After 13 years and 32 CDs Zorn’s expansive “Book of Angels” project is now complete! This final installment presents the last 10 unrecorded compositions from “Masada Book Two” and the variety, drama and lyricism is just as strong as the very first volume. Mary Halvorson, a longtime Masada fan and one of the most acclaimed guitarists of her generation, leads a dynamic quartet featuring Miles Okazaki, Drew Gress and Tomas Fujiwara. The music is intense, wild and incredibly varied—a beautiful and fitting conclusion to this historic Masada series—hailed as one of Zorn’s best!

Personnel: Drew Gress: Bass Tomas Fujiwara: Drums Mary Halvorson: Guitar Miles Okazaki: Guitar

1. Chaskiel
2. Beniel
3. Ruhiel
4. Dahariel
5. Yeqon
6. Uzza
7. Verchiel
8. Jesodoth
9. Phul
10. Rachmiah

With The Urmuz Epigrams Zorn returns to his roots, using the recording studio as instrument to create an intensely personal suite of compositions in the style of his legendary File Card compositions and Zoetropes. Dedicated to the visionary Romanian writer Urmuz whose small, scattered body of work predated Dadaism by decades, The Urmuz Epigrams is a suite of surrealistic miniatures more akin to philosophical aphorisms than actual music. The pieces are presented here in two iterations, as a set of “rare 78rpm records” complete with surface scratches and limited dynamic range, and as a modern reconstruction of same with the full blown studio sound presented in all its perplexing glory. Some of the craziest music in the Zorn catalog!

Personnel: Ches Smith: Drums, Percussion, Vibraphone, Glockenspiel, Voice John Zorn: Saxophone, Piano, Organ, Sound Effects, Guitar, Bass, Game Calls, Percussion, Voice

Track Listing

Modern Reconstructions 1. Disgusted with Life 2. This Piano Lid Serves as a Wall 3. With Wet Clothes and Disheveled Hair He Wandered in the Dead of Night in Search of Shelter 4. Then Again, Who Amongst us can Complain 5. A Rain of Threats and Screams 6. The Pelican or the Pelicaness 7. After That the Funnel Became a Symbol 8. Desperate from Having Been Left without a Bladder

After 12 years and 28 CDs, the “Book of Angels” project is drawing towards completion! For one of the last installments, Zorn turns to AutorYno, a wild power trio of three Paris punk rockers and one of the most powerful bands in the French rock scene. Their third CD for Tzadik presents tunes from the classic “Book of Angels” in a heavy rock context. Metal, Punk, Thrash, Dub and Surf come together in this trance-inducing sledge-hammer reading of some of the strongest and strangest pieces out of the Masada repertoire. One of the last releases in the “Angels” series is also one of the most compelling!

Personnel: BertrandDelorme: Bass Cyril Grimaud: Drums David Konopnicki: Guitars

Track Listing: 1. Carcas 2. Saelel 3. Uvmiel 4. Adoyahel 5. Qaddisin 6. Shahariel 7. Abrimas 8. Bethuel 9. Achusaton 10. Daniel

“Insurrection” is an intense new instrumental project featuring guitar wizards Julian Lage and Matt Hollenberg with the incredible rhythm section of Trevor Dunn and Kenny Grohowski. Inspired by some of the greatest experimental novels of the 20th century the music is incredibly varied, combining rock, funk, blues, jazz, classical and more—often in the same song! Gnarly atonal melodies, bizarre harmonies, astonishing guitar fireworks and telepathic group interaction make this one of Zorn’s most scintillating and adventurous new projects. Everyone is playing at their best here, and you have never heard such sounds! As always Zorn pulls the very best out of the musicians and they play some of the most outrageous solos you have ever heard. Essential!

“In a Convex Mirror” features Zorn’s unique saxophone playing and keyboard stylings in an extended foray into the nexus of voudun and downtown improvisation. An intense student of Haitian drumming and a regular at ceremonies from NYC to Port-au-Prince Haiti, Ches Smith weaves a hypnotic tapestry of polyrhythms that are constantly in flux. The result is an exciting new context for Zorn the performer. With special guest Ikue Mori creating moody electronic soundscapes, the music is as hypnotic as it is exhilarating. Three pieces of sonic voodoo for the 21st century!

The second studio CD by Zorn’s incendiary new instrumental quartet Insurrection presents a remarkable suite evoking the tragic reign of terror in the Early American settlement of the Massachusetts Bay Colony commonly known as The Salem Witch Trials. The music is both intense and hauntingly beautiful, touching upon aspects of Possession, Magic, Witchcraft, Hysteria, Tragedy and Transformation. Tighter than ever, this dynamic instrumental quartet performs brilliantly in this spellbinding followup to their eponymous first release. Featuring some of the most insane guitar fireworks ever, Salem 1692 is no less than a musical reign of terror.

Tracks:

1. The Devil Bid Me Serve Him
2. Spectral Evidence
3. Tituba
4. Witness to an Invisible World
5. Spell Bound
6. Malleus Maleficarum
7. Dark of the Moon
8. Under an Evil Hand
9. Sarah Good
10. I Will Not Write in Your Book Though You Do Kill Me!

The fabulous voice of Sofía Rei has graced several Zorn vocal projects, from the acappella quartet Mycale to the dynamic Song Project, and here she interprets eight compositions from the Book Beri’ah—the third and last book completing the Masada legacy. Featuring the remarkable JC Maillard on saz bass, the arrangements are incredibly varied, and range from lyrical heartfelt ballads to driving grooves. Intimate and intensely personal, this is one of the most unique Masada CDs in the entire series! Unforgettable.

Tracks: 1. Ge'ulah 2. Setumah 3. Kayam 4. Rachamim 5. Penimi 6. Orot 7. Tikkun 8. Ketarim

Composed for a museum residency at the Frick in New York City, Nove Cantici is a beautiful suite of music inspired by the life and thought of the beloved spiritual figure Saint Francis of Assisi. A fitting follow-up to the beautiful and moody acoustic guitar CD Midsummer Moons from 2017, here the astounding guitar duo of Julian Lage and Gyan Riley is expanded to a trio with the addition of legendary guitarist Bill Frisell. Ten lovely, spiritual compositions for meditation and contemplation performed by three of the most renown guitarists in the world. An essential release that will appeal to perhaps the widest audience Zorn has ever had.

Based in Mexico, Klezmerson is a super creative ever changing ensemble led by violinist, composer and arranger Benjamin Schwartz. Here they do their critically acclaimed and best selling Book of Angels installment one better with wild arrangements blending a variety of Mexican musical traditions with the sound of Masada. Featuring electric and acoustic strings, keyboards, accordions, saxes and of course a huge array of Latin percussion, Tiferet is one of the most delightful and imaginative CDs in the Book Beri’ah!