From San Sebastian to the Song Project

This year Europe will once again be hit by a wave of John Zorn concerts, and we're remembering the celebration of his 60th birthday and what happened back in then.
We packed up our bags and flew to Basque country. And thanks to John Zorn’s music in particular, we got to see the unmeasurable wild beauty of the Basque coastline. Where hydrangeas are four meters tall, and so is the tide, and the atmosphere is still stuck in the 20’s of the 20 th century.
To commemorate his 60th, apart from Masada in San Sebastian and a couple of other  European cities, Zorn decided to also do a song project.
A couple of his close friends came together to write the lyrics by his invitation. One of those friends is Mike Patton – our bridge between the past and todays music. Same old Patton.
As witnesses to all those years, we can say just one thing – bravery always pays off.
Chronology (from Greek) – means knowledge of time:
Mike Patton, Sofia Rei, Jesse Harris – voices and poets, writing lyrics for Zorn’s crazy music.
The orchestra – where to start: John Medeski on piano, Joey Baron on drums, Marc Ribot on guitar, Trevor Dunn on bass, Kenny Wollesen on the vibraphone, Cyro Baptista on percussions and John Zorn – conductor. That’s it.
Here is the place for two explanations. Firstly – the project is filled with turns, don’t give up on listening if something surprises or scares you; the collaboration of such musicians in one place strongly reminds of the dialogue on Bulgakov’s characters Margrita and Behemoth about the orchestra at Satan’s spring ball, where Strauss is the conductor. In that dialogue Behemoth the cat says: “And let them hang me on a vine in a tropical forest if a better orchestra ever played on this earth!”.
Second thing – listen to this on headphones or with a good sound system. It’s worth it.
And a third, unexpected thing to add – every meeting with the big art, energy, charisma and depth of so many talented musicians, combined in one place, really is a heaven for the senses.
We can vouch for that after four meetings with them.
Here we give an example with one SONG, and the songs from the link with the full concert you can listen to in whatever order you desire.
Enjoy listening to one of the most beautiful projects and music of the new time.
April 2019
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