John Zorn - Unknown Masada: 10th Anniversary 3

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Free Music Notes for Unknown Masada: 10th Anniversary 3

Free Music Review: Simultaneously solves two difficult problems . . .
Hit: 5 Stars

. . . That of the limited range of klezmer music, and that of the stylistic incoherence of anthologies. The first by employing the widest possible variety of performers--everything from The Fantomas purveying klezmer thrash to Julian Kytasty playing solo bandura; from the Medieval-sounding "Shagal," performed on oud, fiddle, ceterina d'amore, and accordion with vocals, to "Demai," featuring Wadada Leo Smith and Ikue Mori. The second by performing all John Zorn compositions. Thus, the annoying sameness of much of klezmer is overcome by such a shocking variety of musicians, while the problem of anthological diffuseness is conquered by focusing on the music of a single composer. The results, it must be admitted, are pretty spectacular: a huge range of aural soundscapes, mercurial, constantly shifting sonic palettes, top-notch artists bridging what would seem like impossibly variegated musical styles. The closest comparison I can think of is that wonderful disc Africa Straight Ahead, which does something similar for African acoustic jazz (though the two disc, of course, sound nothing alike).

Let me come clean for a moment. Although I've come to greatly respect and admire John Zorn's Tzadik label, with such fabulous discs as Susie Ibarra's Songbird Suite, Mephista's Entomological Reflections, Jenny Scheinman's Shalagaster, Tim Sparks's At the Rebbe's Table, Cyro Baptista's Vira Loucas, Marc Ribot's Scelsi Morning, R. J. Rodriguez's El Danzon de Moises, I haven't much cared for Zorn's music in the past. My main objection has been that I detect too much of the mannered and ironic about him. For jazz music to succeed, it needs to operate out of genuine appreciation and appropriation, not cool distance. It's ironic that the artists on his label often seem to do a better job of pulling this off than he himself does.

Bottom line: I guess Tzadik's kinda like ECM; it doesn't always work, but when it does, it works wonders. As it does here. Eminently worth picking up.

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