The Spike Orchestra: Cerberus - Book of Angels volume 20 Genre: Big Band Jazz Label & Year of Release: Tzadik, 2015 Category: Accessible My Rating: 8/10 Personnel Mike Wilkins, Alto Sax/Clarinet Vasilis Xenopoulos, Alto Sax/Flute Paul Booth, Tenor Sax/Clarinets Stewart Curtis, Tenor Sax/Clarinets Erica Clarke, Baritone Sax/Bass Clarinet Noel Langley, Trumpets/Flugelhorns Karen Straw, Trumpets/Flugelhorns George Hogg, Trumpets/Flugelhorns Ben Greenslade-Stanton, Trombone Ashley Slater, Trombone Mike Guy, Accordion Sam Eastmond, Solo Trumpet Dave Powell, Tuba Sam Leak, Piano/Keyboards Mark Freed, Guitar Curtis Nickolls, Drums Otto Willberg, Bass Nikki Franklin, Voice (on "Pahadron") "Gehegial." After a raucous trumpet fanfare this quickly settles to being an up-tempo dance piece in 4/4. Alto sax takes the lead to state the head with very full wind instrument support. If your toe isn't tapping check for a pulse. Tenor sax takes the first, long solo. Tuba kicks in with a New Orleans feel and we get a trombone solo with other instruments playing loose with strong brass stabs. Side drum becomes prominent before the head comes in with accordion accompaniment. The fanfare returns to finish the piece. "Hakha." The start of this piece is a six-chord pattern that becomes this piece's signature, then we hear accordion and other instruments come in gradually, building up to dissonant guitar solo with what sounds to be distortion & heavy wah. The signature pattern returns. Alto sax duets with accordion. The wind instruments are carefully arranged throughout. The piece ends with the signature pattern and two brass stabs. "Hananiel." After a noticeably Sketches of Spain introduction the main piece has a flowing, metrically complex feel. Klezmer clarinet solos extensively with typical vocal effects: lovely to hear. Tenor sax takes over. "Lahal." Quirky, witty start for the saxophones heads into a Polka-style(?) section with tuba prominent in the rhythm and a brief clarinet solo. With no one seeming to want to take the lead on a thorny metre (13/8?) Fender Rhodes comes to the fore by default, playing for a couple of bars unaccompanied until the trumpets come in more forcefully. An alto sax solo is the final "event" before the end. "Armasa." A deliberately desultory start feels very loose until Baritone Sax comes in on a riff that calls the band to tempo. The head is heard from the full winds. Double bass takes a moment, then tenor sax takes the first solo spot. The piece falls out of tempo for a few bars, then the bass calls back the drums. Alto sax takes the second, creamy solo. At seven and a half minutes this piece is a lot longer than it seems. Head reprise into a punchy climax. "Thronus." A small brass ensemble is heard, then the bass begins a dark one-bar ostinato leading into a section with shifting time signatures. Accordion solos with interventions from brass. Muted trumpet with heavy reverb calls over the sound of the band. Multiple saxes trade licks, then counterpoint. Accordion returns briefly and then plays close to the end. This exciting piece has a lot going on in it. "Shinial." Clarinet & accordion play against a sax riff before the full winds come in and we get a Klezmer section with clarinet prominent. Jump cut to: Fender Rhodes and vaguely out-of-tune trumpet leading to Rhodes solo in 10/8. A quiet, anticlimactic ending. Something of an oddity. "Donel." After a rather unfocussed minute at the start (not helped by a head with metres) a long trombone solo gets underway. A quirky, high-kicking section intrudes then we get a fleet Alto Sax solo before the head reprise. "Raguel." A clamour of separate instrumental voices begins this piece, cut off eventually by fanfares. The main piece is a waltz; dissonant electric guitar & sinister, wheezing accordion establish the mood. Creamy Tenor Sax takes a solo but the piece remains rather enigmatic. "Pahadron." After a dramatic opening this piece has an unsettled feel with a two-note idée fixe on keyboard heard throughout. Nikki Franklin's voice, multi-tracked, produces a chorus. Spanish lines heard first on trumpet, dominate the B-section, and Franklin's voice scats along with lead trumpet. Moments of controlled chaos, then an almost ambient outro. Sam Eastmond does a terrific job on the arrangements here, creating a massive sound that is also flexible enough to service the heads. At times the power, with the glassy trumpet stabs, is very impressive but the album does feel somewhat front-loaded with the more accessible material at the start and some slightly more puzzling tracks at the end. I ended up marking this album down to an 8, which indicates how highly I rate it overall. Nevertheless I'm conscious that - since I don't listen to a lot of Big Band music - I do tend to respond very positively to the novelty of that sound when I hear it.
Banquet of the Spirits: Caym - Book of Angels volume 17 Genre: World/Soundtrack Label & Year of Release: Tzadik, 2011 Category: Accessible/Relaxed My Rating: 6/10 Personnel Cyro Baptista, Percussion/Vocals Shanir Ezra Blumenkranz, Oud/Bass/Gimbri/Vocals Tim Keiper, Drum Set/Percussion/Kamel ngoni/Vocals Brian Marsella, Piano/Harpsichord/Pump Organ/Vocals "Chamiel." Against an infectious percussive groove Marsella cuts loose with various keyboards. Blumenkranz plays an extended oud solo. "Kalafiel." A men's chorus (presumably multi-tracked) has an African feel. There's an accordion here prominent but none credited so it may be pump organ. "Briel." More chanting on a more dramatic, propulsive introduction. The head has a rather "Misirlou" feel, which makes it feel somewhat over-familiar. Pump organ & oud are prominent. "Zaphaniah." If you like the sound of Gamelan then this introduction with gongs certainly delights, but it is quickly interrupted (temporarily) by an oud playing an almost cinematic evocation of a mysterious desert environment. The gongs return accompanied by what sounds like an ethnic flute (maybe on keyboard). A weird but evocative track. "Izar Sak." A neoclassical opening for synth reminds me of Wendy Carlos before a lively sub-continental dance starts up. Marsella continues with obviously electronic keyboards, breaking any illusion of ethnic authenticity. "Flaef." Two minutes of solo oud. "Hutziel" This jazzier piece has a more conventional feel with bass & kit drums. The piano solo is what one would expect from Marsella and does not disappoint. "Yegon."A quirky, slightly menacing Morricone feel with the accompaniment of "horse's hooves" puts us back in the cinema. Voices enter towards the end. Crescendo to end. "Yabel." Another Jazzy piece with a metrically dynamic head and ecstatic piano from Marsella. Develops a more Latin feel towards the end. "Tahariel."A strong North African feel on this sultry piece that veers closer to Dreamers territory. Whimsical soloing and a slightly irritating organ figure add to quite an insipid piece. "Naliel." Dreamers exotica, with birdsong, vocal chant & prominent keyboards. One to skip. "Phaleg." For me the best track on the album is a slow, hymn-like piece for what sounds to be unaccompanied church organ. This is one I abstracted for a playlist and it definitely needs to be "liberated" from an album where it seems out of place. Looking at the line-up (and bearing in mind that Mount Analogue is one of my favourite Zorn albums) you'd expect this album to score highly with me but I hardly ever listen to it and this audition hasn't made me change my mind. The oud is enjoyable, and Marsella on piano is a highlight but the music often feels quite lightweight. Not one of my first picks from the series.
I just got a notice from Tzadik that the second volume of Bagatelles is available for pre-order. THE LONG AWAITED STUDIO RECORDINGS OF JOHN ZORN’S BAGATELLES (Vol. 5 - 8)
It's been discussed somewhat in the appreciation thread. It promises to be a really exciting set I think compared to the first set. In fact, 2021 has been a terrific year for Zorn releases.
The Spike Orchestra: Binah - Book Beri'ah volume 3 Genre: Big Band Jazz Label & Year of Release: Tzadik, 2018 Category: Accessible/Quirky My Rating: 7/10 Personnel Mike Wilkins, Alto Sax/Clarinet Paul Booth, Tenor Sax/Flute Josephine Davies, Tenor Sax/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/Synth Tim Smart, Trombone Oren Marshall, Tuba Moss Freed, Guitar Elliott Galvin, Keyboards Mike Guy, Accordion Mark Lewandowski, Double Bass Will Glaser, Drums/Percussion "Levushim." After a bold tutti (lower your volume or pay the price!) this kicks off as crowd-pleasing crime thriller which urges the listener to get up and dance. Trumpet with delay takes the first solo, goaded by accordion and then guitar. Squalling alto sax takes the second solo, buffeted by angry winds until suddenly the piece is interrupted by a fully harmonised brass chorale. The final section restates the theme in more reserved instrumentation. Great opening. "Damam." The head here is rather banal and played too many times but is at least partly salvaged by interesting arrangement ideas, including a Klezmer waltz insert. A long Tenor Sax solo towards the end is the primary instrumental interest. "Shamayim." Bass riff introduction with guitar & subtle drumming. The head is again not the best and the track meanders disappointingly with a low-key crunch guitar solo making little impact. Winds towards the end provide an introspective postlude. "Tevunah." Vaguely avant garde electric guitar opens this curious track, sounding like something from another album entirely, but the winds take over in the second minute. Ambient avant garde interludes really do little for this track. The song becomes quirky with Klezmer clarinets towards the end, having covered quite a lot of ground. "Talpiot." Begins as a spirited & stirring dance with the brass overlapping on the head. Suddenly drops in energy for what a very "flutey" (& enjoyable) solo on Soprano Sax. After a breakdown we get unaccompanied Fender Rhodes. Accordion & electric guitar enter tentatively but the Rhodes continues, oddly, in a completely different key and remains present even as the rest of the band threatens to regather its additional momentum. Late in the seventh minute the track once again bursts into life. "Posekim." After a loud discord in the brass this is more weighty & coherent, sounding almost like a '70s thriller theme interrupted by beautiful brass groupings.Trombone takes the first solo, tenor sax the second, with both making their contributions felt over detailed orchestrations for the rest of the band. Good. "Kelim." Begins with the saxophones and clarinets playing wittily against one another, then we're into cartoon music. After a false ending the drummer comes back with stickwork during an arresting second half. It's just a shame that the head, such as it is, is rather weak, sounding incomplete throughout its many repetitions. "Machshavah." After a minute of enjoyable but directionless brass the electric piano starts up a simple arpeggio for solo trumpet, then shifts into a new arpeggio for bass and drums before the piece gradually accelerates towards what promises to become a pacey 5/8 before stopping into held wind chords. Now we briefly get a rather orchestral, Gil Evans feel before the 5/8 returns in another accelerando curtailed by held chords. The keyboard takes something of a solo spot, critiqued by accordion. After some rambling, another accelerando with a similar, albeit more dissonant, result. At ten minutes this piece is somewhat frustrating, leaving the listener with the musical equivalent of blue balls. "Ma'amorat." Jewish party music with the brass fully engaged from the start. After the head section the instrumentalists come in seemingly one by one, as if taking their bows. Baritone(?) sax takes the solo, then the saxes counterpoint enjoyably. A dissonant section gives the guitarist an opportunity to give some Ribotic angularity before the accordion calls the band back to the matter in hand. There is an attempt (not entirely successful) to recapture the early momentum of the track into the climax. At an hour, this is a long, detailed album that can prove quite an exhausting listen due to the long & rather unpredictable tracks. Eastmond's imagination as an orchestrator is given full rein, which is the album's big strength, but Zorn's heads are not strong enough this time around to hold together pieces that often break apart due to the copious instrumentation and segmented feel. This album is absolutely worth owning for the performances of the instrumentalists, but it falls a clear point behind this band's Book of Angels outing. It is ambitious but ultimately not quite as satisfying.
More details of Zorn at the 2022 Big Ears Festival in Knoxville, TN are here: Big Ears - 2022 Festival
Just wanna say thank you for this great thread and its wealth of information. I just started to get deeper into the world of John Zorn and this is really helpful!
Thanks! I haven't abandoned this process although for personal reasons (I am currently living apart from my CD collection!) the routine postings of last year are unlikely to be resumed any time soon. Do post your impressions ... there's an "all roads lead to Rome" aspect to the various routes towards the heart of Zorn.
If my admiration and the amount of influence of any artist for me crosses the threshold into being basically worship, then it is John Zorn for me. The relationship I have with all of his highly prolific music goes beyond mere entertainment and mere art for me, I always feel something indescribable when I listen to his music (even the stuff where his own influence is musically very evident beyond namedropped tributes). John Zorn is my spirit animal (as the meme goes). His music and the metatextual referencing in his work has many times directly influenced my own decisions in the real world too, and most of his music is instrumental (or at least wordless), which makes it even more unusual.
On this, Radio is more polished than the Selftitled Naked City album. One of the contrasts between the two, given that Zorn literally wanted Radio to be a "young persons guide to Naked City" (as I've heard it described). It follows the form of the Selftitled NC album but takes an opposite approach, in the sense that the Selftitled has a bunch of covers (as with Grand Guignol), whereas Radio is entirely original material the whole way through but every track is a tribute to a particular influence (as listed in the liner notes). I think it's an awesome contrast between the two.
Like a religion, being a fan of John Zorn often necessitates personal sacrifice without the courtesy of explanation or apology. I don't think that Zorn is a god, but he certainly sometimes behaves like one.
Tell it to all of my ex-girlfriends, who at one point experienced the Zorn goodness when our holidays were planned around him. The cult of Zorn: arranging my holidays and monthly budget since 2003.
New Masada Quartet: New Masada Quartet vol. 2 Genre: Jazz, Lounge Label & Year of Release: Tzadik, 2023 Category: Accessible My Rating: 8/10 Personnel John Zorn, Alto Sax Julian Lage, Electric Guitar Jorge Roeder, Acoustic Bass Kenny Wollesen, Drums "Katzatz." As so often with Zorn, we kick off the album with the most aggressive, horse-scaring track. Zorn's squalling begins unaccompanied, then we are quickly into the familiar, cartoon-influenced head. Lage, not given to making ugly sounds on the guitar, smooths things out on his first solo spot but Zorn squawks his disagreement throughout. Wollesen takes a brief drum break. There is what almost constitutes a false ending before the return of the head for the climax of a hectic and high-spirited four minutes. "Idalah-Abal." Moody and atmospheric, this is almost unrecognisable at first as the angry piece that became effectively the signature tune of Electric Masada. Lage is silky, Zorn creamy, taking the first solo and not straying too far from the head, but yowling on sax to avoid things becoming too sleepy. Lage's first solo is fluid and when he plays along with Zorn he is responsive to the sax lines. It's difficult to imagine any Zorn listener not being on-board with this. "Rahtiel." At nine minutes, this bluesy track is the longest on the album, but it doesn't drag. Roeder opens solo & lyrical, taking one of his very few feature spots of the album with gentle drum accompaniment and focusing on the two-part, bluesy head. Zorn gives the head a fuller, more declamatory statement, after which Roeder reasserts himself as the head trails away and he is again unaccompanied. Lage provides accompaniment with sustained notes and chords, finally bursting into life alongside Zorn's lead-in to the head restatement. "Jair." Raucous and gamey as ever, this sees Wollesen providing noisy drum breaks until Lage introduces a chugging mid-tempo r'n'r riff that normalises things every now and again, counterpointed with Zorn's quizzical commentary. I still think that Lage is unsuited for the turn-on-a-dime hilarity of this sort of track. "Abidan." You might think that there is little more to say about the oft-played "Abidan", but Lage's sinuous unaccompanied introduction reminds one why he's regarded as the guitarist of his generation and he sets a lyrical feel that soon seduces the other musicians. Zorn plays straight on the head and then gives a smooth, restrained solo. Lage's melodic soloing leads in to a bass solo and some counterpointing from Lage and Zorn that reminds me of the original Masada quartet. First Zorn, then Lage, restates the head into the end of the track. Great stuff. "Ne'eman." The third very well-known head of the album again sees Lage leading the way on an introduction that almost invokes Ribot. Zorn handles the head with strong punctuation in the drums. Zorn sounds in a good mood here and mid-way through the track Lage provides a cool little figure that lifts the track into his solo. Lots to enjoy here in the detailed, imaginative phrasing of Zorn and Lage, showing the new quartet at its best as a vehicle for the Masada first book. "Achsaph." Wild, gamey stuff introduces the hard, jazzy head. Zorn dips into his customary sax vocabulary with Lage struggling to keep up. Lots of energy but this short track is really an encore or last bow after the main album. These threads lock after a certain length of time so, although I'm still separated from my physical collection, I thought it was worth refreshing things although my rating might prove to be a bit premature. I feel that that the New Masada Quartet is something no one asked for and I continue to believe that Lage (despite being one of most consistently impressive musicians working today) is out of his comfort zone here. Nevertheless, the inclusion of three of the strongest heads on this second volume means that this is a disc that is easy to recommend, including plenty of what makes Zorn Zorn but also enough of Lage's melodic invention to please the more skeptical listener.
Glad to share them! It's irritating that I haven't been able to hear the new Bagatelles box despite buying it, and Incerto (which I expect to love) because it isn't on Autorip, but there are some other albums I may be able to write about that I can stream so hopefully I won't leave it so long next time.
I heard this new Masada album a few days ago, forgot to mention here but I loved it. Very fresh take on the classics from nearly 30 years ago now.
For those curious about The Bagatelles and unwilling or unable to buy the boxed sets, there's an excellent episode of The Dr. Jazz Podcast – John Zorn, Part 12: The Bagatelles which includes sixteen tracks in full, one from each CD issued so far. Note that this is the twelfth episode of this podcast covering Zorn's work, so there's a lot of listening there!
Chaos Magick: Multiplicities: A Repository Of Nonexistent Objects Genre: Jazz Rock Label & Year of Release: Tzadik, 2022 Category: Scares The Horses/Accessible My Rating: 7/10 Personnel John Medeski, Organ Brian Marsella, Electric Piano Matt Hollenberg, Guitar Kenny Grohowski, Drums "Perceptors". Begins fiercely with very quick changes of style, before bursting into an angry Hammond solo over fast drums & guitar riffs which hands on to Marsella, playing out of his skin, and thence to what sounds like a guitar solo, but may be organ. A quick reference of the spiky head leads to a gamey breakdown and end. "Ariadne." This begins with an interesting riff on clean guitar divided 4-3-4-8 then a chugging riff on guitar in 7/8 before the statement of the Bagatellian head. Back to the interesting riff for a glassy Rhodes solo which evokes a paranoid political thriller from the '70s. A repeat of the head to the end. "Erewhon." Piano & organ begin with a relaxed, bell-like feel, then switch into a new riff and Hollenberg & Grohowski join, giving an immediately more rocky feel. Marsella's has a brief Blaxploitation solo, then Medeski has an organ solo. After a reprise, Hollenberg and Grohowski both have brief moments of prominence but the short piece ends before it can go any further. "Lines of Flight." The organ plays a hypnotic 12/8 arpeggio subdivided 5-7, with clean guitar and bell-like Rhodes adding texture and Grohowski mainly on hi-hat and brushes. "Conundrum." Game piece with a typically gnarly head goes into rapid stylistic turnarounds, covering a lot of ground in barely two minutes. "Meinung's Jungle." Clean guitar with Grohowski suitably menacing on toms for the opening, then the actual head which is dynamic and exciting. Marsella takes the arpeggio duties while Medeski soars, then roles are reversed. An abrasive Hollenberg gets the last word as another short piece ends early. "Virtualities." This follows so quickly that it feels like an extension of the previous track after a false ending. Begins Metal with drums in full flow, then Hollenberg trills to announce his raucous solo. [Is that Medeski providing the heavy "guitar" riffs?] Sudden shifts of style take in Jazz-Funk and Medeski takes a longer solo, before Marsella has a rousing, carefree solo. Medeski takes a few bars before we are back into Metal and the end. "Functives." The album is inspired by Gilles Deleuze, so I'm going to assume the French text read at the start here is him. A heavy, chugging guitar riff has a Simulacrum feel, then Marsella provides busy Jazz over Medeski's restless organ "bass". Swift changes of style lead to a good-humoured extended solo from Medeski. Marsella continues in the same vein and there is some gamey goodness for a few bars before he carries on. Hollenberg's solo has a late '60s feel. Grohowski goes crazy into the end, which is punctuated by an odd sound effect, ending this track of six minutes on a comical note. "The Nidus." A moody preamble, all cymbal washes and dreamy stasis. Marsella states the Bagatellian head but the expected a tempo doesn't come until five minutes in, when a steady walk in the lower register of the organ gives the listener something to focus on. At nearly eight minutes this feels unduly protracted. "Succession." Framed by rather dark-feeling Metal Medeski and Marsella play now customary funky lines. An enjoyable curtain-dropper with a reprise feel. I've heard Multiplicities a lot since it came out and it's become a bit of a favourite of mine thanks to its comparative absence of irritating material and the keyboardists' obvious enjoyment of their solo spots. This is at times an uplifting album, and the fact that many of the pieces are short means that they hit hard & then run away, giving the listener a lot to think about in a short time. That said, however, the later tracks can outstay their welcome and there's little here that rises above the enjoyable.
Simulacrum: Spinoza Genre: File Card Label & Year of Release: Tzadik, 2022 Category: Scares The Horses My Rating: 6/10 Personnel John Medeski, Organ Matt Hollenberg, Guitar Kenny Grohowski, Drums John Zorn, Alto Sax (on "Spinoza") "Immanence." Begins heavy from the start, as if in mid-flow. Medeski gives an organ motto for a few bars, then things calm down suddenly, with the organ undulating and the guitar clean. Two minutes in Hollenberg seems to state a theme, then the organ goes into a frenzied, double-time section for a few bars and we are into angry Metal for a while, including wild guitar soloing. Abruptly the music becomes bluesy and relaxed. Just short of the seven minute we get some Bagatellian atonality in the organ, leading to an explosion of gamey noise and a moody, film-cue-style moment of stasis, followed by Gnostic pastoral. Midway through the tenth minute there is a spiky guitar entrance that cuts to an uptempo sixties R'n'R mood interrupted by game breakdown and then pure Heavy Metal, complete with strident guitar soloing, before a brief section of shifting time signatures and a high-spirited, danceable rock section. Swiftly changing styles and another breakdown lead to an introspective section featuring another Bagatelle-style phrase. A calm, swung section with organ arpeggio and guitar lead follows, but then we get more angular metal and a furiously restless phase that passes on to held a section with meditative guitar over held organ notes. Around the nineteen minute mark we get a heavy guitar riff into a fierce Metal section over blast beats and energetic drumming. Hollenberg repeats an angular phrase over organ. A new heavy riff has a coda feel. Collapse and a held final chord. "Spinoza". Zorn kicks off in an angry mood, then holds a screamed note into a Metal riff. Guitar takes the second solo, then a breakdown full of alto mannerisms. Medeski roams energetically around the keyboard for a couple of bars, then we're into a chugging riff. Things settle into a more consistent Metal feel for a while, but then the music races and we segue into a section where Zorn plays less idiosyncratically for a while, duetting with Medeski. More breakdown into atonal angularity and another big Metal riff. Around the seven minute mark Zorn is again very prominent with the music cutting rapidly including fast Jazz and an extended period of slow chugging that brings the piece to its half-way mark. There are some nerve-jangling alto interventions, then more Metal with impactful drumming and suddenly we're into a sort of Coltrane section with Zorn highly idiomatic. Grohowski takes some feature breaks and we get a few bars of Medeski roaring effectively on Hammond on a danceable groove. There's a brief chorale-style theme and we're back to racing Jazz. Shortly into the sixteenth minute we get some much-needed calm with a clean guitar riff and atmospheric organ. Zorn takes a creamy solo on what could easily be a Filmworks cue. Coast to end. Following on from the epic length of Baphomet I expected a lot of Spinoza, hoping for an electric counterpart to Calculus, but I've heard this album a fair number of times and never enjoyed it. The stylistic cutting is so fast-paced and relentless that the listener can hardly catch their breath to enjoy any of it, until the last three minutes of the album, which provides the best argument for listening to, well, any of it. My comparatively low rating doesn't mean that the album isn't superbly executed, and if you've been keen to hear Zorn's sax in the context of the Simulacrum sound-world with some Naked City virtuosity then the second track may well blow your mind but it's not for me, and even 6/10 feels a bit generous for an album that I am just not going to listen when I have all Simulacrum's many, many other albums to hear in preference.
What a wonderful thread. One question: is there a special reason these albums are discussed in this particular order or not really? They are not being discussed chronologically right?
Not at all chronological: as I said in the headpost: If anything I've tried to keep a mix of albums I like more and albums I like less, so that I don't end up with page after page of albums that don't much speak to me. I've still got some absolute favourites that I haven't covered yet.
Thank you for a brilliant work. Is it possible to make available some sort of excel file with the albums covered so far (and updated regularly) with clear ratings so that it serves as a reference point for Zorn new fans such as myself who are still lost in this whole huge pond of this incredible artist's music?
