SPY VS. SPY: THE MUSIC OF ORNETTE COLEMAN

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John Zorn plays as part of quintet with two drummers, bassist and altoist. The material is Ornette Coleman's compositions in chronological order ( from 1958 t0 1987).

All compositions are shortened till 2-3 minutes brutal energetic free jazz/avant pieces. From very beginning sounds a bit shocking, but has usual Zorn's atmosphere. The problem is that all pieces are short and of more or less same rhythm ( and all are driven by crazy drive and enormous energetic). So very soon you will become tired, or possibly bored by them.

Interesting album for researchers, but as whole work could attract very limited listeners.

John Zorn: Spy Vs. Spy [1988]

Rating: 7/10

John Zorn is known for genre-busting. If there's one thing that can be used to characterize his immensely diverse body of work, it is his ability to morph various musical genres into his own brand of experimental insanity. I once heard somebody remark, "If it exists, John Zorn has done an avant-garde version of it." After taking the time to familiarize myself with Zorn's monolithic discography, I realize how true this statement is.

Spy Vs. Spy is the first album that fully explores what is arguably Zorn's most identifiable genre mash-up: jazzcore. Free-jazz and grindcore share almost no musical similarities, with one important exception: both genres are centered upon extreme dissonance and atonality. Zorn has combined these two musical styles to create a new level of harsh musical experimentalism. On this album, Zorn and company have taken the compositions of avant-jazz pioneer Ornette Coleman and grafted them into an entirely different mold. These pieces are played at an ear-splittingly fast tempo, with blasting drums and pulsating bass backing up the dual saxophones. This creates a sonic assault of insane blaring based around a careful melodic framework.

While Spy Vs. Spy doesn't fully demonstrate the possibilities of jazzcore, it does show the power of Zorn's creative musical thinking. This adaptation of the free-jazz style has had enormous influence on experimental music, and albums like this show why. Spy Vs. Spy is not a masterpiece; I have to be in a specific musical mood to enjoy it. However, this is an excellent avant-garde jazz album that I would heartily recommend to any fan of the genre.