★Tzadik
Autodreamographical
Despite being midway through his seventies, minimalist icon Terry Riley shows no signs of slowing down or satisfying his searching experimental appetite. On Autodreamographical Tales Riley embarks upon a musical dream diary, a project initiated in 1996. The resultant pieces play out chiefly as spoken-word passages given musical accompaniment, with Riley scoring his own strange REM meanderings via an array of MIDI instruments and piano pieces. At various points during the course of the album you …
Book Of Angels Volume 13
Four exotic and talented women doing the Book of Angels. A capella. “Mycale” is definitely not my favorite entry in the already 13 albums long series (even though I only have half of those yet), but it is an entirely new approach to the material and therefore about as fresh and original as I suspect it can get after versions over versions of these kind of compositions. But mainly it’s just a lot of fun.
Twilight Of The Gods
"Active in electronic composition since 1971, Creshevsky delights in presenting extreme and unpredictable juxtapositions in which the integration of electronic and acoustic sources and processes creates virtual "superperformers" by using the sounds of traditional instruments pushed past human capacities. Creshevsky uses the term Hyperrealism to describe his electroacoustic language constructed from found sounds, handled in ways that are exaggerated or intense. The second Tzadik CD by this modern…
The Sapphire Nature
"One of the world's premier noise percussionists and a learned scholar of Kabbalah, Torah and Talmud, Z'ev has been a vital force in the downtown scene since the late 1970s. In addition to his collaborations with Glenn Branca, Rudolph Grey and his fascinating solo work, Z'ev is also a prolific writer and musical thinker. He has written on subjects ranging from music composition, ritual performance and has also translated several esoteric Tibetan and Hebrew texts into English. His latest study is…
House Full Of Floors
Evan Parker is one of the world's greatest saxophone virtuosos, a revolutionary innovator who has almost single handedly changed the language of the instrument. House Full of Floors is the exciting follow up to his incredible studio composition Time Lapse, released to great acclaim on Tzadik in 2006. Working with three of London's most accomplished improvisers, Evan has fashioned a new world of sound in this exciting new recording. Radical soundscapes from one of the most important musical figu…
Beginnings
The pieces in Tzadik's collection of early works by Meredith Monk have either never been released before or are heard in performances released here for the first time. Since her 1981 album Dolmen Music, Monk has recorded for ECM, and these selections (including some live performances) all predate that release. The album begins with a disarmingly simple version of Greensleeves, made in 1966; it's intriguing to hear Monk's distinctive voice conventionally used in a folk song. Monk tends work in la…
Class Insecta
One of the pioneers of laptop electronics, Ikue Mori has been breaking new ground on the musical frontier for three decades. From her early days in the landmark no wave band DNA, to her years as a regular in the downtown improvisation community and more recently as one of the epicenters of the international laptop electronic scene, Ikue has become an underground hero -- yet her work is still sorely underappreciated. This newest solo CD features Ikue's idiosyncratic take on contemporary dance rhy…
Of The Body Prone
Mixing improvisation & tightly controlled jump cut compositional complexity, AHLEUCHATISTAS are one of a handful of rock groups that can give the Ruins, Meshuggah, & Naked City a run for their money. Fascinating & powerful, passionately performed & beautifully recorded, this is New Rock Complexity at its very best.
O\'o
The exotic follow up to "Dreamers." Featuring the same dynamic band of masters from Zorn's inner circle, this presents 12 more lyrical & adventurous instrumentals combining world music, surf, exotica, soundtracks, easy listening, minimalism & more into a fabulous & exciting new music.
Complete Studio Recordings
Naked City was: John Zorn, Bill Frisell, Wayne Horvitz, Fred Frith, Joey Baron, Yamataka Eye & Bob Dorough. "Probably Zorn's most popular and most controversial musical project, the music of Naked City has been debated, analyzed, adored and reviled by fans, critics and academics alike, but nothing can replace the experience of hearing it in all its frightening glory. Most people know this music from the single domestic release on Nonesuch, but the major portion of their studio recordings were is…
Filmworks XXIII: El General
Eleven cues recorded for a striking documentary focusing on the life of controversial Mexican dictator Plutarco Elias Calles who was called everything from a nun-burner to the father of modern Mexico. Beautiful and dramatic, the music is scored for guitar, marimba, accordion/piano and bass and subtly draws upon Mexican, Spanish, minimalist and soundtrack traditions. Zorn's fifth film score in as many months is a pure delight. Moody and exotic music for a creative and revealing film dealing with …
Masada Anniversary Edition, Vol. 4: Masada Recital
*In process of stocking. 2022 stock.* Masada 10th Anniversary Edition Vol. 4. Performed by: Mark Feldman (violin), Sylvie Courvoisier (piano). Virtuosic fireworks and heartfelt lyricism from two of the most amazing musicians in new music. Performing a dozen compositions from the vast Masada repertory, including the world premiere of a piece never before performed, Masada Recital is another new interpretation of the now classic book of compositions expanding on the Jewish tradition.
Patterns In A Chromatic Field
Performed by: Charles Curtis (cellos), Aleck Karis (piano); recorded 2003. The definitive recording of one of Morton Feldman's most important and challenging pieces, played at the composer's marked tempos, and taking all the notated repeats. Fitting neatly onto one CD, this is Feldman at his most extreme. A dramatic display of virtuosity performed with passion and precision by two of the leading exponents of new music in the world. Out of Feldman's enormous oeuvre, Patterns in a Chromatic Field …
The First Basket
Charming and imaginative music for a controversial film that follows the Jewish basketball experience from ash cans placed on the stoops of brownstones to the bright lights of Madison Square Garden. Composed by Roberto Juan Rodriguez, whose CDs of modern Cuban-Jewish fusion have become Tzadik best sellers, the score jumps from klezmer to classical, dixieland, pop, rock and back again. Featuring an astounding array of downtown musicians, The First Basket establishes Roberto as a versatile compose…
The Storyteller
The Storyteller is another exciting release out of the New Israeli Jazz scene, this time featuring alto saxophonist Uri Gurvich. Born and raised in Israel, Uri moved to Boston in 2003. He has studied at Berklee with Joe Lovano and Herb Pomeroy and now lives in New York, where he appears regularly with his own ensembles. His work places Israeli, Yemenite, East European and North African music into a progressive jazz context. Passionate and virtuosic, The Storyteller is a fabulous debut CD by this…
Boundary Layer
A new recording by the band that pioneered laptop ensembles over twenty years ago coupled with an historic overview of their recordings, unreleased tracks and video clips of the band in performance. Functioning in the West Coast tradition of composer as instrument builder -- redefining music from the ground up -- The Hub makes music using electronic and digital systems of their own devising. A natural extension of the late 1970s ensemble the League of Automatic Music Composers, the group has per…
The Crucible
The legendary Moonchild trio returns for another intense journey into the worlds of magic, alchemy and witchcraft. Following one of Zorn's true masterpieces Six Litanies For Heliogabalus, this fourth volume streamlines and simplifies the music with new melodic elements, bringing Zorn's sax and the lyricism of Masada into the power and structural complexity of the patented Moonchild sound. With Patton using his prodigious voice to sing melodies in addition to his preverbal screams and howls, The …
Mutant Theatre
Dynamic and colorful music for percussion, prepared piano and electronics from a marvelous young Australian composer. Anthony Pateras has studied composition academically, toured extensively throughout Europe, North America and Asia and has collaborated with numerous improvisers and electronica musicians the world over. Mutant Theatre is a twisted cornucopia of driving rhythms and wild sonic explorations. Creative insanity from down under.
Criss X Cross
this legendary album was recorded in 1979 and has been the stuff of legend ever since, so it is great to finally hear it in all it’s glory. A crucial, early concert that was beautifully recorded live in the Sorbonne Cathedral of Paris in 1979 and remains one of the most brilliant examples of Gibson's unique and hypnotic solo performances. I must say there is an element to this music which sounds beautifully theatrical, like the most wonderful, mysterious piece of theatre you could ever wish to s…
Azazel: Book of Angels Volume 2
*In process of stocking. 2022 stock.* The first new studio recording in almost ten years by one of the most exhilarating ensembles in the ever growing Masada family. Together since 1994, their breathtaking virtuosity, extraordinary passion and telepathic interplay has increased over the years and now their performances set a new standard for excitement, concentration and commitment. Performing thirteen new compositions from Zorn's legendary Book of Angels, these three brilliant musicians, under …