It's a shame to see some artists get almost their entire discography included in this book, while someone with as varied an oeuvre as John Zorn only gets this one.
In some ways its an appropriate enough album, a bit of a microcosm for what Zorn is about: it takes familiar elements (the free-jazz compositions of Ornette Coleman, elements of hardcore, hints of Carl Stalling's cartoon music, and metal grind) and mixes it together to form something original. Dishing out short bursts of sound.
On the other hand, it's not the most diverse or representative of Zorn's albums (not reflecting the more melodic sides of his sound, the breadth of his soundtrack work, or his passion for traditional Jewish music), it doesn’t feature any original compositions from the prolific Zorn, and the unrelenting sonic pummelling does risk becoming a bit samey by the end.
Zorn's goal here had been to try and reimagine Coleman's compositions while reinvigorating the shock factor they would have had when they were first unveiled. Zorn and the other sax player Tim Berne are panned either side and improvving over an amazing rhythm section. They're like "you want some hard bop rhythm? Not a problem. What's that? Blast beats... yeah, sure thing".
Free free jazz.
