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John Zorn: Tractatus Musico-Philosophicus
ByZorn's collage of sound creates a bold and awakening listening experience. At times his keyboard playing can sound like Paul Bley, searching in the darkness for some form of intimacy. Voices arise in the backgroundlike someone speaking to you in a dream. There are the occasional shrieks and utterances like "logical forms are without number," "belief in the causal nexus," or simply the letter "m." You can hear soldering. Crickets. Howls of some wolf. Heartbeats. The sound of vinyl spinning on a turntable. An organ that suggests a soap opera surprise. And, best of all, you get Zorn's wailing saxophone!
One certainly can be entertained by the novelty of this endeavor. But it goes much deeper. This is an assault on consciousnessa consciousness that remains grounded in the mundane effort of living in alienation. There is at times an expressed angeras though Zorn is shaking his fist at what he sees around him. One can at times hear growls beneath an extended distorted guitar lineas though food is being devoured like a pig might eat slop. Birds tweet angrilydisturbed from their nesting into worry at some predator. Most unusual are the use of "game" callswho else uses sounds elicited by tools that lure animals to their death?
In short, Tractatus Musico-Philosophicus represents another step in Zorn's evolving vocabularya vocabulary rich and suggestive, symbolic and surreal, sinister and absurd. It is as if he has left the world of music as we know it and is on his own personal trajectory. We the listeners are better off because of his journey.
Track Listing
Tractatus Musico-Philosophicus.
Personnel
John Zorn
saxophone, altoJohn Zorn: Sax, Vocals, Fender Rhodes Piano, Prepared Piano, Guitar, Drums, Bass, Game Calls, Percussion, Objects, Samples.
Album information
Title: Tractatus Musico-Philosophicus | Year Released: 2019 | Record Label: Tzadik
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About John Zorn
Instrument: Saxophone, alto
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