John Zorn - Voices in the Wilderness Masada Anniv Ed 2 (24 tracks) +Album Reviews

An embarrassment of riches

SPM | Eugene, Oregon | 08/22/2003

(4 out of 5 stars)

"Over 80 musicians play new arrangements of Zorn's free-jazz/klezmer compositions. The result is a marathon of exotic and beautiful music. As if the Jewish jazz approach wasn't enough, these musicians stretch out, simplify, and re-organize the music into strange shapes and sounds.This is the most eclectic Masada album since Bar Kokhba. Every track is good. Half of them are great (especially Mike Patton and William Winant doing Kochot)."

Good, and cheaper than it looks

W. P. Gardner | Menlo Park, CA, United States | 06/22/2003

(4 out of 5 stars)

"This CD is actually a bargain because it is a 2 CD set. I think Zorn may have pulled a fast one on his distributors because there is almost nothing on the package that says that. I didn't realize it until I opened it up.I am a Masada addict so I am very biased. Since about 1990, John Zorn has compiled a "song book" for his sometime ensemble, Masada. I think he finished it around 2000.This 2-CD set (along with the companion Masada Guitars, which is only 1 CD) consists of a lot of Zorn's friends performing music from that book. If you're new to this, you might prefer The Circle Maker or Bar Kokhba. If you're old to it, just go and buy this (and get Masada Guitars, too)."

The Masada songbook, at long last.

Troy Collins | Lancaster, PA United States | 05/16/2004

(4 out of 5 stars)

"The original Masada quartet was formed in 1993. Founder and composer John Zorn has decided to honor Masada's decade long existence by putting together a series of tribute albums. With two discs containing two dozen unique artists' interpretations, this set may be the best argument for the longevity of Zorn's Masada songbook yet. What started with such humble beginnings has blossomed into quite the sub-genre.As the enfant terrible of the Downtown/East Village, avant garde scene, Zorn was once know for his more experimental musical endeavors. Before Masada, his most renowned effort was the now infamous post-modern, hardcore punk jazz band Naked City. Many a current jazz fan was won over by Naked City's seemingly unclassifiable assault, this reviewer included.And then came Masada. Zorn's longest running group, it is also his most popular. Masada started as an acoustic quartet of sax, trumpet, bass and drums playing jazz that sounded like Ornette Coleman filtered through klezmer, traditional Jewish folk music. Zorn claimed it was his attempt to write a series of tunes that could eventually become standards. In the ensuing years, he has adapted this songbook to be played by everything from chamber music groups, string trios, to an electric unit. And now there are cover albums.With ethnic rock bands, traditional klezmer groups, piano trios, acoustic jazz combos, organ trios, experimental sound collages, atmospheric vocal stylists and more, there is a surprising amount of sonic variety on display here. In addition to lesser-known artists, there are some more recognizable ones worth mentioning. Medeski Martin and Wood, Peter Apfelbaum, Steven Bernstein, Wayne Horvitz, Tin hat Trio, Rova Saxophone Quartet, Naftule's Dream, Mike Patton and Kramer are but a few of the bigger names to make notable appearances.All of the assembled artists play this music with a sense of conviction and passion. The only missteps seem to fall in the area of the occasional vocal, a common danger when vocalists try to adapt instrumental music. Overall, this tribute album delivers where many fail, by making a worthwhile addition to a fan's original collection. Here's to another 10 years."

Revealing work.

Felipe | Sao Paulo, Brazil | 10/06/2004

(5 out of 5 stars)

"Everytime Zorn puts something out, I hope to listen to either something experimental and strange or something that can become my all time favorite album.

Voices in the Wilderness is a shure thing - you can't be wrong with so many good musicians playing some tunes of Masada's songbook. My favorite is Tizah: pacific melody and beautiful interpretation by Pachora.

This may not be the best place to start, but it is as easy listening as Bar Kokhba or The Circle Maker. Let Zorn touch your spirit with his magic music!"

Somewhat disjoint but interesting tribute album.

Michael Stack | North Chelmsford, MA USA | 06/30/2005

(3 out of 5 stars)

""Voices in the Wilderness" is a collection of pieces from the Masada songbook interpreted by different ensembles as part of the tenth anniversary of the project (and thus the songbook from which these pieces are drawn). Its covers a number of styles-- from traditional klezmer to Middle Eastern fusion to downtown punk to big band jazz to dub and just about everything in between. While its a bit too disjoint to reach the level of excellence much of the Masada material has or to be in heavy rotation in my listening, its a fine recording.

There's a reverence for this music amongst its fans, no doubt including everyone involved in this project, and it shows. Its not like the sort of "tribute album" thing where people contribute poorly realized performances without anything unique to them-- each of these musicians has pulled this music straight into their own idiom. Its all quite good, some of it stands out a bit more than others-- opener "Karaim" by the amazing Pharaoh's Daughter comes to mind (and is the piece that introduced me to that band)-- Middle Eastern traditions fused to the downtown aesthetic takes one of the best Masada pieces and induces a swirling excitement to it. Or "Tirzah" by Pachora-- almost a lo-fi indie rock take on the piece is just lovely and delicate. For that matter, Naftule's Dream's take on "Paran", which starts off twisting the piece into a somewhat more Mediterranean feel before opening it up for collective improvisation is brilliant, and certainly the amazing Mephista (pianist Sylvie Corvoisier, latop electronics wizard Ikue Mori and drummer Susie Ibarra) rarely disappoint, and their cover of "Malkut" is no exception. And while we're talking about folks who rarely disappoint, Mike Patton's take on "Kochot" transforms the melody into a falsetto vocal, gently sung over a delicate keyboard and drum arrangement before moving into the improv section where I suspect all the leads are his voice processed in odd fashion-- Patton has tucked his penchant for metal pretty far away with stirring results.

Honestly, I suspect that a different fan would have written the above paragraph in a different way, there's bound to be something here that anyone familiar with this music would enjoy. Don't look to this as an introduction to Zorn or Masada, but its worth checking out."

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