Search - Mycale, John Zorn :: Mycale: The Book of Angels 13

A whole new environment for the Masada songbook.

Michael Stack | North Chelmsford, MA USA | 02/01/2010

(4 out of 5 stars)

"A record that stands out as unique even amongst the vast catalog of John Zorn and various interpretations of the Masada songbook, "Mycale" presents eleven cuts from the Book of Angels in a capella form, arranged and performed by four female singers-- Ayelet Rose Gottlieb, Basya Schechter (leader of the superb Pharaoh's Daughter), Sofía Rei Koutsovitis and Malika Zarra. The Masada songbook-- a series of jazz heads written using "Jewish scales"-- has perhaps never been worked in this fashion, producing a fantastic, albeit brief (33 minutes) record.



From the opener, it's obvious this is something to catch your attention-- "Uzziel" opens with a percussive backing vocal, a single voice lead (by Schecter in this case) eventually doubled before settling into a great groove with a lead voice supported by three part harmonies. At times relaxed, at times pastoral, at times explosive and always captivating, it's truly remarkable that all of this ends up packed into the just over three minute opener.



And really it sets the pace for the record-- each piece seems to encompass dozens of sounds and feels. At its best, the pieces are downright transcendent, the vocals staggering in their power in the way only a human voice can be-- even when one can't understand the language sung ("Tarshish", which burrows straight into you) and while completely unlike anything else in the Masada catalog, readily identifiable AS Masada ("Tehom"). The pieces feature remarkable use of space ("Ahaha"), diversity ("El El", whose call-and-response middle section is a true joy), locomotive-like energy ("Rumiel") and traditional Masada drama ("Natiel").



Curiously, this record feels like a beginning-- I listened to it literally dozens of times since I've picked it up, it's a great, great album, but perhaps a bit frustratingly, it feels like it's barely scratching the surface. These four women, all possessing of extraordinary voices, are clearly onto something here and while it's excellent, it seems to me that this can get even better. Hopefully, this ensemble will put out other records in the future. Highly recommended."