Masada: Alef

Last updated
Masada: Alef
Masada Alef.jpg
Studio album by
Released1994
RecordedFebruary 20, 1994, RPM, NYC
Genre Post-bop
Klezmer
Length60:55
Label DIW DIW 888
Producer John Zorn, Kazunori Sugiyama
Masada chronology
Masada: Alef
(1994)
Masada: Beit
(1994)
John Zorn chronology
Execution Ground
(1994)
Masada: Alef
(1994)
Masada: Beit
(1994)

Masada: Alef, also known as Masada 1, is a 1994 album by American jazz composer and saxophonist John Zorn featuring the Masada Quartet performing compositions inspired by Zorn's examination of Jewish culture. [1] It was the first album in a project that has included ten studio albums, concerts, and live recordings.

Contents

The album takes its inspiration from the mass suicide of Zealots at Masada in 73 CE, and is dedicated to Asher Ginzberg (18561927), the founding father of Cultural Zionism.

Reception

Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic Star full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar empty.svg [2]
The Penguin Guide to Jazz Star full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svg [3]

The AllMusic review by Don Snowden awarded the album four stars stating "Alef is full of thrilling, varied music and just may remind some people who are put off by John Zorn's constant stream of conceptual projects how good a musician he is in a straight-ahead jazz context". [2]

Track listing

  1. "Jair" 4:53
  2. "Bith Aneth" 6:24
  3. "Tzofeh" 5:13
  4. "Ashnah" 6:20
  5. "Tahah" 5:40
  6. "Kanah" 7:26
  7. "Delin" 1:54
  8. "Janohah" 9:40
  9. "Zebdi" 2:45
  10. "Idalah-Abal" 6:15
  11. "Zelah" 3:48
All compositions by John Zorn
  • Recorded at RPM in New York City on February 20, 1994

Personnel

Masada

Related Research Articles

<i>Bar Kokhba</i> (album) 1996 studio album by John Zorn

Bar Kokhba is a double album by John Zorn, recorded between 1994 and 1996. It features music from Zorn's Masada project, rearranged for small ensembles. It also features the original soundtrack from The Art of Remembrance – Simon Wiesenthal, a film by Hannah Heer and Werner Schmiedel (1994–95).

John Zorn American composer, saxophonist and bandleader

John Zorn is an American composer, conductor, saxophonist, arranger and producer who "deliberately resists category". Zorn's avant-garde and experimental approaches to composition and improvisation are inclusive of jazz, rock, hardcore, classical, contemporary, surf, metal, soundtrack, ambient, and world music. In 2013, Down Beat described Zorn as "one of our most important composers" and in 2020 Rolling Stone noted "Though Zorn has operated almost entirely outside the mainstream, he's gradually asserted himself as one of the most influential musicians of our time".

Masada (band)

Masada is a musical group with rotating personnel led by American saxophonist and composer John Zorn since the early 1990s.

<i>Masada Guitars</i> 2003 studio album by John Zorn

Masada Anniversary Edition Vol. 1: Masada Guitars is the first album in a series of five releases celebrating the 10th anniversary of John Zorn's Masada songbook project.

<i>Live at Tonic 2001</i> 2001 live album by Masada

Live at Tonic 2001 is a double album by Masada featuring two sets recorded live at Tonic during one evening in New York's Lower East Side.

<i>Masada: Beit</i> 1995 studio album by John Zorn

Masada: Beit, also known as Masada 2, is a 1995 album by American jazz composer and saxophonist John Zorn. It is the second album of Masada recordings.

<i>Masada: Gimel</i> 1995 studio album by John Zorn

Masada: Gimel, also known as Masada 3, is a 1995 album by American composer and saxophonist John Zorn released on the Japanese DIW label. It is the third album of Masada recordings.

<i>Masada: Dalet</i> 1995 studio album by John Zorn

Masada: Dalet, also known as Masada 4, is a 1995 EP by American composer and saxophonist John Zorn. It is the fourth album of Masada recordings. The original pressing of this album was never available for retail sale as it was given away by DIW in exchange of the proof of buying the first three Masada albums up to June 1995. It was reissued in 1997 as a regular release.

<i>Masada: Zayin</i> 1996 studio album by John Zorn

Masada: Zayin, also known as Masada 7, is a 1996 album by American composer and saxophonist John Zorn and released on the Japanese DIW label. It is the seventh album of Masada recordings.

<i>Masada: Het</i> 1997 studio album by John Zorn

Masada: Het, also known as Masada 8, is a 1997 album by American composer and saxophonist John Zorn released on the Japanese DIW label. It is the eighth album of Masada recordings.

<i>Masada: Tet</i> 1998 studio album by John Zorn

Masada: Tet, also known as Masada 9, is a 1998 album by American composer and saxophonist John Zorn released on the Japanese DIW label. It is the ninth album of Masada recordings.

<i>Live in Sevilla 2000</i> 2000 live album by Masada

Live in Sevilla 2000 is a live album by Masada recorded in Seville, Spain.

<i>Live in Jerusalem 1994</i> 1999 live album by Masada

Live in Jerusalem 1994 is a live album by John Zorn's Masada recorded at the Jerusalem Festival in 1994.

<i>Masada Recital</i> 2004 studio album by John Zorn

Masada Anniversary Edition Vol. 4: Masada Recital is the fourth album in a series of five releases celebrating the 10th anniversary of John Zorn's Masada songbook project. It features 12 Masada songs performed by Sylvie Courvoisier on piano and Mark Feldman on violin. It was released in 2004 on Zorn's Tzadik Records as part of the Radical Jewish Culture Series.

<i>The Art of Memory</i> (album) Live album by John Zorn and Fred Frith

The Art of Memory is a live album of improvised music by John Zorn and Fred Frith. The album was released on Derek Bailey's Incus Records in 1994.

<i>Moloch: Book of Angels Volume 6</i> 2006 studio album by Uri Caine

Moloch: Book of Angels Volume 6 is an album by Uri Caine performing compositions from John Zorn's second Masada book, "The Book of Angels".

<i>Volac: Book of Angels Volume 8</i> 2007 studio album by Erik Friedlander

Volac: Book of Angels Volume 8 is an album by Erik Friedlander performing compositions from John Zorn's second Masada book, "The Book of Angels".

<i>The Unknown Masada</i> 2003 studio album by John Zorn

Masada Anniversary Edition Volume 3: The Unknown Masada is the third album in a series of five releases celebrating the 10th anniversary of John Zorn's Masada songbook project. It features twelve previously unreleased Masada compositions performed by Erik Friedlander's Quake (1), Rashanim (2), Dave Douglas (3), Tatsuya Yoshida (4), Naftule's Dream (5), Jamie Saft (6), Zahava Seewald (7), Koby Israelite (8), Julian Kytasty (9); Fantômas (10), Wadada Leo Smith and Ikue Mori (11), and Eyvind Kang (12).

<i>Voices in the Wilderness</i> 2003 studio album by John Zorn

Masada Anniversary Edition Volume 2: Voices in the Wilderness is the second album in a series of five releases celebrating the 10th anniversary of John Zorn's Masada songbook project. It features 24 compositions by Zorn, each performed by different ensembles.

<i>Tap: Book of Angels Volume 20</i> 2013 studio album by Pat Metheny

Tap: Book of Angels Volume 20 is an album by guitarist Pat Metheny performing compositions from John Zorn's Masada Book Two. The album was released simultaneously on Tzadik Records and Nonesuch Records. Though Zorn and Metheny are of similar age and both came to prominence in the late 1970s and have long admired each other's music, Tap is the first collaboration between the artists.

References

  1. Masada World: Alef, accessed Janur 6, 2020
  2. 1 2 Snowden, D. AllMusic Review accessed July 25, 2011
  3. Cook, Richard; Morton, Brian (2008). The Penguin Guide to Jazz Recordings (9th ed.). Penguin. p. 1543. ISBN   978-0-141-03401-0.