The John Zorn Discography No. 20
Was gonna wait till I got through the earlier releases in Zorn's Discography before commenting on this one, but The first volume is still somewhere in the post and I've had this one for a couple of weeks now. Another kind of tribute album, as John was involved in several from this period, with a trio recording numbers by several Jazz artists, including 5 Sonny Clark Numbers. These two live sets are somewhat different from the fantastic Sonny Clark memorial Quartet, with just Sax, Trombone and Bill Frisell again on guitar, as on the Mysteries CD. This gives the songs a more spartan feel. I am not a great fan of the trombone so this puts me in a similar position as with The Mysteries CD in that this is a good set but I'm not getting overly excited about it. Johns playing is again enjoyable and somewhat dominates the show. Bill is great as usual and There is plenty here to enjoy. Two live sets over 77 minutes is a bit challenging to stay with for the distance though.
Rating 3/5.
"The first volume is still somewhere in the post and I've had this one for a couple of weeks now." Has this been re-issued? Great if so. Copies are a tad expensive.
ReplyDeleteUnfortunately the Hathut reissue from 2008 of the first volume is sold out and so I got desperate enough to buy it used. Still paid too much but much cheaper than the ridiculous prices for a new copy.
ReplyDeleteI'd love to get the first volume. I play the second a great deal, especially in the car. I've been hunting a first volume for a while so your review made me look again: a new one for £300 plus! Yikes! I enjoy your Zorn reviews, by the way. Look forward to them.
ReplyDeleteI managed to get my second hand copy for US$20 and I see there are still a couple of used ones for about US$35 at present on Amazon and a new one for 48 UK pounds at Amazon .UK.
ReplyDeleteThanks for your comments, plenty more Zorn on its way.