For anyone that's interested in things John Zorn, a couple of days ago, here, there was a concert available for download of the Bar Kokhba Sextet (inc Marc Ribot!) playing in Warsaw in 1999. As I write, the site seems not to be accessible, but it would be worth trying again later, as it is a wonderful concert, an excellent companion to the "Bar Kokhba" two-disc set of the Masada Chamber Ensemble, and with great sound quality. And introduced by the man himself. The Masada pieces may be the motherlode of John Zorn's work; they seem to be open to an endless amount of recombining, reworking, genre-hopping and other forms of jiggery pokery. But every new interpretation seems as valid, and fresh, as every other one. The original Masada studio recordings may, in fact, end up being the least necessary of the lot, as the original quartet outdoes itself with each concert recording that becomes available ("Live at Tonic", I think, is the high point so far, but that's a matter of opinion).
Of course, it is an expensive exercise just trying to keep up. And then Tzadik announces that it's putting together the ultimate completists' package of the Naked City recordings. Do I hear seven CDs? Maybe the kids would be happy with two meals a day.
