Zorn/Lewis/Frisell - Blue Minor, take 2
For a man who's usually labelled just as a jazz musician, John Zorn has had an unusually varied career. He has written and played jazz, modern classical, film music, klezmer, hardcore punk, blues and avant garde. I can think of no other musician whose name on the cover is a less reliable guide as to the music inside.

So let's clarify things: this is Zorn playing bebop. Blue Minor is a great tune written by Sonny Clark, and comes from a 1994 album of bop covers called News For Lulu. One of the extraordinary things about this record is that the sound is so thin and reedy you could swear that the music being played was not from the '50s but the '20s. The playing hints at this as well. It's short and clipped in the manner of classic bop, but it's also somehow polite and mannered. Together, this sounds fantastic. Zorn's alto, George Lewis' trombone and Bill Frisell's guitar all have plenty of space to twist around each other, and they really sound like they're enjoying playing together. It's a absolute delight, and, with the exception of its sequel, unlike every other Zorn album.

Zorn/Lewis/Frisell - Blue Minor, take 2