The Now Playing Thread

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Starting to revisit some of my favorites from 2012. This one is still a strong contender for the top spot on my list this year. It has not left my ipod or my car since I first got it in the spring.

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What happens when you take my favorite Funkadelic song and have Mavis Staples and Jeff Tweedy cover it? You get my newest addiction...

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At some point, I will wake up and realize this was a dream, but for now I'm watching this as many times as I can.

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Tap: Book of Angels Vol. 20 - Pat Metheny Plays Masada Book Two
Tzadik/Nonesuch 2013

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[tjcurtin1]

R of G - I might have missed an earlier introduction to this series - what's the scoop? Looks kind of esoteric, but quite the collection of diverse musicians.

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R of G - I might have missed an earlier introduction to this series - what's the scoop? Looks kind of esoteric, but quite the collection of diverse musicians.

The Masada Songbook is a collection of several hundred compositions written by John Zorn in the early 90s. Part of the conception of the compositions is that they're intended to be interpreted and playable by any relatively small group of musicians. These are not through-composed pieces. There are composed heads and some songs have certain other guidelines about their structures, but the vast majority of them also involve much room for improvisation.

The tunes were originally performed by Zorn's band, also named Masada. This was a sax/trumpet/bass/drums jazz combo. Later he formed Electric Masada and Bar Kokhba, two different larger bands to tackle the tunes from different angles. Other configurations have followed (Masada String Trio, Masada Quintet, etc).

This series (Book of Angels) represents a second songbook of Masada tunes written in 2003. Each album presents a different artist or group tackling selections from the book. With the quality of musicians involved, what stands out most is how each approaches improvisation.

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R of G - I might have missed an earlier introduction to this series - what's the scoop? Looks kind of esoteric, but quite the collection of diverse musicians.

I wanted to return to this question when I had some time to gather up some examples.

Thanks for the interest TJ.

Masada
(FYI, Zorn is the sax player)


Electric Masada



Masada String Trio


Bar Kokhba Sextet


The Dreamers


Marc Ribot


Marc Ribot (solo)


Bill Frisell


Tim Sparks


Rashanim


Masada Quintet feat. Joe Lovano


Jamie Saft Trio


Trey Spruance/Secret Chiefs 3


Pat Metheny


Erik Friedlander


Sylvie Courvosier & Mark Feldman


Medeski, Martin & Wood

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Preparing to begin a few weeks of collaborating on some original music for a friend's short film so this is an obvious choice. I love the soundtracks to Leone's "Dollars Trilogy" as much as the next person, but this one is still my favorite.

I also can't believe I never put Allesandro Allesandroni in my list of influential guitarists. Have any of us that have seen these Westerns (or a Tarantino movie) not been influenced by that guitar? He also does all the whistling. You know you hear it right now.

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Pretty excited about seeing him tomorrow. Last time was eighteen years ago this week actually.