John Zorn

John Zorn Six Litanies For Helioglobus (2007 Tzadik)

John Zorn (Alto Sax, Composer)

Joey Baron (Drums)

Trevor Dunn (Bass)

Ikue Mori (Electronics)

Mike Patton: (Voice)

Jamie Saft (Organ)

Martha Cluver (Voice)

Abby Fischer (Voice)

Kirsten Soller (Voice)

In some ways I feel like this is the album I’ve been waiting to hear for so long. First of all it is indefinable. Zorn has somehow combined hardcore, free jazz, medieval music, and noise into one album. Even though this is the third album with the Moonchild band, Zorn added composer/laptop player Ikue Mori, organist Jamie Saft, a three-woman choir (Martha Cluver, Abbey Fischer, Kirsten Soller), and himself. The album starts out aggressively with distorted riffs, thunderous drums, and Mike Patton’s intense screaming. The first track also includes Mori’s wind chime-esque electronics and Saft’s organ, and also an ambient break featuring the choir. But towards the end of the track is when Zorn breaks out his big surprise, himself. He comes in playing the most insane sounding saxophone in history. “Litany II” is one of the best tracks on the album, starting out with Patton and Zorn battling to make the most intense noises. Then Saft drives the track while the choir, Mori, Dunn, and Barron follow his lead, which is probably some of the prettiest parts of the album. “Litany III” is probably one of the most unsettling tracks on the album. It starts with some of the fastest blasting and intense distortion. Then Saft takes over again, but this time playing darker chords over Patton’s demonic chanting. The track quickly breaks into a loud as possible free moment, then into another creepy ambient moment, this time featuring Mori and the choir. When this portion ends the tracks moves into a pretty funky breakdown, and ultimately closes with every member improvising, especially Zorn and Patton. “Litany IV” is probably one of the more interesting tracks on the album, considering it is Patton solo for eight minutes. I won’t really elaborate on it specifically, but this track is pretty mind blowing. I think “Litany V” is an attempt to put the most notes in the shortest track, because the intensity stays consistent for most of the tune. One of the first noticeable things about “Litany Six” is that it starts out slow, and surprisingly stays slow most of the time. Only at three points is the track really loud either. After one choir feature Dunn plays slow epic chords. And then after an ambient portion lead by Saft, Dunn comes back in with the epic chords. This segues into one final manic session, probably so Zorn can squeal to his hearts content. After a repetition of the choir part from the beginning the band has a quick loud moment that ends the album. The abruptness of the conclusion is similar to the sensation the listener gets after hearing the album. Many will be dumbstruck, some amazed, others probably frightened. If this album displays anything about Zorn, it is his incredible ability to neglect the concept of musical genres, and create music that is indefinable.

Points of Interest

John Zorn has done extensive work with member of Japanese noise group Boredoms

Ikue Mori has worked with Sonic Youth’s Kim Gordon, and has also played on stage with Sonic Youth.

Trevor Dunn and Mike Patton are in the experimental metal group Mr. Bungle