John Zorn's Masada - Book 1, Book 2 and Beyond...

I recently got the Garth Knox and it's excellent if you want something similar to the Masada trio.

The first time I saw the Masada String Trio was at the 2nd Knit when it was on Leonard St. Zorn sat on the floor in the middle of the trio and 'conducted.' If I remember correctly it was supposed to be a regular Masada gig, but someone was sick. I brought a friend who knew some of Zorn's music and was shocked when he saw what Sorn actually looked like.

 

The Dreamers albums are some of his more accessible. A lot of his music is sharp and discordant. Other accessible bands include Nova Express and The Gnostic Trio. One of my favorite Zorn composed albums is the Gnostic Trio's The Mockingbird from last year.

 

For me, it's just press play. Mycale is really my type of music. I prefer vocal music in languages I don't understand so the unintelligible lyrics are a plus for me. I also love contemporary (and Renaissance) polyphonic choral music, for example Roomful of Teeth's self titled album. It also reminds me a lot of Le Mystere de Voix Bulgares which has been one of my favorite albums since the 80s.

 

The Metheny is extraordinary. I haven't heard any of Zorn's works before I heard that album.

 

I could be wrong, but I believe the Metheny is the only one with liner notes, Zorn and Pat contribute. It's also the only one that was released on two different labels, most likely due to Pat's popularity. It's a great intro to Pat because it covers almost all of his styles.

 

You are correct, there are no liner notes on any of the other Book of Angels volumes.

 

I love almost all of this music that I have heard. So much of Zorn is in that place where you ask yourself, "Am I actually enjoying this now? Or am I subjecting myself to it for reasons of credibility?" but this music is struggle- and guilt-free enjoyment. I have probably only five or six of these titles, but I've heard rather more than that. Sublime.

 

One hopes that there is a Book 3, though Zorn tends to shelve projects once he feels he's milked everything he can from them in a compositional sense.

 

There is indeed a Book Three: The Book of Beriah. We don't know how it's going to be released, if at all, but it seems to be written for performance by multiple ensembles in a single concert so don't expect single-ensemble albums like Book Two. According to the article I link, there are 92 heads in the final book so that the total number adds up to "613 tunes: the number of mitzvoth, or commandments, in the Torah".

 

I'm just dipping my toe into the Masada waters, mostly because of this thread, and recently picked up the Friedlander Book of Angels. Love it. Mine came with an obi style card that has a brief, 3 paragraph notation on where the volume fits into the series, info about Friedlander, etc. Do all volumes have that, and are the liner notes that are being described on the Metheny album much more detailed and lengthy?

 

Yes, and yes. There is a little information on the obi cards. The Metheny album has narrative paragraphs in its liner notes.

 

I must confess that I don't pay much attention to Zorn's song titles!

 

Thanks. I have a lot of work in front of me.

 

But fun work!

 

A fan asked Erik Friedlander how long it took him to learn the Masada tunes for Volac.

 

Listening to:

• Bar Kokhba Sextet, 50th Birthday Celebration Volume 11: (Tzadik, 2005)

This might be my all-around favorite Zorn/Masada release. Pure pleasure.

 

Thanks for this. I really like the initial Bar Kokhba studio album. I need to check out this 2005 release.

 

Oh wow, I can't wait until this is released!

 

I'm so behind.

 

Heck, 60 titles in the vault, and I'M behind.

But I am ready for Book 3.

 

There are some great clips on the youtubes of some book 3 performances from Town Hall in 2014.

 

I'd love to see the artists expanded beyond Zorn's 'Jazz' World.

 

Not my collection, just a nice shot of Vol. 1 - Vol. 29.

 

Even nicer without the obi strips.

 

I've been plugging away at acquiring the whole series. My company has a rewards program that allows us to exchange reward points for products and there's a connection with Best Buy, so I buy CDs. Since you never really know which version you're looking at using their system I stick to CDs that only have one. These fit the bill nicely.

This week I received: Cyro Baptista, Eyvind Kang, Shanir Ezra Blumenkranz and MMW.