JOHN ZORN NEW MASADA QUARTET
Village Vanguard178 7th Avenue South, New York 10014
John Zorn brings his New Masada Quartet to the Village Vanguard: a four-piece reading from the Masada songbooks. Zorn plays alto saxophone alongside guitarist Julian Lage, bassist Jorge Roeder, and drummer Kenny Wollesen. The group was formed when Zorn reconstituted Masada in 2019, making this a current chapter of a long-running body of compositions rather than a repertory revival. In the Vanguard’s sharply focused listening room, the quartet’s compact instrumentation puts its composed material and quick collective responses in clear relief.
New Masada Quartet is a New York group led by composer and saxophonist Zorn. Masada was the first ensemble to explore his Radical Jewish Culture work, and its songbook has grown to more than 600 pieces. The music has been described as joining radical Jewish culture to the sound of Ornette Coleman’s acoustic quartet, with compositions informed by klezmer and Coleman’s musical language. Lage and Roeder have also appeared on other Zorn projects, while all three of Zorn’s bandmates have recorded at least a dozen albums of his music. Reviewers have heard “focused communication” and “exceptional musicianship,” with the band “bridging the accessible and avant-garde.” Another assessment calls the quartet a “renewal or declaration of intent,” while a release description highlights “burning solos, telepathic group interaction, heartfelt lyricism, and hypnotic grooves.”
A narrow basement staircase leads to a triangular room with a red curtain and a stage at the point, where musicians play for a small audience of 123. Tables open like spokes from the stage, and the walls hold portraits of jazz legends. The acoustics are excellent, and the only sound before the music begins is the hum of the room. No food is served, only drinks at a bar. Shows start at 8:00 p.m. and 10:00 p.m., with seating beginning at 7:00 p.m. and 9:30 p.m. respectively. The atmosphere is focused entirely on the music, with silence requested before the concert begins.