50th Birthday Celebration 4

Electric Masada (Artist) | Format: Audio CD

Product Details

• Audio CD (May 25, 2004)
• Number of Discs: 1
• Label: Tzadik
• ASIN: B0001XXBD4
• In-Print Editions: MP3 Download
• Average Customer Review: 4.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (10 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #266,453 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Perfection, June 11, 2004

By 

SPM "scott_maykrantz" (Eugene, Oregon) - See all my reviews

This review is from: 50th Birthday Celebration 4 (Audio CD)

This is one of the best Zorn albums of all time. It's amazing. Electric Masada is a band of eight musicians --- two drummers, a percussion player, electric guitar, keyboards, bass guitar, Ikue Mori playing sound effects, and Zorn on saxophone. On this live set, they play well-known Masada songs, turning up the volume and stretching out the melodies.

This CD is full of beautiful noise and improvisation. The second track is a wild, heavy metal version of klezmer that has to be heard to be believed. Other tracks drift from introspective sounds and gentle playing to high-speed chaos. It never really breaks apart into pure noise, but the threat is always there. Half of the time, the music is so gentle, it fades into the background.

This album is the climax of a long series of klezmer experiments by John Zorn. He started with Masada as a traditional four-piece band, recording ten studio albums. Then he recorded new arrangements of the same songs with other ensembles. Then he put out live albums. Now he's brought it all together with an album of new arrangements of traditional Masada songs, played live. It has the feel of the best game pieces (like Xu Feng) and some of Zorn's explorations of exotica (like The Gift).

I highly recommend this CD. Even if you've never heard Zorn's work before, give it a try. Some of the songs are a little noisy, but you'll love it.

11 of 13 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Finally ... but was it worth the wait?, May 26, 2004

By 

Troy Collins (Lancaster, PA United States) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: 50th Birthday Celebration 4 (Audio CD)

Potentially THE holy grail for the Downtown fanbase, John Zorn's "Electric Masada" has finally arrived. A live set, recorded during Zorn's 50th birthday celebration at NYC's premier new music venue; Tonic, merits most of the acclaim it will undoubtably get. Although all the tunes presented on "Electric Masada" have been performed by various aggregations over the years - from solo acoustic guitar renditions to full chamber sextet arrangements, they have never been performed as forcefully and sublimely as they are here.

Zorn's electric version of his now famous acoustic Masada quartet is sort of an unholy cross between his own infamous post-modern super-group: Naked City and Miles Davis' (...) Brew era band, albeit playing their now well know Yiddish klezmer melodies. Stop-start, change on a dime transitions abound as well as long, drawn out groove sections featuring extended solos. Everything from Naked City inspired heavy metal/free jazz skronk to funky electric fusion on down to mellow, atmospheric exotica find their way into this set.

The set list order is generally one of full on rush to slow burn chill out. The edgier tunes appear in the first half of the set, with the last half containing the more mellow and atmospheric pieces. Fans of Zorn's exotica tribute "The Gift", will find much to savor in this albums final moments. Those wishing for a Naked City reunion should pay attention early on, as Zorn's live Cobra-esque direction can be detected in the first half of the set, as well as Marc Ribot's gritty electric guitar work and Zorn's (seemingly) endless squealing alto. Zorn revisits his heavy metal infatuation in some of these pieces, and how much you appreciate this depends on your perspective. For those seeking traditional jazz with an ethnic twist, this will be blasphemy, but for those seeking a visceral one-two sonic punch, this will be Heaven. For those who've followed Zorn's work as long as this reviewer has, it will merely seem old hat, and possibly a tad bit disappointing at that.

But this is a small complaint, as all the musicians on this disc are stellar players and hearing them work through these varied tunes is a delight. Ikue Mori finds novel ways to use her sampler here, while Jamie Saft's fusion-y keyboard antics are both retrogressive and futuristic at once. But the lion's share of the solos belong to Ribot and Zorn, who both modify their statements to meet the requirements of the piece in question. From full on wailing to subtle, nuanced excursions, these two sound like they were made for each other.

If there is any real complaint to be had, it is in the live recording, or at least the concept of. The sound is fine, it's the presentation that comes into question. This merely sounds like the document of a band in transition, recorded on one good night, not the sort of finely tuned conceptual masterpiece Zorn normally releases with his studio recordings. If the band were to go into the studio to record these pieces and the compositions/arrangements were tightened up a bit and the sound fine tuned (ie., edited, compressed, etc.), they would have the makings of an absolute masterpiece.

As it currently stands, this is Zorn's most diverse and exploratory working ensemble. Here's hoping they make it into the studio sometime soon.

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Great Place to Start, August 17, 2005

By 

Christopher Calabrese (Watertown, CT, USA) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: 50th Birthday Celebration 4 (Audio CD)

When I first heard John Zorn, I was a bit turned off by his styles. I use the plural, 'styles,' because he has so many different groups (naked city, masada, string trio, hemophiliac, etc.) that it would be an injustice to put Zorn into one specific category. After giving him another listen months later, I fell in love with much of his music, and this 'Electric Masada Birthday CD' is where I began.

This was recorded live at Tonic during the month of September '03 in celebration of Zorn's 50th birthday. The lineup is a who's-who of the downtown music scene - Zorn (alto sax), Marc Ribot (guitar), Jamie Saft (keys), Ikue Mori (laptop electronics), Trevor Dunn (bass), Joey Baron (drums), Kenny Wolleson (drums), and Cyro Baptista (percussion). Those who attend Zorn shows regularly at places like Tonic or The Stone will definitely recognize some of these names.

After hearing the wide scope of music Zorn is reponsible for, I can say for certain that this album is a perfect place to start for new fans. Some would argue that Naked City is a good place to begin, but I find that music to be a little too commercial, and frankly, not in line with some of Zorn's more recent projects. The music played here is a 'best-of' from the Masada catalogue with an electric spin on it. The most notable additions are Dunn, (from Mr. Bungle and other work with Mike Patton), Ribot (who is best known for his work with Tom Waits), and Ikue Mori who uses some of the craziest samples you will ever hear, such as the 'giggling madman' sound we hear on track 6, 'Lilin'.

This music is not as challenging as some of Zorn's other work in the way that this is not totally improvised. The songs have structure, for the most part, and at times have some extremely 'catchy' parts. My favorite track here is 'Idalah-Abal' which sounds like Black Sabbath with Zorn! The guitar part is mundane in nature, and matches well with Zorn's squeals, honks, and screeches. This reminds of 'Batman' from the original Naked City album. Another favorite of mine is 'Hath Arob' which is full of dissonant harmonies, probably influenced by cats like Ornette Coleman or some of Coltrane's later work. However, it is irresponsible to compare Zorn to anyone else, because his music embodies the term 'originality.'

If you are growing tired of the stale, bland music that monopolizes the radio these days, and you want something refreshing, check out Zorn. If you take my advice and pick this up, and find it to be too challenging, I would then recommend his first Naked City album from the 80's. Whether you love him or hate him, there is no denying the religious experience of listening to John Zorn.