The ever-burgeoning Masada project has long bridged John Zorn's interests in improv and formal composition, from the fired-up horn quartet to the sublime serenity of the string trio. One of the key figures in that cross-current has been cellist Erik Friedlander, a member of both the Masada String Trio and the Bar Kokhba chamber ensemble. Friedlander is more than adept at meeting the various demands of Zorn's music, from the romantic swell to the comic dance.
It's surprising, then, that it's taken this long for a solo cello reading of the Masada tunes to come along. There's a certain greatness to the solo cello, and parts of Volac could constitute Zorn's Janos-Starker-plays-Bach. But that's only part of the story. Masada is a restless music, and Zorn's various love affairs always find their way in eventually, be it Ornette Coleman in the "classic" quartet, Martin Denny in Bar Kokhba or Carl Stalling, both in the string trio and here. It's a wicked joke, coming in the midst of startling virtuosity - which of course is Zorn all over.
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Kurt Gottschalk 2008-08-13
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