John Zorn / Masada
Live In Sevilla

If at the beginning of his career, the good Zorn focused mainly on cover/tribute albums (among the most famous is the tribute to Morricone, "Big Gundown" and the jazz-bop covers of "News for Lulu"), with songs obviously reinterpreted in his personal style and already showing the, not yet fully developed, potential of our beloved; it is in the 90s that his 360-degree vision of the musical world definitively takes shape.

On one side, the sonic terrorism of Naked City and Painkiller, and on the other, the more jazz and soft side that began to change form here, starting from the album "Kristallnacht" (dedicated to the infamous Night of Broken Glass) to the rediscovery of the musician's Jewish origins and consequently the Klezmer, that is, Jewish folk music, which would probably become his most important source of musical influence. And obviously, Zorn wouldn't be Zorn if all this hadn't led to the birth of yet another project and thus, gathering the usual excellent musicians (in this case Zorn on sax, Dave Douglas on trumpet, Greg Cohen on bass, and Joey Baron on drums), the Masada quartet sees the light which from 1994 to 1998 manages to produce as many as 10 (yes, you read that right, more than two albums a year!) studio albums, all of which are of high quality and enthusiastically received by critics and public alike.

For all those looking for an ideal album for a first approach, which gives an overall idea of the musical offering of the four braves, or even for those who simply do not want to listen to/buy all the individual albums and are satisfied with a summary of all this, I recommend this live recorded in Seville, usually considered, along with "Live at Tonic," the peak reached by the lineup. The album shows us a group in perfect health, with the musicians extraordinarily in tune with each other, that delivers almost 80 minutes of excellent music, which entertains and flows effortlessly, also thanks to the uncommon instrumental abilities of the individuals who manage to make this seem easy and spontaneous, this amalgamation of avant-garde jazz and exotic flavors.

For all those who should become passionate, it should be noted that Masada is only the tip of the iceberg, as numerous other groups and reinterpretations have taken inspiration from it: from the Masada Swing Trio, to the Bar Kokhba Sextet, to Masada Guitars, up to the recent Book of Angels series.