Imagine you're back in the early 1980s. You discover the early albums of a jazz instrumentalist called John Zorn and you decide: Wow, that guy is onto something! I will collect everything he ever releases!
Yeah, at least from a financial standpoint that would have been a regrettable life choice for sure. Probably still worth it though.
JOHN ZORN - Perchance To Dream (CD) (2022)
One of Zorn's several recent albums is this one named after a famous Shakespeare quote. It's one of those works, where he didn't perform on Saxophone or any other instrument himself, but put together a group of musicians to play his compositions.
The line-up features his longtime companion Bill Frisell (among many other things core member of Naked City, yet also guest guitarist on Earth's "The Bees Made Honey In The Lion's Skull"), organ player John Medeski, Brian Marsella on piano and Kenny Wollesen on drums and chimes.
What makes this album stand out immediately among a big chunk of Zorn's discography is that this music is sincerely beautiful and tender. No shock effects, no outbursts of shrill art or challenging avant-garde. No, this album is a relatively calm and contemplative experience. Yet that doesn't mean it's without profundity or unexpected elements.
What gives "Perchance To Dream" a lot of its depth is the choice of instruments and sounds. Piano and chimes, organ and Fender Rhodes piano are almost constantly creating those vibrant pervading overtones which seem to resonate right in your head. It gives the whole album a very dreamy, yet inspirational atmosphere.
The first track "Introit" is a meandering piece of almost neo-classical doomjazz from minds, who were there, before the term doomjazz was even coined. Underlained with ambience by cymbals and chimes the piano seems to work towards a melody for over ten very patient minutes without ever reaching a real solution.
The band is lulling you into believing that the whole album could be like that, but then follow it up with a surprising light swing in "A Secret Twilight". As the Rhodes and organ go through your whole body, the guitar light-heartedly soothes you with Latin fusion vibes.
The whole rest of "Perchance To Dream" is covering various aspects of easy-listenable smooth jazz. Even with the often prominent guitar this sounds very traditional, but still with that certain nocturnal Zorn twist. It's dark music, Nachtmusik, but it's not menacing or evil. The closest we get towards the edge of a sinister place is in the accordingly named "Hekate", in which the Greek Goddess, guardian of portals between worlds, shows you just glimpses of the chaos on the other side.
But then the soft piano and guitar in "Tenderness" bring you back into a most comfortable realm. No, most of the album is just beautiful and meaningful beyond my limited capacity of words.
In cases such as this it's usually a relieve that I can include a Bandcamp player or YouTube video and leave it to the reader's ear to complete the picture. But that's also John Zorn: To my knowledge there are no samples whatsoever out there. Buy the CD or die!
And I can only recommend to do so, before they get rare and expensive. Because this might be one of the most wonderful listening experiences you'll get this year.
The line-up features his longtime companion Bill Frisell (among many other things core member of Naked City, yet also guest guitarist on Earth's "The Bees Made Honey In The Lion's Skull"), organ player John Medeski, Brian Marsella on piano and Kenny Wollesen on drums and chimes.
What makes this album stand out immediately among a big chunk of Zorn's discography is that this music is sincerely beautiful and tender. No shock effects, no outbursts of shrill art or challenging avant-garde. No, this album is a relatively calm and contemplative experience. Yet that doesn't mean it's without profundity or unexpected elements.
What gives "Perchance To Dream" a lot of its depth is the choice of instruments and sounds. Piano and chimes, organ and Fender Rhodes piano are almost constantly creating those vibrant pervading overtones which seem to resonate right in your head. It gives the whole album a very dreamy, yet inspirational atmosphere.
The first track "Introit" is a meandering piece of almost neo-classical doomjazz from minds, who were there, before the term doomjazz was even coined. Underlained with ambience by cymbals and chimes the piano seems to work towards a melody for over ten very patient minutes without ever reaching a real solution.
The band is lulling you into believing that the whole album could be like that, but then follow it up with a surprising light swing in "A Secret Twilight". As the Rhodes and organ go through your whole body, the guitar light-heartedly soothes you with Latin fusion vibes.
The whole rest of "Perchance To Dream" is covering various aspects of easy-listenable smooth jazz. Even with the often prominent guitar this sounds very traditional, but still with that certain nocturnal Zorn twist. It's dark music, Nachtmusik, but it's not menacing or evil. The closest we get towards the edge of a sinister place is in the accordingly named "Hekate", in which the Greek Goddess, guardian of portals between worlds, shows you just glimpses of the chaos on the other side.
But then the soft piano and guitar in "Tenderness" bring you back into a most comfortable realm. No, most of the album is just beautiful and meaningful beyond my limited capacity of words.
In cases such as this it's usually a relieve that I can include a Bandcamp player or YouTube video and leave it to the reader's ear to complete the picture. But that's also John Zorn: To my knowledge there are no samples whatsoever out there. Buy the CD or die!
And I can only recommend to do so, before they get rare and expensive. Because this might be one of the most wonderful listening experiences you'll get this year.
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