Search - John Zorn :: Film Works III: 1990-95

Brilliant, fun, and featuring proto-Masada stuff!

Allan MacInnis | Vancouver | 02/26/2001

(4 out of 5 stars)

"This disc is one of the most varied of the FILMWORKS releases. The stuff that will draw most people to it is the Thieves' Quartet material -- tracks from Masada, before they were Masada. Baron, Cohen, Douglas and Zorn are in fine form, and one can easily hear how Masada took off from these beginnings -- anyone could tell that this was a good idea, crying out to be elaborated upon. After that, the "Hollywood Hotel" material would likely be the next big draw, featuring some really snazzy Zorn/Ribot collaborations. The rest of the disc is pretty hard to do justice to in prose; there are a series of cues for Kiriko Kubo cartoons -- she of the Cynical Hysterie Hour, which Zorn also scored (see my review). These aren't fully developed pieces, however, and each lasts only a short while, such that nine pieces of music run together into one three-and-a-half minute "composition." Rounding out the disc are compositions Zorn recorded with hosts of his regulars (Arto Lindsay, Cyro Baptista, and many, many more) for Weiden and Kennedy, an advertising firm who commissioned television commercials from directors like David Cronenberg and Jean Luc Godard. (Amazingly, Zorn got on quite well with Weiden and Kennedy, was treated very respectfully, and seems quite happy with the finished results, as he details in his liner notes, which, as always, are very interesting reading). Many of these pieces, too, only last a few seconds, and end rather jaggedly, but there are several longer takes of some cuts, including a 32-second take on the "Batman" theme that should please Naked City fans. This is NOT my favorite FILMWORKS disc -- it's just a little too uneven for me -- but it's still wonderful stuff."

A very mixed set of material.

Michael Stack | North Chelmsford, MA USA | 12/27/2005

(3 out of 5 stars)

"One of the more diverse of John Zorn's soundtrack series, "Filmworks III" brings together performances from four very different environments and contains many historically critical pieces.



The first part of the CD is given over to the soundtrack to a movie called "Thieves Quartet". Inspired by Miles Davis' "Escalator to the Scaffolds" soundtrack, the music is by and large highly intriguing loungey jazz, ably performed by Zorn on alto, Dave Douglas on trumpet, Greg Cohen on bass and Joey Baron on drums. A year later, this group would in fact become Masada. Many of the hallmarks of Masada are already present-- dueling improvs ("Kidnapping"), fantastic grooves set up by the rhythm section ("The Caper") and downright fantastic interaction all around ("Bag Man"). Musically, it's not as powerful as Masada, but for its curiosity value, it's worth a listen. The CD next turns over to "Music for Tsunta"-- nine cues for the director of "Cynical Hysterie Hour" featuring largely the same instrumentation. The music is very visual, very over-the-top, and largely driven by Bill Frisell's banjo. The lightness of this seems in clear opposition to the soundtrack to "Hollywood Hotel", a duet between Zorn (on alto) and Marc Ribot (guitar). The two cover ground in Naked City-like fashion, exploring frantic improvs and implied grooves in what is probably my favorite part of the disc. Finally, the album closes with a couple dozen commercial spots done for an advertising house Zorn works with. The music itself is at times intriguing and at times over before you notice, though the sheer diversity of the work here catches your attention, the necessarily short format hinders development of ideas.



While it's not the best of Zorn's work by far in the soundtrack arena, "Filmworks III" has historical value and makes for a decent listen. Recommended for those already immersed in Zorn's soundtrack works, newcomers would probably do better starting with the new Filmworks Anthology or (for a single piece) "Filmworks XIII: Inviation to a Suicide"."