JOHN ZORN

JOHN ZORN
THE CIRCLE MAKER (1998)
320 KBPS

This is one of John Zorn's ten best albums, and it's likely to stay in the top ten for a long time. Unlike some of his other work, which emphasizes noise and quick changes from one piece of music to the next, The Circle Maker plays out in elegant waves of melody and percussion. It's Zorn's most beautiful album. It started with Masada, Zorn's four-piece jazz band. Masada plays "free jazz klezmer" --- original compositions based on traditional Jewish folk music themes, written in a simple way that encourages improvisation. On the Masada albums, the band blows the melodies apart on trumpet, saxophone, drums, and bass.
Zorn wrote new arrangements of these songs for chamber ensembles, replacing the old instruments with cello, violin, viola, guitar, bass, and percussion. The improvisation is out. The musicians concentrate on the melodies, playing off of each other in very subtle ways. The result is a combination of jazz, chamber music, and Jewish folk music, all rolled into one --- and played simultaneously. Even if you have no interest in John Zorn, you'll love this album. There isn't a single bad song on these two CDs. After you hear it, you'll want Bar Kokhba, which is more of the same.

CD1
1. Tahah
2. Sippur
3. Karet
4. Hadasha
5. Taharah
6. Mispar
7. Ratzah
8. Zebdi
9. Yatzah
10. Malkhut
11. Hodaah
12. Elilah
13. Meholalot
14. Kochot
15. Lachish
16. Shidim
17. Aravot
18. Moshav

CD2
1. Lilin
2. Hazor
3. Kisofim
4. Khebar
5. Laylah
6. Teli
7. Tevel
8. Eitan
9. Ner Tamid
10. Idalah-Abal
11. Gevurah