Masada, Vol. 6: Vav

Artist: Masada
Label: Diw Records
Category: Music

Average customer rating:

Media: Audio CD
Number Of Discs: 1

UPC: 634164090029
EAN: 0634164090029
ASIN: B00000G4SQ

Release Date: 1999-01-19

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Tracks:

Debir
Shebuah
Mikreh
Tiferet
Nevalah
Miktav
Nashon
Avelut
Beer Sheba

Similar Items:

Masada: Live in Sevilla 2000

Customer Reviews:

The better of the 1995 albums........2005-06-23

A distinct improvement over the previous Masada album (although this is pretty odd since both of them came from the same recording sessions in July of 1995), "vav" is a fine effort by Masada (John Zorn- alto sax, composer, Dave Douglas- trumpet, Greg Cohen- bass, Joey Baron- drums). The four piece improvises over pieces written using the "Jewish scales" with a jazz head structure to the pieces (i.e. intro-head-improv-head) and a unity in performance that is absolutely stunning. The strength of this band, moreso even than the superb material, is their near psychic interaction, and often times, it isn't the soloist who is the highlight during a solo, but rather the supporting voices. The band is also famous for point-counterpoint sort of improvisation with Zorn and Douglas improvising together.

Admittedly, the album starts off much like the other record from this session-- the first couple pieces are decent enough (opener "Debir" features some ferocious improvising from Zorn), but they aren't particularly memorable pieces. It isn't until the nearly soporific "Tiferet" that we get something really interesting-- a mellow piece with Douglas playing muted, it really grabs your attention for something that is so decidingly laid back in form. Similar in mood is the brilliant "Miktav"-- Zorn opens the piece with a keening line, and a sense of haunting and foreboding infuses the playing of all four musicians, particularly Douglas, who is just brilliant in his solo, showing an amazing sense of taste and technique.

But what this album has that the previous record was missing is a couple really great themes that clearly inspire the band-- drum feature "Nevalah" has a great skipping sound and a superb solo from Baron, but the spotlight is really stolen by Cohen, who manages clever interplay while maintaining a nearly hypnotic groove. Also of note is the album standout, "Nashon"-- featuring a fantastic circular theme and superb performances from all four band members (particularly Cohen), this is one of the real greats of the Masada catalog. Cohen continues his amazing playing on the cooled out "Avelut"-- a laid back piece where the bassist just never ceases his inventiveness (Zorn gets in quite a solo too).

There are better Masada pieces, but this is really a quite enjoyable effort. Recommended.

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