Guest
One of the most prolific recording artists of all time (not necessarily a compliment), New York-based alto saxophonist John Zorn (1953) has certainly been very active. His gargantuan discography contains many ridiculous albums, released only because the cost of manufacturing CDs collapsed during the 1990s, but also a few important works that helped redefine the avantgarde at the turn of the century. John Zorn (1953) studied composition in New York but conducted his first experiments in improvisation when he lived in St. Louis, where he met Joseph Bowie and other promising African-American musicians. Zorn, however, was already influenced by a variety of musical sources, both classical and jazz and even by cartoon soundtracks. John Zorn emerged from the milieu of the solo creative improvisers, but his concept of “improvisation“ was more closely related to John Cage's aleatory music than to Ornette Coleman's free-jazz. Painkiller's brief Buried Secrets (Earache, 1992) is a powerful psychological experience. In Tortured Souls the saxophone truly sounds like the screaming of a tortured soul. Grindcore drumming pummels One-Eyed Pessary, but here the saxophone exudes titanic passion rather than mere grief. Trailmarker is three seconds of noise and The Ladder is 22 seconds of punk-rock. The Blackhole Dub ventures beyond the usual dreamy atmospheres of dub with waves of saxophone squeals. Even more adventurous is the other dub number, Black Chamber, that is also the most jazz moment on the album. One of the highlights is the hypnotic crescendo of Buried Secrets, built on minimalist repetition and gradual variation of distorted pitches. After three minutes, colossal drumming enforce geometry on what has become a stream of shrill noise. The orgy of saxophone squeals of Executioner is one long agony. The closer, The Toll, is an ultra-demented psychodrama (Justin Broderick on vocals) framed by spare beats, eerie distortions and booming bass chords (and, only at the end, the most scorching sax solo of the album). Source: Tracklist: Tortured Souls 00:00 One Eyed Pessary 01:54 Trailmarker 03:44 Blackhole Dub 03:53 Buried Secrets 07:21 The Ladder 13:35 Executioner 13:56 Black Chamber 16:45 Skinned 19:13 The Toll 20:07 genre: jazz, avant-garde, avant-prog, grindcore Year of release: 1991 Format: FLAC (image .cue) MICK HARRIS: Drums, vocals BILL LASWELL: Bass JOHN ZORN: Alto sax, vocals Justin Broadrick: Guitar, drum machine, vocals (5, 10) G. C. Green: Bass Recorded and mixed Aug. and Oct. 1991 by Oz Fritz at Greenpoint, Brooklyn Assistant engineer Imad Mansour Mastered by Howie Weinberg
