Masada, Vol. 3

Artist: Masada
Label: DIW
Category: Music

Average customer rating:

Format: Import
Media: Audio CD
Number Of Discs: 1
EAN: 4988044008908
ASIN: B000005RGK

Release Date: 1998-12-16

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Jewish & Yiddish Music

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Tracks:

Ziphim
Abidan
Katzatz
Hazor
Netivot
Karaim
Hekhal
Sheloshim
Lebaoth
Tannaim

Similar Items:

Masada, Vol. 8
Masada, Vol. 9
Masada, Vol. 4
Masada, Vol. 7
Masada, Vol. 1

Customer Reviews:

Weakest of the early material, but still enjoyable........2005-06-22

Somewhat less consistent and weaker than the previous two albums, "Gimel", the third Masada album (drawn primarily from the same February 20, 1994 session that the first two and the fourth release all came from), is still quite a record. The quartet of musicians (alto saxophonist John Zorn, trumpeter Dave Douglas, bassist Greg Cohen and drummer Joey Baron) are amongst the best in their field and get themselves totally around the Masada concept-- minimally asserted as the classic Ornette Coleman Quartet plays klezmer, the strengths in the band lie in tight interaction, strong performance beneath lead voices, and intertwining lines.

"Gimel" is a bit more experimental than the previous two records, in addition to the sort of standard Masada fare ("Netivot", bass feature "Hazor") of mid-tempo Jewish tinged jazz, there's a number of meditative pieces that are nothing short of remarkable ("Abidan", featuring superlative playing from both Zorn and Cohen is one of the real standouts in the Masada catalog, "Karaim", featuring stunning playing from Douglas, and the bubbling "Sheloshim", which eventually rises into a fury, albeit somewhat out of place for the piece), a somewhat unsuccessful flirtation with Zorn's love of cartoon music ("Katzatz" and to a lesser extent the somewhat unremarkable "Lebaoth"), a couple pieces that use space and sparser sound to great effect ("Ziphim", "Tannaim") and a much more klezmer-feel piece than anything else in the band's catalog ("Hekhal"). There's a lot of good material-- "Abidan" bears repeated mention, it really is incredible and an odd form for Masada with Zorn stating the theme and Douglas stating countermelody, but all in all, the record is a bit too inconsistent to hold up against its predecessors.

Nonetheless, its a worthy addition to the collection of anyone interested in Zorn's Masada catalog. Start with one of the other records first (I'd recommend "Beit", the second studio record, or better still the "50th Birthday Celebration Volume 7" live recording from 2003) before turning to this one. It has its rewards, but others are superior.

Music CD:

Music CD

Music CD

Music CD

Mississippi Burning, Pt. 2 ~ Mr. Sandman

Outside Inside ~ The Tubes

Nothing But the Real Thing ~ Kenny Lynch

Wheat ~ Wheat

Rock Me, Fender! ~ Mustangs

Golden Age of Grotesque ~ Marilyn Manson

The Process of Assimilation ~ Screaming Monkey Boner

View From Masada ~ Killah Priest

Mississippi Burning, Pt. 2 ~ Mr. Sandman

Quik Is the Name ~ DJ Quik