Archive
* Favorite Instrumental Albums of 2008 *
Disclaimer section is again shamelessly plagiarized from Andy Whitman at Paste…
Disclaimer #1: No, I haven’t heard all 8,000 albums released this year. I’ve heard about 200 of them, which makes me at least 97.5% likely to be wrong. But hey, this isn’t math class, and I make no claims to objectivity. These albums are my favorites from 2008. You might think that the one you’ve heard that I haven’t heard is the best album of 2008. And you might be right.
Disclaimer #2: Yeah, yeah, yeah. Just get it out of your system now and be done with it. I am deliberately trying to be obscure. Who the hell has even heard of these people? So go ahead and vent, then read Disclaimer #1 again.
My Other Favorites of 2008 Recaps:
- Fave Concerts of ‘08 are recapped *HERE*
- Fave EPs/Vinyl/Live/more of ‘08 are recapped *HERE*
- Fave Vocal Albums ‘08 are recapped *HERE*
- Old Years: 2007V, 2007I, 2007C, 2006, 2005
As I start this post, I will say that this is all very subjective and really put together for my own purposes. I’ll also state that, yes, some of the music below does have some vocals. For the most part, it’s sequestered to a track or two on a long CD of mostly instrumental goodness. My list, my rules, and/or my breaking of the rules. With that being said, all of the artists below tend to be in the jazz and instrumental frame of reference anyway.
Hopefully my spilling out of music that I like finds interest with someone else. But if not, thanks for stopping by… check out their webpages, MySpaces, my fave song recommendations on iTunes (in 30 second bursts), yadda yadda yadda. OK, now on to the best of what’s hit my ears this year on the mainly instrumental front…
Honorable mentions (aka my list is too jam packed, and I still really love these records, too): Bill Frisell‘s History, Mystery (with Eyvind Kang, Jenny Scheinman, Kenny Wollesen, etc); Charlie Hunter‘s Baboon Strength; John Zorn‘s Filmworks XX & XXI: Sholem Aleichem & Belle de Nature / The New Rijksmuseum; Medeski Martin & Wood‘s Radiolarians I; and Dub Trio‘s Another Sound is Dying.
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 Reptet – Chicken or Beef? (Monktail Creative Music Concern) :: I feel like I’ve written too much (especially on my Top 20 Vocal albums blog); so these descriptions / raves might be shorter… we shall see. Reptet is a great 6-piece jazz band from Seattle. I heard about them via Jim Wilke’s Jazz Nothwest podcast back in late 2007, when a collaboration of Seattle jazz & avant bands called the Monktail Creative Music Concern played a gig that got aired in its entirety. Anyway, Reptet is one of my fave bands in the MCMC. They’re a quirky jazz band with an odd sense of humor. I dig it… a great, modern brass-forward jazz sextet. Favorite tracks are “Reptet Score!” and “Eve of Thrieve.” http://www.reptet.com/ -and- http://myspace.com/reptet |
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 Daniel Zamir – I Believe (Tzadik) :: I have some of Daniel’s Satlah project, of which I dig a plenty. This one was outside of the Satlah camp, enlisting NYC scene heavyweights Uri Caine, Greg Cohen, and Joey Baron. I waffled on including it until I heard it again recently. It’s really gorgeous. More on the mellower, nee spiritual, side of the the music coming out of the Radical Jewish Culture series, Zamir really offers up his soprano sax melodies as prayers. The title of the album and the music really match up perfectly. Favorite tracks are “Poem 10” and “Poem 51/52.” http://tzadik.com/ -and- http://myspace.com/danielzamir |
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 John Zorn – Filmworks XIX: Dimitri Geller’s The Rain Horse (Tzadik) :: John Zorn put out a handful of Filmworks this year, and all of them are good. FW XXI would have made it on the list as well, had it not been for the too often used harpsichord in The New Rijksmuseum scoring (the parts for the Belle de Nature score are really gorgeous, though). Anyway, the Filmworks series are usually some of John Zorn’s most accessible. The Rain Horse is a subtle trio of Erik Friedlander on cello, Greg Cohen on upright bass, and Rob Burger on piano. Favorite tracks are “Parable of Job” and “Tears of Morning.” http://tzadik.com/ -and- http://myspace.com/johnzorn |
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 Talkdemonic – Eyes at Half Mast (Arena Rock) :: No, their album cover doesn’t really do the animation thing (a la Tool’s Ænima). I just couldn’t help using that animated GIF from their MySpace page. This Portland post-rock duo swung through Eugene at least twice this year. I caught their brilliant February show. Their album didn’t come out until later in the year, and it continues in the sound from their prior two albums. Great electro-acoustic post-rock… drums, viola and electronics. Favorite tracks are “Duality of Deathening” and “Tides in Their Grave.” http://talkdemonic.com/ -and- http://myspace.com/talkdemonicmusicmaking |
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 NIИ – Ghosts I-IV (halo) :: Sparse and haunting, Ghosts I-IV reminds me of a soundtrack meets demos for Trent’s next album. Perhaps that’s where they came from, ideas kicking around in his head. For a fan of instrumental music, it’s a highly enjoyable 110 minute journey into many different soundscapes. For the download version, each track has it’s own artwork attached in the file which is a nice addition even though I hate the shift towards the potential eventual demise of the “album.” Favorite tracks are “14” and “31.” http://www.nin.com/ -and- http://myspace.com/nin |
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 Bobby Previte & New Bump – Set the Alarm for Monday (Palmetto) :: A new version of Previte’s Bump the Renaissance, this group includes two of my favorite players – – Ellery Eskelin on sax & Steven Bernstein on trumpet. Drummer Bobby Previte does many projects, some more in the avant-garde scene… but New Bump definitely fits into an accessible range (similar to Coalition of the Willing with Jamie Saft & Skerik). This album is really “jazz-cinematic” a la a private investigator drama soundtrack perhaps. Favorite tracks are “I’d Advise You Not to Miss Your Train” and “There Was Something In My Drink.” http://www.bobbyprevite.com/ -and- http://myspace.com/previte |
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 Steven Bernstein – Diaspora Suite (Tzadik) :: This is Bernstein’s fourth in his Diaspora series for Tzadik’s Radical Jewish Culture, and it very well be my favorite. It seems much more adventurous than the past efforts, which is what I like about Steven’s trumpet playing and compositions. I think Suite fits better in with his larger Sex Mob and Millennial Territory Orchestra catalog (but from a decidedly Jewish musical culture standpoint, obviously). I hope I get a chance to see him sometime… he played in Ohio just after I moved away, and he played in Seattle in November (as part of Earshot Jazz Fest), but being on a Wednesday… well, I didn’t make it up for the show. Favorite tracks are “Zebulon” and “Judah.” http://stevenbernstein.net/ -and- http://myspace.com/stevenbernsteinmusic |
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 Auragami – Esoteric (indie) :: Auragami is a former Dayton, OH, now San Diego-based bass guitarist named Michael Miller. This album isn’t commercially available, as far as I know. I know Michael Miller from going to shows around Dayton (and surrounding). We’ve got a lot of the same leanings with the rock stuff (Galactic Cowboys, King’s X, et cetera), and I’m happy that I made it on his Christmas card list… because the Christmas card list has been a new CD of his for the past few years. Esoteric is a 40-minute record with the melodies, crunch and remix-friendly bass that I’ve come to love about his music. He also collaborates with others on this album (a personal fave, Mike Georgin, being one of them). As far as the sound, it’s very much a bass with drum loop affair… some subtle melodies, some heavier/grittiness (a la NIN), and some organic-electronics that fit well with another San Diego artists, The Album Leaf and Goddamn Electric Bill. Not being commercially available officially, you can check out his music on MySpace and maybe see if he’ll sell you a copy. It seems to be a crime to not be out there. Anyway, thanks for the Christmas gift, Michael! Favorite tracks are “Colab” and “Clover.” http://www.myspace.com/auragami |
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 Goddamn Electric Bill – Topics for Gossip (99X) :: GdEB is a one-man electronic band from San Diego (Jason Torbert is his name), similar in that sense to The Album Leaf, but I’d say GdEB is less ambient and definitely more in the electronic / remix realm when compared to TAL. GdEB might compare similarly to Frog Pocket, but maybe less… um… buzzy & bleepy. I don’t know. I suppose me comparing a little known San Diego electronic artist to another lesser known Scottish electronic artist doesn’t help much. Check GdEB out for yourself… Favorite tracks are “The Morning Commute” and “The Shallows.” http://www.goddamnelectricbill.com/ -and- http://myspace.com/goddamnelectricbill |
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 Hiromi’s Sonicbloom – Beyond Standard (Telarc) :: Hiromi Uehara is a freakin’ whiz on the piano. I got into her with her 2007 CD Time Control after a few clips on BMG’s website (I was trying to round out an order). Her style is very much a jazz-rock fusion, which I’d almost say the rock element comes from her piano skills rather than the rest of the band. You wouldn’t expect this sound just based by the cover alone… the 29 year-old Hiromi amidst bright colors. You’d think it were some Japanese bubblegum pop or something. Anyway, this is her 2nd Sonicbloom album in as many years. She played a several date run at the Triple Door in Seattle this past summer. If she does it again soon, I’m totally making the drive up. Favorite tracks are “Led Boots” and “XYG.” http://www.hiromimusic.com/ -and- http://myspace.com/hiromimusic |
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 Medeski Martin & Wood play John Zorn‘s Masada Book Two – Book of Angels, Vol. 11: Zaebos (Tzadik) :: Medeski Martin & Wood have been in the Tzadik family for a while. They contributed a track to the Unknown Masada album, which was sort of the initial idea that eventually brought out the Masada Book Two series (i.e.- new, previously unrecorded Masada book tunes not recorded by the Masada quartet). John Medeski has also appeared on many other Tzadik releases in a studio musician sense. With that being said, MMW’s inclusion into the Masada Book Two series came as a total shock, though. I think it was announced in early June ’08 for a July release. Whereas Secret Chiefs 3’s Masada Book Two release was announced in winter ’07 for a May ’08 release (almost a year and a half). Anyway, MMW’s Zaebos is a great record. I’d say it doesn’t rank as high as Xaphan and Lucifer for this year’s releases in that for some reason I don’t think the MMW Masada tunes work as well with their style as the tunes work with Secret Chiefs 3 or Bar Kokhba Sextet’s style. All said and done, it’s still a brilliant record for 2008 and for both the Masada and MMW catalogs. Favorite tracks are “Chafriel” and “Tutrusa’i.” http://tzadik.com/ -and- http://mmw.net/ -and- http://www.myspace.com/medeskimartinandwood |
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 Tiptons Sax Quartet – Laws of Motion (Zipa! Spoot) :: Similar to Reptet, I got into the Tiptons via Jim Wilke’s Jazz Northwest podcast. I found out about them literally a day after they had been in Eugene in Dec ’07. D’oh! Anyway, I believe that this is their 3rd full length CD, though they had some former releases with different members under the name the Billy Tipton Memorial Saxophone Quartet. They’re an all-woman sax quartet (plus drums) from Seattle. They’ve got ties to some great jazz musicians & composers (Eyvind Kang & Wayne Horvitz for example). This album has some vocals, but all in all, it’s a jazz record with a touch of eastern European music (balkan-klezmer per my untrained ears) thrown in. Favorite tracks are “Fallout” and “Number Six.” http://www.tiptonssaxquartet.com/ -and- http://myspace.com/tiptons |
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 Mostly Other People Do the Killing – This is Our Moosic (Hot Cup) :: I saw trumpeter Peter Evans in Eugene in February, and it was a mind-blowing avant-garde set. This band on the other hand, led by Moppa Elliott, is more of a Sex Mob-influenced jazz funk romp. Great music from these NY gents. You can get their albums on CD Baby (please, support indie moosic). Favorite tracks are “The Bats in Belfry” and “Drainlick.” http://www.moppaelliott.com/ -and- http://myspace.com/mostlyotherpeopledothekilling |
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 Stebmo – Stebmo (indie) :: Multi-instrumentalist Steve Moore has played with Earth, Sunn 0))), and enlisted some friends (Eyvind Kang, Matt Chamberlain, Todd Sickafoose, Tucker Martine and more) to help out on his first solo album. I saw him open for Skerik’s Maelstrom Trio this past spring as well as play with Earth in June. As mentioned in the live review, his album is a bit like the organic/melodic elements of the Album Leaf mixed with the building nature of an Explosions in the Sky set mixed with a heaping handful of electronic jots & tittles like those that may have hit the Kid A cutting room floor. Favorite tracks are “Dark Circles” and “Waiting Game.” http://stebmo.com/ -and- http://myspace.com/stebmo |
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 John Zorn’s Moonchild Trio (Mike Patton/Joey Baron/Trevor Dunn) – The Crucible (Tzadik) :: This album is a rare December release on Tzadik (since 2000, they’ve taken the month off). Continuing in the Moonchild Trio’s glossolaliac noise metal theme, this album also adds John Zorn’s wonderful sax trade-off with Mike Patton’s screaming utterances. Guitarist Marc Ribot also adds very Led Zeppelin riffage on one track (“9×9”). When the original Moonchild album was released (2006), I thought it was going to be a one off… well, four albums in, I’m definitely hoping it continues a bit more… Favorite tracks are “Almadel” and “Maleficia.” http://tzadik.com/ -and- http://myspace.com/johnzorn |
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 Swami Late Plate (Bobby Previte & Jamie Saft) – Doom Jazz (Veal) :: The album’s title, Doom Jazz, says it all. This album fits well for fans of Sunn 0))), Earth, Bohren & Der Club of Gore and others in the slow rock, doom, sludge movement. I find it completely compelling… Favorite tracks are “Malignant Cloud” and “The Bearded Man Cannot Help You.” http://myspace.com/swamilateplate -and- http://myspace.com/doomjazz |
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 God of Shamisen – Dragon String Attack! (Reptile) :: God of Shamisen is Kevin Kmetz, an I first heard of him when he was playing with world metal band Estradasphere. He’s also played (briefly) with Secret Chiefs 3. He’s had a few solo albums, but this year saw GoS release two band efforts: the 7″ vinyl for “The Science Fiction of Ray Bradbury Attack!” and then their full-length debut this past fall. I picked up this debut at their show in Eugene (go here for my review with pictures). While it has some minor vocals on a song or two, it’s still primarily a instrumental attack. Japanese metal fusion… excellent stuff. Favorite tracks are “The Science Fiction of Ray Bradbury Attack!” and the spread across the album in several waves “Dragon String Attack!” http://godofshamisen.com/ -and- http://myspace.com/gos |
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 Mogwai – The Hawk is Howling (Matador) :: Much more enjoyable to me than their recent tour (review link). I can control the volume… yay! I dig this record A LOT. This Scottish band has put out some consistently great records. This one bounces back from their mellower Zidane with more gusto, more power, yet still retaining the melody. You know… the melody that gets drowned out in their live show. Favorite tracks are “I’m Jim Morrison, I’m Dead” and “The Precipice.” http://mogwai.co.uk/ -and- http://myspace.com/mogwai |
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 Yoshie Fruchter – Pitom (Tzadik) :: Wow… I’m definitely looking to more from Yoshie Fruchter in the future. Like Jon Madof’s Rashanim and Yves Weyh’s Zakarya, Yoshie Fruchter brings in a great rock vibe to the Radical Jewish Culture series. Favorite tracks are “Go Go Golem” and “Lungs and Spleen.” http://tzadik.com/ -and- http://www.yoshiefruchter.com/ |
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 SF Jazz Collective 2008 (Dave Douglas, Joe Lovano, Miguel Zenon, and more) – SF Jazz Collective 2008 (Wayne Shorter feature) (SFJAZZ) :: I became a fan of this band because of one man: trumpeter since their 2007 band, Dave Douglas. I also got to see them this past February at the PDX Jazz Fest (see my combo SF Jazz & Ornette Coleman review here). This jam-packed 3-CD set is full of Wayne Shorter arrangements and originals by the band members. It’s a little step on the price by today’s standards, but it helps support the not-for-profit SFJazz organization. Favorite tracks are “Aurora Borealis,” “Secrets of the Code,” and “Aung San Suu Kyi.”http://sfjazz.org/ |
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 John Zorn – The Dreamers (Tzadik) :: Played by the Electric Masada band, The Dreamers continues with the motif and accessibility of 2001’s The Gift… mixing world, jazz, exotica, surf and more into a very pleasing John Zorn package. Combined with the fantastic cute animal art by Chippy, this one will most definitely rank in the top Zorn releases. I hear it may find its way onto vinyl, or perhaps that’s just me stoking the embers of the rumor house’s fireplace. Favorite tracks are “A Ride On Cottonfair” and “Nekashim.” http://tzadik.com/ -and- http://myspace.com/johnzorn |
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 Jason Schimmel’s Orange Tulip Conspiracy – Orange Tulip Conspiracy (Web of Mimicry) :: Jason Schimmel has played with two bands that I love: Estradasphere & Secret Chiefs 3. This album continues on with Estradasphere’s Palace of Mirrors’ eclectic world music sound, but also brings in a bit of exotica, cinematic sound. I saw them in Eugene in November, and John Whooley’s sax blew me away as much as Jason’s guitar work. Favorite tracks are “Fall Creek” and “Rendezvous.” http://orangetulipconspiracy.com/ -and- http://www.myspace.com/orangetulipconspiracy |
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 Earth – The Bees Made Honey in the Lion’s Skull (Southern Lord) :: I went to their show at WOW Hall in Eugene in June after getting into Stebmo (see #12 above). They pretty much played stuff from their latest album. After the show, I quickly nabbed their prior work from Amazon used (and whatnot). Great band in the slowcore genre. They have deep ties to the Seattle scene, co-mingling with Kurt Cobain, the Melvins, Sunn 0))), and others. In fact, Kurt Cobain even guested on Earth’s 2nd EP, Extra-Capsular Extraction. With that being said, they’re definitely not grunge, they’re not rock, they’re not metal… they’re what you might call drone rock. Slow but powerful. Favorite tracks are “Engine of Ruin” and “Rise to Glory.” http://www.thronesanddominions.com/ -and- http://myspace.com/earthofficial |
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 The Bar Kokhba Sextet plays John Zorn‘s Masada Book Two – Book of Angels, Vol. 10: Lucifer (Tzadik) :: The Bar Kokhba Sextet showed up in 1996 as an almost direct spin-off of the Masada book; so them doing a Book Two album was almost a given. Holy cow, it’s a brilliant record… but I always loved what the Sextet had done previously. The Sextet is the tour de force of Cyro Baptista, Joey Baron, Greg Cohen, Mark Feldman, Erik Friedlander, and Marc Ribot. This is one band in my list that I wish I’d seen… I’m crossing my fingers that Earshot Jazz can bring ’em over to the PacNW sometime. Favorite tracks are “Sother” and “Abdiel.” http://tzadik.com/ -and- http://www.last.fm/music/Bar+Kokhba+Sextet |
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 The Secret Chiefs 3 play John Zorn‘s Masada Book Two – Book of Angels, Vol. 9: Xaphan (Tzadik) :: I shant write too much about Xaphan, as I wrote a fairly in-depth review of it back when it came out. I will say that it aged well and still held the Top spot all year. It’s a GREAT record. My main disappointment is that I wish they’d have played some from it at their tour this past fall. Favorite tracks are “Shoel,” “Bezriel,” and “Balberith.” http://webofmimicry.com/ -and- http://tzadik.com/ -and- http://myspace.com/secretchiefs3 |
Well, I bought ten (10) John Zorn CDs this year (unless I’m misscounting), and 2 of them didn’t make it anywhere on the list (the Lou Reed & Laurie Anderson improv benefit CD for The Stone NYC & the score for The Last Supper, aka Film Works XXII)… so, you can’t say that I’m totally biased towards John Zorn. :) Though, I do buy just about everything in his label Tzadik’s Archival series, Key series, and Radical Jewish Culture series (and a handful of the rest of the other series).
What I’m looking forward to in 2009? More great music…
~Dan – np: Miles Davis – Miles in the Sky
ha’fway
(Sub)consciously prompted by this music blog, here are my favs of the first half of 2008… it’s all bound to switch around by year’s end:
Artist Album (label)
- The Secret Chiefs 3 play Masada Book Two: Book of Angels, Vol. 9: Xaphan (Tzadik)
- The Bar Kokhba Sextet play Masada Book Two: Book of Angels, Vol. 10: Lucifer (Tzadik)
- My Brightest Diamond A Thousand Shark’s Teeth (Asthmatic Kitty)
- Opeth Watershed (RoadRunner)
- Earth The Bees Make Honey in the Lion’s Skull (Southern Lord)
- Dave Douglas & Keystone Live at Jazz Standard, 4/10/2008 to 4/13/2008 (2 sets each night = 8 CDs worth, each set downloadable within 24 hours of the performance… cool stuff…) (Green Leaf)
- Sigur Rós Með suð í eyrum við spilum endalaust (XL)
- Reptet Chicken or Beef? (Monktail Creative Music Concern)
- John Zorn’s The Dreamers (Tzadik)
- King’s X XV (Inside Out)
- Glen Phillips (of Toad the Wet Sprocket) Secrets of the New Explorers -EP- (Umami)
- Ashes Divide (Bill Howerdel of A Perfect Circle) Keep Telling Myself It’s Alright (Island)
- Mike Patton A Perfect Place (Ipecac)
- Puscifer V is for Viagra – The Remixes (Puscifer)
- Jacob Fred Jazz Odyssey Lil’ Tae Rides Again (Hyena)
- Bill Frisell History, Mystery (Nonesuch)
- Steven Bernstein (of Sex Mob) Diaspora Suite (Tzadik)
- Hiromi Beyond Standard (Telarc)
- Stebmo Stebmo (Stebmo)
- Bobby Previte & New Bump New Bump: Set the Alarm for Monday (Palmetto)
- Swami Late Plate (Previte & Saft) Doom Jazz (Veal)
- Porcupine Tree We Lost the Skyline -EP- (Transmission)
- Raquy and the Cavemen Mischief (Meef)
- Aimee Mann @#%&*! Smilers (Super Ego)
- Kaki King Dreaming of Revenge (Velour)
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The 2nd half of 2008 promises to bring some potential great ones, too… Medeski Martin & Wood play John Zorn’s Masada Book Two, 3 other Medeski Martin & Wood albums (later in the year), Secret Chiefs 3 Book of Souls (maybe), God of Shamisen debut, Extreme Saudades de Rock, Mike Patton‘s Mondo Cane, Mike Patton & Dan the Automator’s Crudo, a new Sufjan Stevens (just speculating, since it’s been a while), Ben Folds is working on one, Ani DiFranco always has something coming out, Jude‘s Cuba, Jon Madof‘s CircuitBreaker debut (and maybe another Rashanim?), The Tango Saloon‘s Transylvania, new Tristeza, Over the Rhine Live from Nowhere III, David Bazan full-length, George Hrab (maybe?), SFJazz 2008 with Dave Douglas & Joe Lovano and others, Frank Zappa‘s One Shot Deal, another installment of the John Zorn avant-metal trio of Mike Patton/Trevor Dunn/Joey Baron… and I’m sure another dozen or more that I’ll dig from Tzadik.
Scrt Chfs 3
If vowels didn’t exist, this sentence would be idiotic. If vowels also didn’t exist, it would seem that Scrt Chfs 3 were opening for Scrt Chfs 3… or perhaps… Scrt Chfs 3 wr pnng fr Scrt Chfs 3. Gd thng thy d xst…
The Portland show (Oregon… eff you, Maine) of the Secret Chiefs 3 mini tour has openers of the Diminished Men and Secret Chefs 3 (a tribute band who play the SC3-style of world metal/rock with kitchen utensils).
Sunday, August 3rd. Doug Fir Lounge. 3 grt bnds.
Assuming I’m not far away for work, I’m planning on making it up from Eugene for the show.
http://dougfirlounge.com/
http://www.myspace.com/secretchiefs3
http://www.myspace.com/secretchefs3
http://www.myspace.com/DIMINISHEDMEN
Nooch.
~Dan
Medeski Martin Wood & Zorn
OYG!
According to Downtown Music Gallery‘s catalog search and this MTV entry, the next treatment for John Zorn‘s Masada Book Two: Book of Angels series is… MEDESKI MARTIN & WOOD. Wow.
It’ll be #11 in the series on Tzadik Records, and it’s named after the angel/demon Zaebos.
My recent review of #10 in the series (Secret Chiefs 3’s Xaphan) is HERE. I’m equally stoked about this forthcoming MMW treatment… and quite frankly it totally caught me completely off guard (I think I knew about the SC3 one, like, 18 months ahead of time).
ALBUM REVIEW: Xaphan, Book of Angels Vol. 9 ~ The Secret Chiefs 3 play Masada Book Two
Got this album in the mail the other day… I’ve four times through it, and since I imagine it will hold up fairly well as far as albums go this year, it deserves the ol’ track-by-track analysis…
Xaphan, Book of Angels Volume 9
The Secret Chiefs 3 play Masada Book Two
Masada Book Two – Background: John Zorn had a fantastic jazz-klez quartet called Masada. It was John Zorn on alto sax, Dave Douglas on trumpet, Greg Cohen on bass, and Joey Baron on drums (sometimes Kenny Wollesen of the Sex Mob filled in on drums). They recorded 10+ studio albums in the mid-1990s, and they played live consistently up until March 2007. They may play a one-off in the future, but their Lincoln Center shows last spring were their final bow, as it were. I saw it, yay! The initial 10 studio albums by Masada are hardish to find (Japanese import label DIW), but they have many live and previously unreleased stuff on John’s own Tzadik Records, like Sanhedrin (below):
Anyway, sometime in the early 2000s, John Zorn started several splinter Masada or Masada-esque groups (Electric Masada, Masada String Trio, Bar Kokhba Sextet). He also wrote upwards of 300 additional Masada tunes that were not to go into acoustic Masada repertoire, but rather go into the “Masada Book Two. ” Different artists get these tunes (in the form of melody sheets of about 16 bars of music), and they arrange and record their version of John Zorn’s Masada Book Two tunes. Favorites in the past have been Marc Ribot, Koby Israelite, Cracow Klezmer Band, Bar Kokhba Sextet, et cetera…
Xaphan Personnel: Trey Spruance: guitars, organs, percussion, synths, autoharp, piano, bass; Timb Harris: violin, trumpet; Jason Schimmel: guitar; Anonymous 13: voice, viola; Rich Doucette: sarangi; Jai Young Kim: B3 organ; Shahzad Ismaily: bass; Ches Smith: drums, congas; with special guests Adam Stacey: clavinet; Monica Schley: harp; and Tim Smolens: cello, upright bass. ie- people from the latest incarnations of Secret Chiefs 3, Estradasphere, Mr. Bungle, Marc Ribot’s Ceramic Dog, Carla Kihlstedt’s 2 Foot Yard, yadda yadda…
photo credits: Peter Gannushkin / Theremin Noise Club / Jae
The Xaphan Songs: (all written by John Zorn & arranged by Trey Spruance)
- Sheburiel ~ Nice surf/exotica about 30 seconds in, which transitions into a delightful string melody with surf guitar reminiscent of something from the Electric Masada catalog. Overall, this is quite a schizophrenic song, but nice textures… it’s a prelude for what’s to come in the rest of the record.
- Akramachamarei ~ Very much a spaghetti-western-meets-middle-east vibe on this track. I dig it. The title sounds like an interesting mixed drink (something along the lines of okra-infused vodka bloody mary with a sprig of mâche instead of celery). Oh, and if you don’t know what mâche is, well, it’s a delightfully nutty leaf in the lettuce family. So, yeah, spaghetti-western-meets-middle-eastern bloody mary concoctions all around!! And any band naming themselves Okra-infused Vodka, you owe me royalties. OK, back to the music…
- Shoel ~ Conga intro… keys, dub beats, and fuzz-guitar. Nice. Like at least 2-days of stubble on the guitars. Back into clean spag-west guitar… yeah, know, pretty soon, I’m running out of descriptions and adjectives beyond “cool,” “neato,” and “nice tom work, Ches.” I’m not a musician; so that’s the best you get, fools. This is one of my favorite tracks so far.
- Barakiel ~ Slowish, clean guitar entry with some slide, harp, and genteel vocals… moving into a bouncier spag-west guitar, but still with ethereal strings and piano.
- Bezriel ~ Oooo… Trey’s bringing the rock into it. Good interplay between the calm-before-the-storm viola and/or violin with the guitar chunk and vocal haunts. The last half of the track features some more strings and less of the chunk (oh, wait, I lied… it ends with the chunk). :) Another one of my favorite tracks.
- Kemuel ~ Bungle-y circus organ into swirling drum-guitar-vocal passage into a dirty string solo.
- Labbiel ~ Interesting time signature interplay between the guitars and drums.
- Asron ~ Aw geez, I just lost the game. I zoned out to the great music and forgot to write about it. Bad reviewer, bad reviewer. Anyway, back to the music. Nice violin and guitars to end it.
- Balberith ~ Starts with a great melodic bass line with some fuzz/scratch guitar. Ah, the trumpet finally kicks in. Nice stuff, Timb. This could fit on Zorn’s The Dreamers or Electric Masada nicely. That’s a compliment. :) Another one of my favs on this record.
- Omael ~ Add some xylophone, and I’d say the intro to this fits into a Zappa catalog. :) This is a faster-paced song… for the SC3 bellydancer contingent, don’t pick this. Your legs might fall off. This one has some great percussion and more trumpet. I’m getting lost in the sounds, but I’m digging it.
- Hamaya ~ Clean exotica guitar intro, organ, vocal chants (something about tostadas?). Oh, a seemingly (to me) “The Exile” or “Book T: Exodus” strings-n-guitars moment about 1 minute in… nice. Nice melty fade that sucks me back into… g-to-the-d, why is it 84 degrees in my house!? Sometimes I hate renting a house in Oregon that does have A/C. Anyway, a great end to a great album.
I recommend you take some listens on MySpace, Amazon, and iTunes (when they get it)… and support good music if you like what you hear. It’s currently available at Web of Mimicry, Downtown Music Gallery, and Amazon (to name a few). I don’t do the track-by-track treatment on just any record… this is a special record.
Any musical review faux pas above? Eh, I’m not a musician. My ears my have defied me brain, matey. For Secret Chiefs 3 fans, I suppose this more relates to a Ur / Ishraqiyun / Forms / Traditionalists musical offering? I dunno which one moreso than the others. Any thoughts from you WoM boardies?
Fav tracks: Shoel (#3), Bezriel (#5), Balberith (#9), and Hamaya (#11).
Recommended if you like: world music, middle eastern music, progressive music with a bellydance beat, ADHD prescriptions, Secret Chiefs 3, Estradasphere, Mr. Bungle, John Zorn, et al… it’s very much a Secret Chiefs 3 record, but probably one of their more “accessible” ones (as well as being an accessible John Zorn-penned album). User friendly, middle-eastern rock-romp through a mad alchemist’s mind (Trey is a brilliant musician, IMO). This is my favorite in John Zorn’s Masada Book Two series, and that’s saying a lot (I love all 10 of the series thus far).
The Appropriate Linkage:
- Secret Chiefs 3’s Website (pleasing design, not realistic from a PR side of things)
- Secret Chiefs 3 on MySpace
- Web of Mimicry (Trey’s label)
- Tzadik Records (John Zorn’s label, released Xaphan)
- Tzadik on MySpace (unofficial but approved)
- John Zorn on MySpace (unofficial but approved)
- Other key Xaphan players on MySpace… Estradasphere, Ches Smith…
~Dan – np: Susie Ibarra – Drum Sketches 
The Masada Book Two Series (to date):
new Secret Chiefs 3 tour dates
I imagine these tour dates, as they trickle in, are all about “making their way back home after a festival.” Alas, the fact that they’re swinging by my way is FANTASTIC…
Secret Chiefs 3
Fri, 7/25/08 – Detroit Lakes, MN -Soo Pass Ranch “10,000 Lakes Festival”
Sat, 7/26/08 – Milwaukee, WI -Turner’s Ballroom
Sun, 7/27/08 – Chicago, IL – Double Door
Thu, 7/31/08 – Denver, CO – Bluebird Theater new date
Fri, 8/01/08 – Salt Lake City, UT – Club Paladium new date
Sun, 8/03/08 – Portland, OR – Doug Fir Lounge new date yay!
http://www.webofmimicry.com/
http://www.myspace.com/secretchiefs3
Their latest record, Xaphan: Masada Book Two Vol 9, is FANTASTIC…
~Dan
Mark my words… best CD of 2008…
I’m not a bettin’ man, but I’ll bet you a hundred ducks that Secret Chiefs 3‘s Masada Book Two, Volume 9: Xaphan will be one of my favorite CDs of 2008 (likely Top 3 to be safe)… and it’s not even out yet.
Per a recent SC3 blog, it hits April 11th (from Tzadik-direct Downtown Music Gallery) or later in the month at other outlets (April 22nd or so from Amazon, etc), and a “Masada preview” is now posted on their MySpace page.
The Masada Book Two series is comprised of 300 or so songs that John Zorn wrote in the Masada vein, but not for the Masada quartet to play. A different artist arranges and records a handful of these tunes to make them theirs… so far, the results have been great (Marc Ribot, Cracow Klezmer, Koby Israelite to name a few). Xaphan (aka Volume 9 from Secret Chiefs 3) features arranger Trey Spruance, plus musicians from his latest SC3 tour, members from Estradasphere, and more…
http://www.myspace.com/secretchiefs3
Up next in the Masada Book Two series is Volume 10: Lucifer from Bar Kokhba which will likely also hit a top spot on my CDs for 2008. It’s Bar Kokhba’s first studio release since The Circle Maker in 1998.
~Dan – np: Bill Moyer’s Journal podcast interview with Susan Jacoby
-Eyvind Kang
-Frank Zappa
Amazon.com mp3 downloads
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