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Rating: "Book Of Angels," as even the walls know by now, is the latest series work by, you guessed it, John Zorn. Since, evidently, the 10 major volumes of Masada from the '90s were not enough, our devoted artist furiously returns with another numerous set of tracks: just to convince even the most obtuse that for him, Klezmer is not just a lab guinea pig to unleash his (diabolical) experimental thirst.
Therefore, 10 years later, the volumes of Masada Book Two begin to appear in the unlimited Tzadik catalog, each named after an angel (of death); material composed by the good Zorn and reworked by high-ranking artists, already his faithful followers for a long time: Fred Frith, Uri Caine, Koby Israelite, and many fine groups such as the Krakow Klezmer Band or the Jamie Saft Trio.
The strength of these chapters is that they are extremely distinct from each other compared to the first series, whose performance was solely entrusted to the Masada band: here the various authors' points of view and their sensitivity lead to an offering that is truly intriguing and worthy of being possessed on the most demanding shelves. And, although all have Jewish roots, even the genres become multiple, ranging from the purest jazz to psychedelic rock to classical ensembles and so on. Even extremely modern episodes, like Orobas (volume 4) or the very recent Xaphan (volume 9), which revisit Israeli musical themes in a "young" key.
But what I want to briefly draw your attention to is "Azazel," the second volume, entrusted to none other than the Masada String Trio, an exceptional formation to say the least: Mark Feldman (violin), Erik Friedlander (cello), and Greg Cohen (bass). For those who have been dealing with John for some time, these names are anything but new: in fact, they are some of the greatest virtuosos of the Zorn label, gathered in a tight-knit trio.
"Azazel" maintains the outline of the early Masada, but adds some more avant-experimental pieces, similar to Zorn's "modern classical" works of Angelus Novus or Magick. The rest consists of "pure and simple" Klezmer executed meticulously, with a passion that can be perceived from a mile away: the three musicians have a wonderful understanding, cooperate naturally, and make the 60 minutes of the album fluid and extremely enjoyable.
Chosen from the 10 (so far) volumes because I find it to be the most successful, or at least the most representative of the project Zorn has in mind: a living testimony of the genre to which he has dedicated much of his production, starting from "Kristallnacht," through "Bar Kokhba," to the double "The Circle Maker." A music, whatever is said, deeply rooted in his genius and alive in his blood.
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