The John Zorn Discography.
I don't remember how or where or even when I first heard John Zorn's Masada, but it was well after the release of the 10 volumes of the first Masada Songbook. My Masada collection on CD had been most of the live albums and pretty much all of the other Masada related releases on Tzadik, but not the original 10 volumes. This was due to them not being all that readily available, with the original releases being on the Japanese DIW label and the asking prices on Amazon just a little to high for my liking. I luckily picked up Volume 7 at the local Borders shop sometime back and now I just recently found the rest of the series available at a reasonable price from the Downtown Music Gallery.So I now have all ten volumes adorning my CD shelf.
Volume one kicks ass. With the classic quarter of Upright bass, drums, Trumpet and Zorn on Sax, this is full on contemporary Jazz with a strong tinge of Jewish Klezmer and a good wallop of Avant-garde. Brilliant sound and brilliant musician ship, this is the music that really turned me on to Zorn the most. Some incredible melodies and awesome solos, for me this is some of the most fantastic Jazz ever released. I rate Volume one 5/5.
I have been listening to this album since 1995-ish. A lot. And *every* time I hear it, I like it more.
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