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John Zorn – The Dreamers’ Christmas (Tzadik 2011)
Update 10/7: go back HERE for CD/vinyl/45 rpm/mp3 download ordering info.
Posted on (Tzadik designer) Chippy’s Facebook page earlier this weekend…
The biggest surprise of the year is John Zorn’s beautiful Christmas CD. Zorn has hand picked seven of his favorite Christmas songs, penned two lovely originals and they are performed here in classic Dreamers style with plenty of exciting solos, exotic colors and catchy lyricism. Filled with a joyful holiday spirit, innocence, a touch of nostalgia and a charming lyricism, this is music for all ages that will make you smile with delight from the very first notes. As a special treat, vocalist Mike Patton delivers an intimate and heartfelt rendition of “Chestnuts Roasting on an Open Fire,” making A Dreamers Christmas an instant classic, and an essential CD for any contemporary Christmas celebration.
This album will also feature The Dreamers band: Marc Ribot, Jamie Saft, Kenny Wollesen, Trevor Dunn, Joey Baron, and Cyro Baptista. It will be out in CD and vinyl LP.
My guess is it’ll hit in October or November as Tzadik tends to not release anything in December. I’m looking forward to it. I mean, I tend to not like Christmas music that much (there are only a few). I find it funny that a record label entrenched in Jewish music and jazz would put out a Christmas album with Santa on it… but, well, that’s John Zorn for you. Not following the protocol.
And that’s why we love him!
Update 7/28, the cover for the 45rpm vinyl single…
~Dan – np: Silverchair – Frogstomp
Packaging Art : Design in front of the Music
A big piece of what still links me to music is the artistic approach that goes into the whole package. Sure, break it all down, and the actually music hitting my ears is the “most important” component, but I still dig the physical product (CDs & vinyl).
Two of my favorite record labels go out of their way to create stunning packaging: the John Zorn-run Tzadik Records and the Mike Patton co-owned Ipecac Recordings.
For Zorn, the die-cut and gorgeous lettered detail in Tzadik’s Masada Book Two series jumps to the forefront, as do many of the stunning titles in the Archival series (The Dreamers, etc). For Patton, the gold-embossed Mit Gas from Tomahawk was a first step, and the Peeping Tom & Mondo Cane packaging was colorful and stupendously took Ipecac’s level of art-packaging to a new level.
Both labels obviously believe in the physical artistic value, otherwise, they wouldn’t bother. Well, this post delves a little bit into that process with two designers for Tzadik & Ipecac, respectively…
In a recent interview with Chippy from Tzadik…
Poor quality digital artwork is a shame because the original art/packaging is an extension of the concept. Most people therefore will not be able to fully appreciate/experience beyond the music. At the same time, the low quality is a good reason to truly really seek out the hard copy because there is so much more beyond the digital world. People forget about the beauty of books and print. The paper, the binding, the thread, glue, etc. There’s a reason why artists/designers use a certain ink, stock, varnish, diecut, emboss/deboss, etc. Dismissing this part of the experience minimizes the experience.
READ the FULL INTERVIEW with CHIPPY
Aaron Lazar from Tzgani Design worked on the most recent Book of Knots release from Ipecac. The original design would have cost too much ($6-7/per unit), but would have been a three piece laser etched packaging design that would cradle a CD (printed in aqua, yellow and orange) and would function as a working astrolabe. Check it out in higher-resolution. I wish this could have come to fruition, but I guess you have to be realistic in your artistic pursuits, too.
It is works of art like this that make me seek out more than just a download version. Even if “CD quality” 320 kbps, it still seems hollow to me. And more than just design… with music moving to a cloud-based platform now, here are eight reasons why vinyl is cleaner than “the cloud”… READ HERE at DigitalMusicNews.
~Dan – np: John Scofield – Up All Night
John Zorn’s new art gallery
Reposted from A-to-Z media blog…
A to Z is excited to announce that our long time friend/client/unyielding supporter, John Zorn, has created a new online art gallery – Obsessions Collective that has just gone live. The site has been beautifully designed by Heung-Heung Chin whose own work will be exhibited on the site and can be seen at the top of this post.
The aim of this non-profit site is to serve as the conduit between living, cutting edge artists who work outside of the gallery system and art collectors and patrons who seek to interact and purchase art directly from the artists themselves with no interference or meddling from a third party.
In true Zorn fashion, 100% of the income derived from the sales of the artwork goes to the artist directly. No commission or bullshit admin fee’s will be charged on any of the pieces purchased.
John has created this site simply to shine a light on the many talented artists he is friends with and to encourage art collectors to open their minds and wallets to discover, nurture and support truly independant artists who are deciding to make real art for art’s sake.
http://www.obsessionscollective.com/
~Dan – np: Sarah Kirkland Snider & Shara Worden – Penelope
John Zorn THE DREAMERS on vinyl(!!)
So, there was a hint a few months ago about a vinyl release from Tzadik… my hunch was that it would be John Zorn / The Dreamers O’o release (out on CD in 2009). Well, posted on Tzadik graphic artist Hueng-Hueng “Chippy” Chin’s Chippy Design flickr site yesterday was this…
“The Dreamers vinyl”
(click for larger)
It’s available for pre-order at Amazon under the title Dreamers – The Gentle Side… out Nov 23rd, 2010.
Update (10/8): the picture disc…
~Dan – np: Frank Zappa – Meets the Mothers of Prevention
JZ’s The Crucible, The Dreamers, biography, and JFJO grumbles
Well, first.. I didn’t end up at the Jacob Fred Jazz Odyssey (JFJO) show last night. Boo. Stupid Eugene Celebration blocking off within 60 yards of the art gallery where they were playing and wanting me to buy a wristband to see a show I’d have to pay for that’s not on a stage at Eugene Celebration. I think me skipping it was on principle, not on lack for wanting to see JFJO. Rassen frassen… but I hope to catch the free Richard Crandell show today at Cozmic Pizza. He’s a mbira player, and I have one of his composer series CDs on Tzadik Records. He’s from frickin’ Eugene and on Tzadik Records – – how cool is that?
Speaking of Tzadik… on to some upcoming Jay-Z news… and by Jay-Z, I mean John Zorn (founder of Tzadik).
Graphic design artist extraordinaire Heung Heung “Chippy” posted on her blog about some new design stuff that she’s been working on for Tzadik:
I’m designing a book jacket for John Brackett’s biography on John Zorn, published by Indiana University Press. Title: John Zorn Tradition and Transgression. Cover photo by Scott Irvine, Book Jacket Design by myself, Book Interior Design by Jamison Cockerham. It’s nearly done and looking pretty good. Please look for it and buy this first biography ever on one of New York City’s heroes.
FOR MORE JOHN ZORN MUSIC, we have many treats for you–he’s been releasing amazing FilmWorks CDs (yes, prolific), another one is on its way–this one is extra special, one I’ve been listening to everyday–very meaningful, touching upon so many personal levels. (The Last Supper, FilmWorks XXII).
For those who are eagerly waiting for The Crucible (Moonchild’s 4th CD), it is coming very soon. Expect more killer photography by Scott Irvine (Tzadik’s official photographer–thank you to all who voted for him this summer), design by myself. Powerful music. And yes, you can have your Mike Patton too.
And it doesn’t stop there. The Dreamers will be expanding like a Chippy dream come true. For you audiophiles, this is our first yet–can’t say now until I’m working on it. Expect limited edition. Speaking of Limited Edition–The Dreamers’ shirts–they will now be considered limited edition, so please get them at Zakka in Dumbo (childrens are only available there or through me) or http://www.tzadik.com Note: once these go and we reprint, the artwork will be different.
My recap in backwards order…
I imagine The Dreamers limited edition thing for audiophiles may very well be a vinyl issue. That’s my inkling and heretofore a rumor. Tzadik hasn’t done a vinyl yet, and what else for audiophiles is considered limited edition these days? Sweet… The Dreamers is a fantastic, exotica meets Electric Masada ventures out earlier this year on Tzadik. It’s one of my favs of 2008 so far.
The Crucible… yay! A 4th installment from the noisemetal Moonchild Trio of Mike Patton, Trevor Dunn, and Joey Baron was inevitable.
I dig JZ’s Filmworks series… Sholem Aleichem: Filmworks XX is on its way to me now.
Additional info on the John Zorn biography… it’s due out in early 2009. It’s a book. With pages. Some probably graphic (just judging based on JZ’s Naked City album artwork and Dr. Brackett’s recent presentations at recent conferences).
~Dan – np: The Tiptons Sax Quartet – Laws of Motion
-Eyvind Kang
-Frank Zappa
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