les maudits (2020)

Track Listing:
1. Ubu 20:08
John Zorn - sax, organ, piano, percussion, vocals
Simon Hanes - guitars, bass, piano, accordion, cello, percussion, toilet, jew's harp, whistling, vocals
Ches Smith - vibes, glockenspiel, haitan tanbou, percussion, vocals
All music composed, arranged and conducted by John Zorn
Recorded January 23-25 and mixed February 10, 2020 at EastSide Sound, NYX by Marc Urselli
Portrait of Alfred Jarry by Nadar
Ubu woodcut by Alfred Jarry
2. Baudelaires 12:04
International Contemporary Ensemble:
Claire Chase - flute
Joshua Rubin - clarinet
Rebekah Heller - bassoon
Cory Smythe - harpsichord
Dan Lippel - guitar
Erik Carlson - violin
Miranda Cuckson - viola
Kivie Cohn-Lipman - cello
Composed by John Zorn
Conducted by David Fulmer
Recorded January 30, 2015 at Abrons Art Center, NYC by Jessica Slaven
Edited and mixed November 2019 at Oktaven Studios by Ryan Streber
Assistant engineer Charles Mueller
Portrait of Charles Baudelaire by Etienne Carjat
3. Oviri 9:38
crison to Paul Gauguin
International Contemporary Ensemble:
Alive Teyssier - flute
Joshua Rubin - clarinet
David Byrd-Marrow - horn
Michael Lormand - trombone
Andrew Madej - tuba
Nathan Davis - percussion
Ross Karre - percussion
Ikue Mori - electronics
Composed by John Zorn
Conducted by David Fulmer
Recorded January 31, 2015 at Abrons Art Center, NYC by Jessica Slaven
Edited and mixed November 2019 at Oktaven Studios by Ryan Streber
Assistant engineer Charles Mueller
Oviri sculpture by Paul Gauguin
Photo of Paul Gauguin's hand (Inside pocket) by Jacques Leclerq
Oviri woodcut by Paul Gauguin (colouring by Chippy)
Production:
Produced by John Zorn
Associate Producer - Kazunori Sugiyama
Mastered by Scott Hull
Photo of John Zorn by Scott Irvine
Design by Heung-Heung Chin (Chippy)
TZADIK Blurb:
Les Maudits presents three dynamic chamber pieces inspired by heroic ‘cursed’ artists of French culture. Demolishing all boundaries and pushing the artistic envelope beyond all expectations Ubu is one of Zorn’s greatest and most outrageous creations-- bizarre musical portrait of the subversive writer Alfred Jarry and his powerful Pataphyisical figure Ubu. The Ubu plays were a powerful precursor to many of the European avant-garde experiments of the early 20th century (Dada, Surrealism, Theatre of the Absurd, Futurism, postmodernism) and Zorn captures the vulgar, rebellious, gluttonous, childish and revolutionary spirit of Ubu in this major new studio composition.
Accompanying this work are two pieces performed by the International Contemporary Ensemble under the direction of David Fulmer. A concerto grosso in three movements inspired by the work of radical French poet Charles Baudelaire, and Oviri (‘savage' in Tahitian) a touching elegy to Paul Gauguin, the influential and complex artist who helped redefine painting in the 20th century.
Series: Archival Series
Catalogue Number: TZ8373
Release Date: July 24, 2020