoy “Psychomagia”. Read more John Zorn – Psychomagia (2014)
Best releases of 2012
You’ve seen the movie “Branded” (IMDb)? The basic idea was simple and pretty cool: the public is manipulated to follow the brands and trends, not the brands follows the public taste. The consumer it’s modeled to satisfy the need of the products and not the products are build and developed to satisfy the consumers needs. Sick idea in twisted and sick world! But true!!
We can say now, 2012 was the year of the definitive death of MySpace. DeadSpace would be a more proper name for that mammoth cemetery. On the other hand, Facefuckingbook reached a total world domination, most of the people not even leave those pages anymore, but eventually giving likes there – mainly by default and completely uninvolved. We’re getting stupider? Yes we do! Because… yes we can! 😆 And because the cancer of the crises which will eat up the whole world while we were sold out to the world finances, Obama – not really surprisingly – was re-elected. We’re f*cked! Hard! Who thought that a democrat president will be even worst then John Bush Jr.?!! Anyway, while he won in advance a Noble price for peace, I’m looking forward to see what stupid excuse he will deliver to start the war on Iran!! al-Qaeda my ass! Argo (IMDb), the film directed by Ben Affleck might be the clue: Iranians are evil! The greedy bankers are the real terrorists while the politicians are only the marionettes in their hand!! Zeros are the poster heroes nowadays. Praise the TV! Praise the radio! Praise the internet! Praise the almighty goddamn Dollar!!
Musically, 2012 was the year of Read more Best releases of 2012
John Zorn – Music and Its Double (2012)
I’m not an “expert”, actually, not even a frequent and frenetic listener of contemporary symphonic music. But Zorn it’s Zorn, my curiosity was bigger then my fear of abstract, eventually unfriendly listening. And Zorn managed to grab my attention. Still, this is quite dark, dramatic, twisted out Wagnerian feels-like music, unfriendly and probably for most nerve-racking, or at least disturbing. The violin (the cello and ultimately the soprano… 😆 ) sometimes literally split your brain in two and makes your ears bleeding, while the tension it’s tenebrous and the dissonances makes you feel like you’re trapped in a horror movie – think of the Kubrick’s “The Shining” soundtrack. The four parts of “Ceremonial Magic” definitively fits that profile and vibe. Still, the work have a huge groove and Kenny Wollesen bang his drums like crazy. Zorn’s cinematic experiences are leaving their sonic finger-prints on his symphonic adventures as well. Don’t think that the closing one-act opera, “La Machine de l’Être”, because of the vocals it’s an easier piece. It’s not.
John Zorn is not only prolific, but also fascinating, he manage to express himself in so many different ways by different musical vehicles – just like any true Magician. And there is no doubt, Zorn it’s a Magician. Read more John Zorn – Music and Its Double (2012)
John Zorn – A Vision in Blakelight (2012)
Gathering – once again – a quite selective collective of musicians: Cyro Baptista – Percussion; Joey Baron – Drums; Trevor Dunn – Bass; Carol Emanuel – Harp; John Medeski – Piano and Organ; and Kenny Wollesen – Vibes and Bells; “A Vision in Blakelight” it’s probably one of the most soft, most beautiful and chilled releases of Zorn in years.
Inspired by the spiritual mythology of William Blake, Zorn continue his endless exploration of the mystical work by all the means of the 21st century’s Jazz and contemporary music. This time Zorn is less noisy, less tumultuous and experimental, but further more sensitive and meditative, creating a cinematic groove smoothly flavored by Jazzy rides and the fluorescent play of these extraordinary artist collective. “An Island in the Moon” it’s a pearl, are breathing through standard already. Read more John Zorn – A Vision in Blakelight (2012)
John Zorn (Moonchild Trio) – Templars-In Sacred Blood (2012)
In 2006 John Zorn formed the hardcore voice/bass/drums trio of Mike Patton, Trevor Dunn, and Joey Baron which became known as the Moonchild Trio. The very same year the trio performed and released two albums of Zorn’s compositions: “Moonchild: Songs Without Words” – an album inspired in part by Aleister Crowley, Antonin Artaud and Edgard Varèse and “Astronome”. A third album with the trio, but also featuring Zorn, Ikue Mori, Jamie Saft and chorus, “Six Litanies for Heliogabalus”, was released in 2007. Their fourth release “The Crucible” appeared in 2008, and “Ipsissimus” – one of the best albums of 2010 and my personal favorite albums of all time – was released in 2010.
Now Joey Baron – Drums, Trevor Dunn – Bass, John Medeski – Organ and Mike Patton – Voice are back with the 6th CD in the Moonchild legacy. All songs was written by Zorn and they spend over one year in the making. Disturbing and tumultuous, sometimes extremely intense or silently subtle, the 8 songs of “Templars-In Sacred Blood” will take the listeners into another mystical journey. Read more John Zorn (Moonchild Trio) – Templars-In Sacred Blood (2012)
John Zorn – Nosferatu (2012)
Over one hour of genius and madness. Zorn strikes again and by his side are guys like Bill Laswell on bass, Kevin Norton playing vibraphone, drums, orchestral bells, tibetan prayer bowls, Rob Burger on piano and organ, while Zorn killing his piano, alto saxophone, Fender Rhodes, and build some dark electronic layers.
Always full of surprises, Zorn delivered another masterpiece, “Nosferatu” is a pearl, a rare diamond, dark, deep, still shining and colorful album, I do my best to avoid to stick to it any label, although this is definitively Jazz, but it’s blended with million subtle shades of sound kicking off from furious Metal hurricanes (as in “The Battle of Good and Evil”) to mystic, charmingly strange and abstract moments of silence and disturbing noises (as in “Hypnosis”). Read more John Zorn – Nosferatu (2012)
John Zorn – Enigmata (2011)
Pour les connaisseurs. Strictly. Madness in pure essence, in small, but deadly doses. Under the moniker of John Zorn, Trevor Dunn – Electric 5-string bass (Mr. Bungle, Fantomas, Trevor Dunn’s Trio-Convulsant, Secret Chiefs 3, The Rob Price Quartet, Shelley Burgon, Zorn, etc) and Marc Ribot – electric guitar (impossible to enumerate… Tom Waits, John Zorn, David Sylvian, Jack McDuff, Wilson Pickett, The Lounge Lizards, Arto Lindsay, T-Bone Burnett, Medeski, Martin and Wood, Cibo Matto, Elysian Fields, Sam Phillips, Elvis Costello, David Poe, Allen Ginsberg, Foetus, Robert Plant & Alison Krauss, Susana Baca, The Black Keys, Stan Ridgway, Vinicio Capossela, Alain Bashung, Lyenn, Hector Zazou, McCoy Tyner, Elton John, Madeline Peyroux, Marianne Faithfull, Leonid Fedorov, Tonio K, Andres Calamaro and many others, but also involved in a couple of projects as well) take us down on the path of compositions versus improvisations, in a tenebrous and tumultuous world of avant-garde (jazz) music. Read more John Zorn – Enigmata (2011)
