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One of John Zorn's best-known "game" pieces – served up here in both a studio and live performance! Zorn doesn't play anything on the recordings, but acts as the "prompter" – a conductor of sorts, encouraging improvisations from a variety of players that include Jim Staley on trombone, Bill Frisell on electric guitar, Elliott Sharp on doubleneck guitar, Arto Lindsay on guitar, Wayne Horvitz on piano, Anthony Coleman on organ and harpsichord, Christian Marclay on turntables, Zeena Parkins on harp, and Bobby Previte on percussion. The lineup is amazing – really a "who's who" of the New York art music scene in the mid 80s – and there's a nice use of turntables and tapes on both performances – making for sonic interplay that goes way beyond the usual Zorn recording!

A great follow-up to the initial News For Lulu project – a late 80s reinvention of the sound of Blue Note, handled by this trio of key modernists from the time! As proven by recordings like this over the years, John Zorn's a player who – despite his own very modern and avant tendencies – has a great respect for older jazz traditions, and a strong ability to bring them into his music – even if the connections aren't always that obvious! Here, the link is explicit – in the album's choice of tunes by Hank Mobley, Sonny Clark, Kenny Dorham, John Patton, and Freddie Redd – all Blue Note legends from the hardbop generation, providing core elements that are completely reworked into modern showcases for the alto of Zorn, guitar of Bill Frisell, and trombone of George Lewis. Lewis' presence is especially great – a rhythmic pulse and sense of depth that really grounds the session nicely. The CD features material from two live performances – and titles include "Melody For C", "News For Lulu", "Funk In Deep Freeze", "Gare Guillemins", "Hank's Other Tune", "Minor Swing", and "Peckin Time".

The first, and arguably the best, of John Zorn's Naked City albums. The sound is extremely intense, and represents a blinding blend of influences, most of which Zorn had been showcasing in more easy going settings on previous albums. The core group includes Bill Frisell, Wayne Horvitz, Fred Frith, and Joey Baron – plus a guest appearance by Yamatsuka Eye. Hard to find on vinyl, and with the titles "Demon Sanctuary", "Speedball", "James Bond Theme", "Ingenous Ejaculation", "I Want To Live", and "Latin Quarter".

A really wonderful little record – one headed up by John Zorn, but actually featuring instrumentation from the trio of Bill Frisell on guitar, Kenny Wollesen on vibes, and Carol Emanuel on harp! The mix of instruments is wonderful – and rings out here with gentle progressions that almost remind us of some Terry Riley projects in the 70s, but a bit more intimate and less minimal too – lots of gentle colors from the vibes and guitar ringing next to some more subtle progressions from the harp – all at a level that's way beyond jazz or familiar compositional music! Zorn composed, arranged, and produced – and titles include "The Nymphs", "Sacred Oracle", "Dance Of Sappho", "The Bacchanalia", "Ode To The Cathars", and "Apollo".

Zorn's work with Bill Frisell, Fred Frith, Joey Baron, and Wayne Horvitz compiled and remastered under his Tzadik label. Includes the releases, Radio, Naked City, Heretic, Grand Guignol, Absinthe, and Torture Garden.

A suite of tracks inspired by the poetry of Rimbaud – but carried off with sounds that are light years from his words on paper! The music is some of John Zorn's most hard-hitting in recent years – very different than the lyrical, poetic style you might expect – and done in with a fair bit of noise and electronics at times, mixed alongside acoustic instrumentation with offbeat phrasing and tuning. Titles include "Bateau Ivre", played by the Talea Ensemble with flute, clarinet, vibes, and strings; "A Season In Hell", which features both Zorn and Ikue Mori on electronics; "Illuminations", a loose free jazz piece from the trio of Stephen Gosling on piano, Trevor Dunn on bass, and Kenny Wollesen on drums; and "Conneries", which has insane vocalizations from Mathiew Almaric, plus alto, piano, organ, and guitar from Zorn!

John Zorn, inspired by the work of William Blake – on an album that's one of his most beautiful in years! There's a really lovely sound going on here – bright, and filled with hope – in ways we never thought we'd be hearing from Zorn many years back – music that's made not by John's own instrumentation, but by a group that features John Medeski on piano and organ, Kenny Wollesen on vibes, Carol Emanuel on harp, Trevor Dunn on bass, Joey Baron on drums, and Cyro Baptista on percussion! The sound is warm and very organic – a shade towards a Terry Riley minimal mode, but more lyrical overall – with an open, flowering quality that's wonderful right from the start. Zorn arranges and conducts – and titles include "An Island In The Moon", "The Hammer Of Los", "The Prophecy", "Marriage Of Heaven & Hell", "Night Thoughts", and "When The Morning Stars Sang Together".

A pretty wonderful little concept – Pat Metheny plays music composed by John Zorn – all at a level that resonates both with the wonderful modes we've been hearing from Zorn of late, and with the most adventurous modes of Metheny's early years! Pat's virtually solo on the set – save for some help from Antonio Sanchez on drums – and plays a range of different electric and acoustic guitars, plus sitar, piano, keyboards, bandoneon, percussion, and even a bit of flugelhorn too – instruments that create a rich tapestry of sounds and textures, often with these exotic musical moments that are a real change for Metheny! The album's a delightful surprise all the way through – and titles include "Albim", "Phanuel", "Hurmiz", and "Sariel".