John Zorn - Zevulun / Issachar 2CD (1998)

Posted By: raduschka
Date: Nov. 2, 2008


John Zorn - Zevulun / Issachar 2CD (1998)
587 mb | HQ .APE | scans | HJsplit.exe included | Jewish chamber music ? | RS links





You can listen to it here:

http://www.lastfm.fr/music/John+Zorn/The+Circle+Maker:+Zevulun

http://www.lastfm.fr/music/John+Zorn/The+Circle+Maker:+Issachar






From Amazon.com, as I am too busy to write right now:

Jewish Chamber Jazz Soundtrack Music ?, June 18, 1998
By A Customer

John Zorn is nothing if not prolific - he already has released at least 4 CDs in 1998.
His new album "The Circle Maker" is difficult to categorize. I could perhaps describe it as Jewish Chamber Jazz, and be reasonably close. There are actually two CDs. One, called Issachar, is performed by the Masada String Trio. Masada is the name of a group of Zorn's that plays modern Jewish music. Their nine albums are only available as Japanese imports. This first CD is a string trio, consisting of violin, cello and bass, performing various Masada tracks. As is to be expected with the instrumentation it has a chamber music feel, although the bass provides a more jazzy, swinging underpinning, and at times the musicians attack their instruments in a manner reminiscent more of Albert Ayler than any classical player. The second CD, Zevulun, is performed by the Bar Kokhba Sextet, which augments the trio with guitarist extraordinaire Marc Ribot, brazillian percussionist Cyro Baptista, and jazz drummer Joey Barron. As is to be expected, this is a jazzier set, although the basic material is still Masada songs. Some of these tracks are reminniscent of another of Zorn's longstanding interests, soundtrack music. The tracks in which Ribot takes the lead in particular sound like they could come from a Morricone spaghetti western. Both CDs are extremely good, although I prefer the greater dynamic range of the trio disc. This is highly recommended.





deeply lyrical, gorgeous Jewish chamber music., November 8, 2003
By Lord Chimp (Monkey World) -


_The Circle Maker_, a two-disc collection of Jewish chamber jazz, is one of my favorite items to bear John Zorn's name. Zorn does not actually perform on either of these discs – they are songs from the Masada songbook rearranged for two different formats. As is typical with Zorn, the musicians he employs are world-class wonders proficient in jazz and classical, imbuing the pieces with feel and lyricism and mature consideration.
_The Circle Maker_ consists of two discs. The first is _Issachar_, which is performed by the the Masada String Trio, comprised of Mark Feldman (violin), Eric Friedlander (cello), and Greg Cohen (double-bass). For the most part, the songs are highly melodic and picturesque Masada pieces, minus the free n' dissonant battle-damage of Zorn's original quartet. It tends to be very beautiful and soothing with a feisty rhythmic spirit, all the while evoking images of middle eastern and Mediterranean lands. Greg Cohen usually plays a disciplined, bouncy rhythmic anchor over which Friedlander and Feldman swirl and twist and clash. (If you have heard Zorn's _Taboo & Exile_, the string trio pieces there are pretty much representative of what _Issachar_ is.) Some of the pieces, especially the short ones like "Karet" and "Zebdi", are very frenetic and dissonant. "Yatzah" is also very intense, but in a different way: Cohen and Friedlander hold down a single rhythmic phrase for eight minutes while Feldman's violin minimalistically rises from quiet scratching to shrieking strikes. One piece, "Elilah", is a gorgeous cello solo, and definitely one of the highlights of the string trio disc.

The other disc, _Zevulun_, is performed by the Bar Kokhba Sextet, which adds to the string trio guitarist Marc Ribot, percussionist Cyro Baptista, and drummer Joey Baron. Ribot's glistening, mesmerizing electric guitar lines sparkle between the two percussionists (one in each channel) and the string trio fills in the blanks. _Zevulun_ is a little less rigorous than its counterpart in this set…it is more swaying and mellow. "Tevel" is familiar because a different arrangement of it appears on Zorn's _Music for Children_ as "Dreamer of Dreams". The songs are a little more diverse on this set: "Laylah" is very eerie and dramatic, "Khebar" has an almost-pointillist arrangement with some very catchy melodies that evoke a bustling desert village, and "Idalah-Abal" is a nocturnal piece centered around a gorgeous cello theme and peppered with a constellation of effervescent cymbals and reflective drumming.

The more of John Zorn's music I hear, the faster he is on the way to becoming my favorite artist. And among his mammoth discography, _The Circle Maker_ is one of his best and most pleasant – which is saying a lot. HIGHLY RECOMMENDED, and not just for hardcore Zorn nuts like myself. It's hard to imagine anyone with good taste _not_ liking this. It's so good is EXPLODES the Amazon rating system.







Masada in two different contexts., June 29, 2005
By Michael Stack (North Chelmsford, MA USA)


John Zorn's "The Circle Maker" is two albums of new arrangements of pieces from the Masada songbook– I hesitate to refer to this as "chamber music arrangements" because its largely untrue. The first disc, "Issachar", features the Masada String Trio– Mark Feldman on violin, the incomparable Erik Friedlander on cello, and bassist Greg Cohen. The second disc, "Zevulon", credited to the Bar Kokhba Sextet, features the Masada String Trio again further augmented by guitarist Marc Ribot, percussionist Cyro Baptista, and drummer Joey Baron. Each record has its own personality.

The Masada String Trio, for those unfamiliar, is a powerful entity unto itself– these three are masters of their instruments and like the Masada quartet, manage to operate on an extraordinarily high level. I find myself however comparing this album to the live "50th Birthday Celebration Volume 1" disc from the same group– its actually quite a similar sleection of songs, but I'm inclined to find the live performance more engaging and much prefer that over this one. Still, there's a brilliance that shines in many spots. "Sippur" is probably the best example of this– Friedlander delicately states the them beautifully arco over pizzicato backing, eventually Feldman counterpoints him, and then Fridlander takes an arco solo of absolutely breathtaking sensitivity. The haunting "Hadasha" shows off beautifully the range of technique these three have– Feldman in particular digs in deep on this one, scratching and squeaking his way through the piece, but maintaing an extraordinary level of musicality. But probably nothing on the disc is as engaging as "Yatzah"– opening all arco (unusual, Cohen plays pizzicato for the majority) with some lush and lovely soloing from Friedlander, eventually Feldman takes the theme with such a sensitivity and real understanding behind the music. His own solo finds him in an understated mood, but able to derive from one sustained note an uncommon level of power and what I contend is the best solo I've heard him play. And speaking of great solos, Friedlander takes a spotlight on "Elijah"– performed as a solo cello piece, that is just stunning.

The second disc, "Zevulun", is not quite what one thinks of when one thinks chamber music– indeed the ensemble feels more like a jam band playing Masada tunes then it does any sort of chamber ensemble. While the string trio's function remains largely the same, Ribot alternates between offering color and playing melodies, while Baron operates in a similar context to his place in the Masada Quartet. Baptista's role in the preceedings is, as always, harder to define– he's all over the map, serving as rhythmic assistence, additional color, and a countermelodic voice at times. Many times, his presence on the pieces makes the piece.

Roughly speaking, "Zevulun" divides nicely into two kinds of pieces– those where Ribot offers color and those where the String Trio does. Both have their moments– I particularly like Ribot's playing on the surfish "Hazor" and the overly cinematic "Laylah". The latter in particular is really quite nice, it has that sort of churning anticipation that a good western soundtrack would need. Of the string driven pieces, "Khebar" is nice (and feels like a chamber piece) and "Teli" is just brilliant– if Ribot plays at all, he's pretty muted, but the piece is downright funky with the strings intertwining with some frantic percussion. Also of note is "Ner Tamid", where the trio and Ribot alternate stating the theme (with minimal improvisation) and a nice chugging beat from the percussionists.

All in all, "The Circle Maker" is a lot of good music, and at its length (around two hours) and its price a bit over 20 bucks as I write this), its definitely a fine value, but there's definitely better material in this vein out there.






LINKS:


http://rapidshare.com/files/159794903/John_Zorn_-_Zevulun.ape.001
http://rapidshare.com/files/159798252/John_Zorn_-_Zevulun.ape.002
http://rapidshare.com/files/159801697/John_Zorn_-_Zevulun.ape.003
http://rapidshare.com/files/159801899/John_Zorn_-_Zevulun.ape.004
http://rapidshare.com/files/159801962/zorn_-_zevulun.rar

http://rapidshare.com/files/159805402/John_Zorn_-_Issachar.ape.001
http://rapidshare.com/files/159808786/John_Zorn_-_Issachar.ape.002
http://rapidshare.com/files/159812228/John_Zorn_-_Issachar.ape.003
http://rapidshare.com/files/159813624/John_Zorn_-_Issachar.ape.004
http://rapidshare.com/files/159813687/zorn_-_Issachar.rar



please let me know if you like it!


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